For the first time in Argentine history, a vice president in the exercise of power, he receives a criminal sentence that condemns him. The accusation is sustained regarding the crimes of illicit association and fraudulent administration to the detriment of the public administration. In relation to Cristina Kirchner, with the evidence accredited in the file, the first is very difficult to verify, while the application of the second would be based on indirect evidence that would have to be quite robust to overturn the principle of innocence without any doubt.
The institutional importance of the case makes it necessary that together with the verdict the foundations or reasons that allow arriving at it be known. Due process as a fundamental right and human right guarantees a reasoned sentence through which the grounds and the verdict are known immediately and synchronously. Postponing for forty days the reasons that support the decision deprive it of legitimacy, enable endless speculation and allow the completion of operations of all kinds.
The process is just beginning. Either party may appeal to the Federal Chamber of Cassation to request a comprehensive review of the sentence, and then, arrive to the Supreme Court of Justice to access an extraordinary review. Even in the case of a conviction, this will not prevent CFK from being a candidate in the 2023 elections for any elective office. Only a final ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice confirming a conviction would limit CFK’s passive political rights.
*By Andrés Gil Domínguez, lawyer and Post-Doctor in Law.
by Andrés Gil Domínguez*
