LAW ON THE RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES OF PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF CRIME

Law 27372

General provisions.

The Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, meeting in Congress, etc.

Law:


ARTICLE 1 °-The provisions of this law are of public order.

ARTICLE 2-It is considered a victim:

(a) the person directly offended by the offence;

(b) the spouse, survivor, parents, children, siblings, guardians or guardians of the offences whose result is the death of the person with whom they have such a link, or if the offence has suffered a mental or physical affectation which prevents him from exercising their rights.


ARTICLE 3 °-The purpose of this law is:

a) Recognize and guarantee the rights of victims of crime and human rights violations, in particular the right to advice, assistance, representation, protection, truth, access to justice, fair treatment, reparation, speed and all other rights enshrined in the National Constitution, in the International Human Rights Treaties of which the State is a party, other international legal instruments ratified by national law, provincial constitutions and local authorities;

b) Establish and coordinate actions and measures necessary to promote, enforce, protect, guarantee and permit the effective exercise of the rights of victims, as well as implement mechanisms for all authorities, in the the scope of their respective powers, comply with their obligations to prevent, investigate, punish offences and to achieve redress for the rights of the accused;

(c) Establish recommendations and protocols on the specific duties and obligations of the authorities and of anyone involved in the procedures related to crime victims.

ARTICLE 4 °-The action of the authorities will respond to the following principles:

(a) Rapid intervention: the aid, care, assistance and protection measures required by the situation of the victim shall be taken as quickly as possible, and if they are pressing needs, they shall be met immediately, if any possible, or with the greatest urgency;

(b) "differential approach": the measures of assistance, care, assistance and protection of the victim shall be adopted in the light of the degree of vulnerability which it presents, among other causes, by reason of age, gender, preference or sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability status or other similar conditions;

c) Not revictimization: the victim will not be treated as responsible for the fact suffered, and the inconvenience caused by the criminal process will be limited to the strictly necessary ones.


ARTICLE 5-The victim shall have the following rights:

(a) the immediate receipt of the complaint of the offence affecting it;

(b) to be treated in a dignified and respectful manner and to be at least the inconvenience arising from the procedure;

(c) to ensure that their privacy is respected in so far as they do not obstruct the investigation;

(d) to require protective measures for their safety, that of their families and that of witnesses who declare in their interest, through the competent bodies;

(e) to be assisted in a specialised manner in order to promote mental, physical and social recovery, during the time indicated by the professional staff;

(f) to be informed of their rights when making the complaint or in their first intervention in the proceedings;

(g) to the extent that, in the case of criminal offences against property, the prosecution and prosecution of the property involved are carried out as quickly as possible;

(h) to intervene as a plaintiff or civil actor in criminal proceedings, as established by the constitutional guarantee of due process and local procedural laws;

(i) to examine documents and actions, and to be informed orally on the state of the proceedings and the situation of the accused;

(j) to provide information and evidence during the investigation;

(k) to be heard prior to any decision involving the extinction or suspension of the criminal action, and those who have measures of coercion or the freedom of the accused during the proceedings, provided that they expressly request it;

(l) to be notified of decisions which may affect their right to be heard;

(m) to request the revision of the dismissal, the file or the application of an opportunity criterion requested by the representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, when he has intervened in the proceedings as a plaintiff;

(n) A prompt adoption of the measures of coercion or injunctions which may have been taken to prevent the offence from continuing to be carried out or to have any subsequent consequences;

(n) to be reintegrated with the goods which have been removed as a matter of urgency;

(o) to vote for the costs of the exercise of their rights, when, for their personal circumstances, they are economically unable to solve them. This enumeration is not taxative and will not be understood as negation of other rights not listed.

ARTICLE 6-When the victim presents situations of vulnerability, among other causes, because of his age, gender, preference or sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability status, or any other analogous, the authorities must dispense with him specialised care. A situation of particular vulnerability shall be presumed in the following cases:

(a) If the victim is a minor or older than seventy (70) years, or is a person with a disability;

b) If there is a relationship of economic, affective, labor or subordination dependency between the victim and the alleged perpetrator of the crime.

