Buenos Aires, Feb 9 (NA) – The juvenile criminal reform bill returned to the Chamber of Deputies on Monday, as confirmed by the Argentine News Agency. It will be discussed in committee on Wednesday and debated in the chamber on Thursday. The initiative is the same one that received a report in 2025, with the exception that the national government included a mechanism for fund compensation between the Nation and the provinces for its financing. The bill, which seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility in Argentina from 16 to 13 years, proposes a special regime with "socio-educational and alternative penalties", and rules out the possibility of imposing a life sentence. In parallel, it sets a maximum sentence of 20 years for minors. On the other hand, adolescents aged 14 or older who commit serious crimes could be subject to penalties similar to those for adults, with maximum sentences of 15 years, with the exception of being held in common prisons. For crimes with sentences of less than 3 years, or up to 10 years without serious violence, priority is given to measures with a social and educational approach, as well as assisted liberty and community service, instead of actual imprisonment. From the National Executive, they indicated that this initiative seeks to end the so-called "revolving door" of the constant entry and exit of minors into delinquency and to condemn crimes committed by 16-year-olds who currently remain unpunished under the current law (22.278).
