The bishop of La Rioja, Monsignor Dante Braida, expressed his concern about the proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility for children in Argentina. According to him, putting a child in a situation of confinement does not address the root problem. For her part, the president of the Penal Legislation Commission, Laura RodrÃguez Machado (PRO), has called for a plenary session of the commissions to discuss this issue.
The involved commissions are Penal Legislation, Justice, Family, and Budget and Finance, chaired by different legislators. The ruling party intends to have a majority report signed to address the issue before the end of May.
The proposed project has been debated in several meetings throughout last year and this year. There is consensus to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, instead of 13 as initially proposed by the government. It is also established that a minor cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment, limiting the maximum sentence to 20 years.
Another important aspect of the project is the inclusion of educational programs, civic training, sports activities, and medical treatments in the juvenile penal system for the social reintegration of young offenders. The role of the supervisor is proposed, responsible for guiding the young person in their reintegration process into society, and the possibility of reviewing the served sentence after two-thirds is contemplated.
Besides prison and home confinement, other places for serving sentences are proposed, such as open institutions or those specialized in the detention of minors. Alternative measures such as restraining orders against the victim, community service, electronic monitoring, and restitution for damages are suggested.
The discussion on the reform of the Juvenile Criminal Law will take place in the Chamber of Deputies, where positions for and against lowering the age of criminal responsibility are diverse. While the government and some party blocks support the proposal, others like Union for the Homeland, the left, and human rights organizations reject it. The debate on this topic will continue to be intense in the coming days.
