Federal judge Ariel Lijo went before Argentina’s Senate to make his case for a place on Argentina’s Supreme Court on Wednesday. 

The 55-year-old federal judge was formally nominated by President Javier Milei in April. The decision sparked controversy, with critics pointing to Lijo’s sluggish conviction rate. Moreover, both Milei’s nominees are men, meaning the country’s top court will be all-male if both are appointed.

The Supreme Court should have five members, but there have been just four since Justice Elena Highton de Nolasco resigned in October 2021. Appointments need to be approved by two thirds of the Senate, and Alberto Fernández could not secure the necessary political support to name her replacement during his presidency.

In December, Justice Juan Carlos Maqueda turned 75, the constitutional age limit to serve on the court.

Alongside Lijo, Milei nominated Manuel García Mansilla, a law school dean known for his anti-abortion views.

Who is Ariel Lijo?

Lijo has been a federal judge for 20 years. Currently head of Buenos Aires City’s Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 4, he was the judge who investigated the cover-up of the 1994 AMIA bombing, eventually sending former President Carlos Menem to trial. Menem was acquitted, but some high-profile officials of his government were convicted. 

In 2014, he indicted then-vice President Amado Boudou in a corruption probe. Boudou was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. Lijo was also the judge in the high-profile Correo Argentino corruption case against former President Mauricio Macri, which is ongoing.

In 2018, politician Elisa Carrió filed criminal charges against Lijo for criminal association, money laundering, bribes, and influence peddling. He was acquitted on all counts. Lijo’s lawyer was the current Justice Minister, Mariano Cúneo Libarona.

According to a report by the legal watchdog ACIJ, Lijo has been reported to the Council of Magistrates (the body that evaluates judges) 32 times in 20 years, making him the third most reported judge at Comodoro Py federal courthouse since 1999. In that time, he has handled 89 corruption cases, but sent just 14 of those to trial. Three of those cases have been open for over 15 years.

In May, the human rights nonprofit CELS cited these delays to argue against Lijo’s candidacy. 

Vice President Victoria Villarruel said she disagreed with Lijo’s candidacy at a lunch in the Buenos Aires City Bar Association the day before Lijo’s Senate audience. “He doesn’t have the credentials,” she said.

Villarruel added that, although she doesn’t consider herself a feminist, she believes the open position should go to a woman. “It’s a simple matter of justice,” she said.

Senator Francisco Paoltroni, of Milei’s La Libertad Avanza coalition, also protested Lijo’s nomination. Before the hearing in the Upper House, Paoltroni said Lijo’s nomination came at the behest of presidential advisor Santiago Caputo — a member of Milei’s inner circle who does not hold an official position in the government— and that Milei should withdraw it. “We came to change the economic model and the caste model. Mr. Santiago Caputo is forgetting about changing the caste model,” he said.

Earlier this month, former President Mauricio Macri said Lijo’s nomination was a mistake. “Milei told me that he doesn’t care about my opposition to Lijo’s candidacy, because he thinks he is going to bring a change to the Supreme Court,” he told TN news channel.

Lijo responds to criticism

“I categorically reject, because it seems absolutely unfounded to me, the alleged lack of moral suitability of which I have been accused,” Lijo told the Senate. He agreed that there should be women in the Supreme Court, describing gender perspective as “integral.”

“The only thing I cannot replace is the vision of a woman, but I was trained by women,” he said.

Lawmakers also quizzed Lijo on controversial political issues that are likely to end up on the Supreme Court’s docket.

Senator Lucila Crexell, of the Movimiento Popular Neuquino party, asked Lijo about the law regulating the Executive Branch’s executive orders, such as Milei’s mega-decree that has been in effect since December.

“The mechanism established by the law, I understand, is a problem that deserves public debate,” he said. 

Peronist senator Juliana Di Tullio asked him his stance on dollarization, one of Milei’s flagship proposals. Lijo limited himself to saying that the “national currency should be preserved.” UCR senator Pablo Blanco called him “the most inefficient judge in Comodoro Py” because of his low case resolution rate.

Lijo responded that “complex investigations that have multiple parts” cannot be solved as quickly as simpler cases.

“Whatever the outcome, I am convinced that further work is needed on many of the issues we discussed today,” Lijo concluded.

Cover photo: Ignacio Petunchi