ARTICLE 7 °-The authority receiving the complaint shall:

(a) to advise on the rights which it is entitled to and the means to which it has the right to enforce it;

b) To inform him of the names of the judge and the prosecutor who will intervene in the case, and the location of their offices;

(c) inform you of the location of the assistance centre to the nearest victim, and transfer it to the nearest victim as soon as possible, if the victim so requests, and I shall not count on the means of locomotion.

ARTICLE 8 °-In the cases referred to in Article 5 (d), the existence of danger shall be presumed if the following offences are victims:

(a) Crimes against life;

(b) Crimes against sexual integrity;

(c) Crimes of terrorism;

(d) offences committed by an unlawful association or criminal organisation;

(e) Crimes against women, committed with gender-based violence;

f) Crimes of human trafficking.

The authority shall immediately take the necessary measures to neutralise the danger. In particular, you may reserve information about your address or any other information that reveals your location. The reserve shall be lifted if the right of defence of the person concerned makes it necessary.

ARTICLE 9 °-The authority must attend to the suffrage of the expenses of transfer, temporary lodging and food support of urgency that are necessary, when for their personal circumstances, the victim will be economically impossible to do so.

Article 10.-The authorities shall take all measures that prevent an unjustified increase in the inconvenience caused by the processing of the process, concentrating the interventions of the victim in the least amount of possible acts, avoiding recurring calls and unnecessary contacts with the defendant.

To this end, the following measures may be adopted:

(a) The victim may provide a statement at his or her home or in a dependency specially adapted for that purpose;

(b) In the event of participation by the victim, the accompaniment of a professional may be available;

c) The victim may testify at the hearing of the trial, without the presence of the accused or the public.

ARTICLE 11.-The victim is entitled to receive free of charge the legal sponsorship that he requests to exercise his rights, and in his case to want him, if for his personal circumstances he will find it impossible to solve it.

ARTICLE 12.-During the execution of the sentence the victim has the right to be informed and to express his opinion and any matter how he considers it appropriate, before the judge of execution or competent judge, when any proposal in which it can be decided the incorporation of the sentenced person to:

(a) Transitional provisions;

(b) the semi-freedom scheme;

(c) Probation;

(d) Home detention;

(e) Discontinuous or semi-permanent imprisonment;

(f) assisted freedom;

(g) Preparatory arrangements for their release.

The Court of Justice shall, at the time of the judgment of the judgment in order, consult the victim if he wishes to be informed of the conditions referred to in the preceding paragraph. In that case, the victim must establish an address, appoint a legal representative, propose experts and establish the way in which the communications will be received.

ARTICLE 13.-In the cases referred to in the previous article, if the seriousness of the fact that led to the conviction and the circumstances of the case may be presumed to be in danger to the victim, the authority must take the necessary precautionary measures to prevent it.

For the purposes of assessing the possibility of danger, particular account shall be taken of the provisions of Articles 6 and 8 of this Law.


Article 14.-Substitute Article 79 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:

Article 79: From the beginning of a criminal procedure until its completion, the national state shall guarantee the victims of a crime and the witnesses called to the cause by a judicial body full respect of the following rights:

(a) to be treated in a dignified and respectful manner and to be at least the inconvenience arising from the procedure;

(b) to the vote on the transfer costs to the place which the competent authority has;

(c) to the protection of their own physical and mental integrity and their families;

(d) to be informed of the results of the procedural act in which he has participated;

(e) Where a person is more than 70 (70) years old, pregnant or seriously ill, to comply with the procedural law at the place of his/her residence; such circumstances shall be communicated to the competent authority in advance.

