The government revoked the candidacy of Roberto Carlés today and is preparing to nominate two new judges to fill the vacancies in the Supreme Court.
The candidates, Eugenio Sarrabayrouse and Domingo Sesín, are proposed to replace Eugenio Zaffaroni, who stepped down from his seat last December, and Carlos Fayt, who announced last month that he will be retiring on 11th December.
Argentina’s Supreme Court with its old, seven-member composition (photo: Gustavo Amarelle/ archivoTélam/lz)
Roberto Carlés, who was nominated to fill Zaffaroni’s seat last January by Justice Minister Julio Alak, was criticised for his young age (he is 34) and lack of experience. He ultimately failed to reach the two-third majority vote needed from the Senate after he was fiercely repudiated by opposition senators, a refusal linked to a 2013 decision by 28 senators to deny support to any candidate nominated by the Fernández administration.
Sesín, the 61-year-old head of the Supreme Court of Córdoba, has spent his 20-year judicial career specialising in administrative law and has links with the Radical Party. He also serves as a lecturer at his alma mater, the National University of Córdoba (UNC).
Sarrabayrouse, a peronist, is a 49-year-old judge and active chair for the City of Buenos Aires’ Cassation Court under the direction of Judge María Laura Garrigós de Rébori. Before taking on his current position he earned a degree from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and served in the oral court of Río Grande in Tierra Del Fuego. Apart from his seat in the Cassation Court he teaches in the Social Sciences and Business departments at the University of Palermo (UP), where his expertise in criminal law is highly respected. According to The Buenos Aires Herald, his additional experience in environmental law is of particular importance to current Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti.
Because of a 2003 law created by the Néstor Kirchner administration, these candidates must go through a public hearing before various lawmakers and experts where they will elaborate on their opinions concerning a range of controversial issues. They can then be challenged or endorsed through letters within the next 15 working days, and if they succeed beyond that point, the Executive will send their official nominations to the Upper House for a definitive vote.
The Supreme Court currently operates with Lorenzetti, Elena Highton de Nolasco, Juan Carlos Maqueda, and Fayt. According to La Nación, some speculate that Fayt’s retirement the day after the new president takes office could spark a debate over whether or not there is a true vacancy until he is out of office, and if so, whether or not the current current head of state has the power to nominate his successor.
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