Buenos Aires judge suspends juvenile justice law over infrastructure gaps

Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Court No. 2 Judge Marta Elba Pascual granted a collective preventive habeas corpus petition on Monday, suspending the new Juvenile Penal Regime in Buenos Aires province for 60 days. The law, which took effect this week, lowers the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14.

Pascual justified the suspension by stating the provincial state lacks the infrastructure and material resources to absorb the increased number of youths entering the penal system. She warned that detaining adolescents without education, trade training, or therapy turns prisons into "schools of crime."

“A kid locked up without education, without a trade, without therapy, reaches 18 and we can send him to a prison unit that functions as a school of crime.”

The petition was filed by the Federación Familia Grande Hogar de Cristo on behalf of adolescents deprived of liberty. Pascual clarified she does not oppose lowering the age of imputability but insists proper mechanisms must exist first.

La Libertad Avanza (LLA) in Buenos Aires province announced it will seek a political trial against Pascual. Deputy Sebastián Pareja, LLA's provincial president, accused the judge of blocking a democratically enacted law and favoring impunity.

Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro also criticized the ruling, calling it "naive guarantee-ism" and defending the new legislation. LLA senator Carlos Curestis said the decision guarantees impunity for offenders.