Article 15.-Substitute Article 80 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), as follows:

Article 80: Without prejudice to the foregoing Article, the victim of the offence shall be entitled to:

(a) to be informed of their rights when making the complaint or in their first intervention in the proceedings;

b) To examine documents and actions and to be informed about the state of the process and the situation of the accused;

(c) to provide information and evidence during the investigation;

(d) to the fact that, in the cases in which crimes against property are investigated, the prosecution and prosecution of the things they have taken are carried out as quickly as possible, for the soon to be recovered from the assets they have taken;

(e) Where he is less or less incapable, the court may authorise that during the proceedings in which he intervenes be accompanied by a person of his or her trust, provided that this does not endanger the interest of obtaining the truth of the occurred;

(f) to be heard prior to any decision involving the extinction or suspension of the criminal action, and of those who have measures of coercion or the freedom of the accused during the proceedings, provided that they expressly request it;

(g) to be notified of the resolutions which may require its review;

h) To request the review of the dismissal or the file, even if it had not intervened in the procedure as a complaint.

Article 16.-Substitute Article 81 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:

Article 81: During the criminal proceedings, the State shall guarantee the victim of the crime the rights recognized in the Law on the Rights and Guarantees of Persons Victims of Crimes. To this end, the procedural provisions of this Code will be interpreted and implemented in the way that best guarantees the rights recognized to the victim.

The rights recognized in this Chapter must be stated by the competent court, at the time of the first summons of the victim or the witness.

Article 17.-Substitute Article 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:


Article 82: Every person with a civil capacity particularly offended by a crime of public action shall have the right to become a plaintiff and as such to promote the process, to provide elements of conviction, to argue about them and use the scope of this Code to be established.

In the case of an incapable person, he or she shall act as legal representative.

In the case of a crime whose result is the death or disappearance of a person, the spouse, the survivor, the parents, the children and the siblings of the deceased or missing person may exercise this right; if they are a minor, their guardians or guarders, and in the case of a unable, their legal representative.

If the particular complainant were to be a civil actor at the same time, he could do so in a single act, observing the requirements for both institutes.

Article 18.-Substitute Article 180 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:


Article 180: The judge who receives a complaint shall immediately transmit it to the tax agent. Within twenty-four (24) hours, except as for the urgency of the case, the tax agent shall make a request pursuant to Article 188 or request that the complaint be dismissed or referred to another jurisdiction.

Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, the investigating judge who receives a complaint may, within the term of twenty-four (24) hours, unless, for the urgency of the case, establish a minor, make use of the power of the Article 196, first paragraph, in which case the tax agent shall assume the direction of the investigation in accordance with the rules laid down in Title II of Book II of this Code or request that the complaint be dismissed or referred to another jurisdiction.

The complaint shall be dismissed where the facts referred to therein do not constitute a crime, or where it cannot be carried out. The decision which provides for the dismissal of the complaint or its referral to another jurisdiction shall be appealed by the victim or by the person seeking to be held by the plaintiff.

Article 19.-Substitute Article 293 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:


Article 293: Where the criminal law permits the suspension of the trial, the competent judicial body may grant the benefit, in a single hearing, where the parties have the right to express themselves. The victim will be cited even if he has not been filed as a plaintiff.

Where that is the case, the competent judicial body at the same hearing shall specify in particular the instructions and rules of conduct to which the person is to be subjected and shall immediately inform the executing judge of the decision he submits. to the test imputed.

Article 20.-Substitute Article 496 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), as follows:


Article 496: Without the suspension of the penalty, the court of execution may authorize the transitional exits permitted by Law of Enforcement of the Private Penalty of Freedom. The victim, even if he has not been a plaintiff, will be informed of the initiation of the procedure and his needs will have to be evaluated.

The court of execution may also authorise the criminal to leave the prison establishment in which he is, for a reasonable period of time, and to be transferred, in due custody, in order to fulfil his moral duties in the event of death or serious illness of a close relative. The private prosecution of their freedom will also enjoy this benefit.

ARTICLE 21.-Substitute Article 505 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Nation (law 23,984), by the following:


Article 505: The application for parole shall be made immediately through the address of the establishment where the sentenced person is located, who may appoint a defender to act in the proceedings. In all cases the victim, even if he had not been a plaintiff, must be informed of the initiation of the procedure, and be heard his needs.


Article 22.-Create in the field of the Ministry of Justice of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation, the Center for Assistance to Victims of Crimes (CENAVID).

