Constitutional lawyers Daniel Sabasay and Andrés Gil Domínguez expressed their rejection of the appointment of judges Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla by the Executive Power through a decree. Sabasay, who is also the director of the postgraduate program in Constitutional Law at the University of Buenos Aires, considered that this decision has generated a serious institutional crisis.
"The President's (Javier) Milei decree that appoints candidates Ariel Lijo and Manuel García Mansilla on commission to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has caused a serious institutional crisis," stated Gil Domínguez. According to the lawyer, the aforementioned decree is null and void with absolute and unhealable constitutional invalidity, in addition to being unconstitutional for not meeting the exceptional requirements that the National Constitution establishes for the appointment of judges on commission.
"The effect of an appointment with these characteristics transforms the commissioners appointed by the Executive Power into de facto judges that harm the democratic legitimacy of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation," highlighted Daniel Sabasay. He expressed his concern about the impact on the independence of the Judiciary, the normative force of the Constitution, and the democratic system in general.
For his part, Andrés Gil Domínguez provided details through his social networks about the procedure established in the National Constitution to preserve the separation of powers and guarantee the republican and democratic system. He explained that while there is an exceptional mechanism that allows the National Executive Power to appoint members of the Supreme Court of Justice on commission, it must be applied only in extraordinary circumstances, such as vacancies during the recess of the Senate.
Gil Domínguez emphasized that the two available procedures cannot be equated, mentioning the case of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who presented candidates for the CSJN without obtaining Senate agreement and without resorting to the commission decree. In this regard, he highlighted that once the regular procedure for appointing judges begins, the Executive Power cannot use the exceptional mechanism if it does not obtain the necessary consensus.
