The government of Javier Milei officially announced the appointment of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla as judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation this Tuesday. The measure was published in the Official Gazette through Decree 137/2025, signed by the President and the Minister of Justice, Mariano Cáneo Libarona.
The decree highlights that the Supreme Court currently has only three ministers, complicating its functioning and decision-making, since at least three votes are required to resolve cases. The text argues that the Senate did not address the nominations submitted in May 2024 and that, after the legislative recess and the end of the extraordinary session period, the Executive decided to proceed with the interim appointment, invoking Article 99, paragraph 19 of the National Constitution.
The vacancies now occupied by Lijo and García-Mansilla were created following the resignation of Elena Highton de Nolasco in 2021 and of Juan Carlos Maqueda in December 2024. The decree establishes that the appointed judges must take an oath and assume their positions in the Supreme Court, and clarifies that the measure will remain in effect until the Senate gives a definitive opinion on their nominations.
The government justified the decision by arguing that the Senate's lack of definition puts the normal functioning of the Judicial Power at risk. Furthermore, they emphasized that the interim appointment is a presidential authority provided for in the Constitution and that it has been used in other administrations, including those of Urquiza, Mitre, Yrigoyen, Perón, Alfonsín, and Macri.
With this publication, the Supreme Court is again composed of five judges, although the legislative process for the ratification of Lijo and García-Mansilla is still pending in the Senate.