CENAVID will be in charge of assisting victims of federal justice crimes throughout the country, and in an intervener manner, assistance to victims of crimes against the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts at the request of the courts. local jurisdictions.

ARTICLE 23.-The provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires that already have agencies or institutions specialized in assisting victims of local competition crimes will evaluate their situation and, if necessary, adopt the measures needed to provide them with sufficient structure, training and funding.

CENAVID will develop the actions at its disposal to collaborate in the creation of such organisms, in the provinces that do not have them.

ARTICLE 24.-CENAVID shall have the following functions:

(a) To immediately reach the victims who require their intervention. To this end, it must implement an emergency service which functions outside the hours of care of its offices, which will enable it to guarantee the victim's assistance in cases requiring intervention;

(b) Adopt the necessary courses of action to ensure the safety of the victim and of his or her family members, in the appropriate cases. To this end it shall agree with the bodies in charge of public safety protocols to enable them to intervene rapidly;

(c) Adopt the courses of action necessary to provide the victim with a temporary lodging and emergency food support in the appropriate cases. To this end, it shall agree with the bodies and institutions empowered to provide the protocols for action to enable them to intervene quickly;

(d) Adopt the necessary courses of action for the medical and psychological care of the victim, in the appropriate cases. To this end it shall be agreed with the institutions in charge of public health, acting protocols to enable them to intervene quickly;

e) Adopt the necessary courses of action to guarantee the sponsorship and legal representation of the victim, giving the Public Ministry of Defense intervention when appropriate. It will also agree on cooperation mechanisms with professional colleges, educational institutions, or other associations and civil society organizations that are trained to provide them.

Article 25. In order to fulfill its obligations in provincial territories, CENAVID will sign agreements with the organizations or institutions to provide assistance to victims that have been created locally. If necessary, CENAVID may create its own headquarters.

ARTICLE 26.-CENAVID will be directed by a executive director appointed by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation, who must be a professional with a recognized career in the field.

The Executive Director shall, as soon as possible, submit to the approval of the Minister of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation the organization chart of the organization of CENAVID and the program of agreements of collaboration and cooperation with organizations public, professional schools, educational or academic institutions or other associations and civil society organizations, which are necessary for the fulfilment of this law.

ARTICLE 27.-The Executive Director of CENAVID shall have the following duties and powers:

(a) to exercise the leadership of the staff, to assign their tasks and to monitor their compliance;

(b) Approve the internal performance protocols of CENAVID and those that CENAVID agrees with bodies and institutions;

(c) Promote the unification of action protocols and criteria for recording information with local victims ' agencies;

(d) Organising activities that encourage the training, technical training and regulatory updating of the authorities and staff involved in the attention of victims of crime;

(e) To formulate legislative proposals to extend and deepen the objectives of this law.

ARTICLE 28.-The expenses that the present demand will be charged to the budget item corresponding to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation. The Executive Branch shall affect the material and human resources in quantity and qualification necessary for the performance of this law.


ARTICLE 29.-Create twenty-four (24) charges of Public Defender of Victims, as set out in Annex I of this Law.

ARTICLE 30.-The current Legal Secretaries of the Public Ministry of Defense are transformed into Public Advocates in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 (b) of Law 27.149.

Article 31. The current Prosecretaries Llatados of the Public Ministry of Defense are transformed into Public Advocates as interveners, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 (b) of Law 27.149.

ARTICLE 32.-The transformation of the charges laid down in the preceding articles does not imply a new appointment, in the terms of Article 79 (a) of the Law of Income Tax, reformed by Law 27.346.

ARTICLE 33.-Substitute Article 11 of Law 27.149, which shall be worded as follows:

Article 11: Legal assistance and sponsorship for victims of criminal proceedings. The General Office of the Nation shall ensure, in accordance with the requirements and functional assignments determined by the regulations, and as provided for in Articles 37a and 37b of this Law, technical assistance and legal sponsorship of the victims of crimes, if, because of the limitation of their economic resources or vulnerability, the intervention of the Public Ministry of Defense is necessary, in the light of the special gravity of the facts investigated.

