Buenos Aires, December 24 (NA) – The National Court in Criminal and Correctional Matters No. 56 dismissed an “Amicus Curiae” petition filed by the plaintiff in the case investigating the murder of Diego Fernández Lima. According to the document accessed by the Argentine News Agency, the motion was filed by the president of the civil association Usina de Justicia Argentina, Diana Cohen De Agrest, represented by her lawyer Germán Vergara. Judge Alberto Litvack ruled that “the status to act in name and representation” of the organization was not proven, “which would already have led to the initial rejection of the request”: “There are no reasons to grant what was requested.” He also explained that the “Amicus Curiae” (from Latin, “friend of the court”) is only regulated by Supreme Court of Justice Agreement No. 7/13 for cases before the highest court. This is an institute that allows associations or third parties to a investigation to voluntarily present technical or legal arguments to assist the judges in making a determination in a case of public interest. However, it is not conceived in the Criminal Procedure Code, and article 82 bis pertains to the representation of collective interests in investigations into crimes against humanity, “which is not the case at hand,” the document emphasizes. “Additionally, it requested the declaration of unconstitutionality of article 62 of the Penal Code and the rejection of the case's dismissal, and the promotion of the clarification of the death of Diego Fernández Lima,” the magistrate stated. The current state of the case The investigation returned to square one after the annulment of the acquittal of Cristian Graf, accused of suppression of evidence and cover-up. The Federal Court's Chamber IV upheld that “only in this way could an investigation begin to clarify what really happened, assigning responsibility under article 45 to those who participated in any way in the event that led to the death of Fernández Lima.” In turn, they underlined “the evident need for an investigation” to find the truth of the facts, protect the rights of the victims, and advance in the determination of the legal qualification, “which, beyond its mutability, has implications in different procedural institutes.” The death and the discovery of the bones The 16-year-old teenager was last seen alive on July 26, 1984, in the City of Buenos Aires, the day he returned from school, had lunch with his mother, and asked for money to take a bus. After 41 years, his bones and other belongings were found in the yard of a chalet rented by the singer Gustavo Cerati (who died on September 4, 2014) between 2001 and 2003.
