VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1951/01 2711905
ZNR UUUUU ZZH  (CCY ADDED CAPTION AD0012E5B7/MSI0021 510)
R 281905Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9387
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6610
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6480
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1523
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ SEP MONTEVIDEO 6807
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0817
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS PHUM SNAR EAID KDEM AR PINR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: CHIEF JUSTICE TO SEEK JUDICIAL 
COOPERATION ON DC TRIP OCTOBER 1-5 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The Ambassador met with Argentine 
Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti, on the eve of his 
first official visit to Washington, to discuss his agenda and 
judicial reform in Argentina.  Lorenzetti shared the details 
of his October 1-5 Washington schedule and his hope to 
promote a pan-American conference on judicial independence 
and rule of law.  The Ambassador and Lorenzetti agreed on the 
many similarities the Argentina and U.S. constitutions and 
judicial systems share and on the existence of a strong basis 
for cooperation.  Lorenzetti highlighted that his scheduled 
meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts will be the first 
time the chief justices of Argentina and the U.S. meet.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On September 27, the Ambassador met with Argentine 
Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti, on the eve of his 
first official visit to Washington, to discuss his agenda and 
judicial reform in Argentina.  Lorenzetti shared the details 
of his October 1-5 Washington schedule.  He is scheduled to 
attend a session of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme 
Court on October 2, followed by a private meeting with Chief 
Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Stephen 
Breyer, and Justice Antonin Scalia.  Lorenzetti will also 
meet privately with OAS Secretary General Jose Insulza on the 
2nd.  On October 3, Lorenzetti will visit the Georgetown 
School of Law and have lunch with Argentine Ambassador Jose 
Bordon.  On October 4, Lorenzetti will meet with Director 
General of the Federal Judicial Center Judge Barbara 
Rothstein and travel to Baltimore to visit the University of 
Maryland School of Law.  Lorenzetti is scheduled to visit 
Philadelphia October 5th, meeting the former director of the 
American Law Institute, Professor Geoffrey Hazard. 
Lorenzetti mentioned that he will visit the National 
Archives.  Other possible meetings that were requested but 
not confirmed as of September 28 include: 
 
-- interviews with international correspondents of Argentine 
dailies Clarin and La Nacion; 
-- a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives 
Nancy Pelosi; 
-- a visit to the Library of Congress; 
-- a visit to the National Endowment for Democracy; and 
-- and a meeting at the Argentine Embassy with members of the 
Center for Argentine Students and Graduates (CEGA). 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Lorenzetti said he hopes to promote while in 
Washington a pan-American conference on judicial independence 
and rule of law.  He said the U.S. Supreme Court, with the 
help of USAID, held such a conference in 1995 and that there 
was one follow-up meeting in Panama in 1997.  Lorenzetti 
showed Ambassador the conference report that named the 
participating countries, themes covered, and conclusions of 
the conference.  He said he would propose hosting in Buenos 
Aires another iteration of the 1995 conference next year.  He 
would like the conference to focus on fortifying judicial 
independence and rule of law in the Americas. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Lorenzetti explained that he is trying to promote 
annual judicial conferences within Argentina.  The Ambassador 
congratulated Lorenzetti on the August judicial conference in 
Salta province.  Lorenzetti said that it was a very 
successful conference which addressed the most important 
judicial issues in Argentina, including modernization of the 
court system, timeliness of trials, and budgeting. 
Lorenzetti did not comment on his recent dispute in the press 
with Justice Minister Alberto Iribarne over increasing the 
Supreme Court's budget except to say that more funds are 
needed for technology to improve the efficiency of judicial 
proceedings.  (Lorenzetti asked the administration for 2.3 
billion pesos for 2008 -- a 50% increase over current funding 
and 600 million pesos over the cap designated by the Ministry 
of Economy.  Lorenzetti claims that 90% of the current budget 
goes to pay salaries and that a budget increase would allow 
him to modernize and improve the justice system.  Iribarne 
said the judicial budget has doubled in the last four years.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  On the judicial reform bill currently before the 
Argentine Congress, Lorenzetti said the bill will 
significantly contribute to improving the justice system.  He 
 
said the bill will introduce specific timetables for trials 
and establish modern criteria.  Lorenzetti said that the bill 
was accepted by all of the federal judges. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Lorenzetti's U.S. discussions will also focus in 
part on helping Argentina develop a a system as exists in the 
U.S. for describing case law to encourage more consistency in 
judicial decisions. 
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Biographic Information 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Ricardo Lorenzetti, born September 19, 1955, was 
appointed to the Argentine Supreme Court by President 
Kirchner in December 2004 and became Chief Justice in 
November 2006.  Lorenzetti was born in Santa Fe province and 
became a lawyer in 1978.  He has also taught law in Santa Fe 
and in Buenos Aires at the University of Belgrano.  He said 
his specialization is commercial law.  He speaks English and 
spent some time at the post graduate level in Austin, Texas. 
He appears sincerely dedicated to modernizing the Argentine 
justice system and to augmenting the legitimacy of the 
Supreme Court in public opinion. 
 
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Comment 
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¶8.  (SBU)  Lorenzetti said he hopes that his visit to 
Washington will result in the planning of a Pan-American 
judicial conference in Buenos Aires next year.  He said he 
admires the professionalism and authority of the U.S. Supreme 
Court and hopes the conference would present an opportunity 
to learn from the U.S. justice system.  He said Argentina is 
working to change the role of the judicial system in society, 
but that it is not Argentine tradition to follow precedents 
established by the rulings and opinions of the country's 
highest court.  Lorenzetti's visit presents an opportunity to 
engage the Argentine judicial system on increased cooperation 
and exchanges.  END COMMENT. 
WAYNE