ARTICLE 34: Substitute Article 15 of Law 27.149, which shall be worded as follows:

Article 15: The Public Ministry of Defense is composed of:

(a) Magistrates:

1. General Ombudsman of the Nation.

2. General Advocates Adtogether.

3. Official Public Defenders and Public Defenders of Minors and Incapable before the Chambers of Cassation.

4. Public Coordination Defenders.

5. Official Public Defenders of the General Office of the Nation, Public Defenders of the National Criminal Instance of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Public Defenders of Single Instance in the Federal Criminal Court The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Public Defenders of Single Instance in the Economic Criminal of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Public Defenders of Single Instance in the Criminal of Minors of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Aires, Public Defenders of Single Instance at the Execution of the Penalty of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Public Defender Officers before the National Chamber of Appeals in Consumer Relations.

6. Public Defenders of Minor and Incapable Of Single Instance in the National and Federal Criminal and Public Defenders of Minors and Incapable before the Courts of Second Instance.

7. Official Public Defenders before the Federal Courts of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Public Defender Federal Officers of the interior of the country.

8. Official Public Defenders Adtogether of the General Office of the Nation, Public Defenders of Minors and Incapable of First Instance, Official Public Defenders before the Judges and Chambers of Appeals, Official Public Defenders in the Consumer Relations, Official Public Defenders before the Federal Courts of Tax Executions and Public Defenders of Victims.

9. Public Defenders Tutors and Public Defenders Curators.

10. Auxiliary defenders of the General Office of the Nation.

(b) Public Advocates

(c) Other officials and administrative and maestranza employees.

ARTICLE 35.-Incorporate as Article 37a to Law 27.149 the following:

Article 37a: Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding article, the Public Defenders interveners collaborate with the Public Defenders of Victims in the exercise of the functions and under the conditions provided for in this law, when be prepared by the General Ombudsman in order to ensure the effective delivery of the service.

ARTICLE 36.-Incorporate as Article 37 ter of Law 27.149 the following:


Article 37b: Functions. The Public Defenders of Victims are the magistrates of the General Office of the Nation, which, according to the assigned forces and bodies, exercise the technical assistance and legal sponsorship of the victims of crimes in criminal proceedings, the special gravity of the facts investigated and provided that the limitation of economic resources or situation of vulnerability made necessary the intervention of the Public Ministry of Defense.


Article 37. The provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are invited to readjust their procedural law in order to guarantee in their jurisdictions the rights of the victims recognized in this law.

Article 38. The Executive Branch shall regulate this law within one hundred and twenty (120) days after its promulgation.

ARTICLE 39.-Commune to the national executive branch.

GIVEN IN THE SESSION HALL OF THE ARGENTINE CONGRESS, IN BUENOS AIRES, ON THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF JUNE OF THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN.


MARTA G. MICHELETTI. -EMILIO MONZO. -Eugenio Inchausti. -Juan P. Tunessi.

Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Buenos Aires	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Catamarca	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in Chaco Province	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in Chubut Province	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Cordoba	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Corrientes	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Entre Ríos	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Formosa	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Jujuy	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of La Pampa	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of La Rioja	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Mendoza	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Misiones	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Neuquén	1
Victim's Public Defender with Seat in Rio Negro Province	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Salta	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of San Juan	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of San Luis	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Santa Cruz	1
Victim's Public Defender with Seat in Santa Fe Province	1
Public Defender of Victim with Seat in the Province of Santiago del Estero	1
Victim's Public Defender with Seat in the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands	1
Victim's Public Defender with Seat in Tucuman Province	1
Total	24

Under the terms of Article 80 of the National Constitution, I certify that Law No. 27,372 (IF-2017-14067897-APN-SST#SLYT) sanctioned by the HONORABLE CONGRESS OF THE NATION on June 21, 2017, has been enacted in fact on the 11th day of July 2017.

For your publication to the National Directorate of the Official Register, please give a copy to the HONORABLE CONGRESS OF THE NATION and, for your knowledge and other effects, refer to the MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS. Compliment, file. -Pablo Clusellas.