VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0643/01 1361026
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151026Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1033
INFO RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1147
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6794
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6892
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY CARACAS 1808
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7101
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6893
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000643 
 
SBU 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SNAR SCUL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: SUPREME COURT JUSTICE TO VISIT U.S. TO FURTHER 
JUDICIAL REFORM 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Argentina4s Supreme Court President Ricardo 
Lorenzetti will travel to Washington and New York the week of May 19 
for meetings at the American Law Institute and the Council of the 
Americas as part of his effort to strengthen judicial practices in 
Argentina. Ambassador Wayne met with Lorenzetti on April 28 to 
discuss ways the Embassy might cooperate in strengthening 
Argentina's judicial reforms. Lorenzetti said he had already 
introduced public audiences by the Supreme Court, inspired by U.S. 
practices, and looks forward to learning from more U.S. best 
practices.  Ambassador Wayne asked Lorenzetti about a recent 
"phishing" episode he suffered on his personal computer at the 
Supreme Court. Lorenzetti said an investigation is underway but that 
the incident is very disturbing. Lorenzetti is a serious reformer. 
It would be very worthwhile for U.S. officials to reach out to him 
during his visit. END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Argentine National Judicial Management Reform Plan 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) Ambassador Wayne met with Argentine Supreme Court President 
Dr. Ricardo Lorenzetti on April 28 to discuss developments in the 
National Judicial Management Plan announced at the beginning of the 
judicial year on February 15, 2008. The Chief Justice stressed the 
need for a concerted state policy under the leadership of the 
Supreme Court, to reform the judiciary in a consistent fashion, and 
the importance of training in bringing about a cultural change 
within the judicial community. Lorenzetti stated how the backlog of 
unresolved cases continues to increase, thus creating the need to 
examine reforms involving the court's case management system. 
Lorenzetti told the Ambassador that reforming the case management 
system (and reducing the case backlog) had led the Supreme Court to 
establish the National Commission on Judicial Management. As one 
example of how the U.S. experience might help, Ambassador Wayne 
described how the federal magistrate system in the U.S. has helped 
to increase judicial efficiency, resulting in the more expeditious 
resolution of court cases and increasing overall case management. 
 
¶3. (U) The Ambassador talked with Lorenzetti about the annual 
Administration of Justice trip to the U.S. organized by the Embassy 
since 2001 under the "Justice Undergoing Change" rubric and the 
possibility of inviting some of the members of the Management4s Plan 
technical team to participate this year. The Ambassador mentioned 
three other possible ways the Embassy might cooperate: 1) organizing 
speaker programs to "train the trainers" with specialists from U.S. 
judicial institutions like the Federal Judiciary Center, and court 
clerks, including the Clerk for the District of Puerto Rico; 2) 
arranging distance education training programs through digital 
videoconferences; 3) bringing an evaluation expert to identify 
possible improvements in the implementation of the Judicial 
Management Plan. Lorenzetti said he was open to using all these 
channels. 
 
¶4. (U) Justice Lorenzetti mentioned several new technological 
developments that would be introduced shortly, including digital 
notification and electronic payment systems, digitized Social 
Security and Tax Collecting procedures, and a new public process for 
purchasing hardware and software to be announced within the first 
semester by the National Council of Judges (in coordination with the 
Supreme Court). 
 
---------------- 
Public Audiences 
---------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Ambassador Wayne asked the Chief Justice about a recent 
public audience held before the Supreme Court on a freedom of 
expression case, and Lorenzetti answered that the public audience 
approach was based on that practiced by the U.S. Supreme Court. This 
was the result of a project he drafted following his trip to the 
U.S. last October when he met with Chief Justice Roberts and 
Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia. 
 
------------------------ 
Potential Trips to the U.S. 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (U) Ambassador Wayne also spoke with Lorenzetti about the Chief 
Justice4s next trip to the U.S. together with an Associate Justice, 
which will take place in May at the invitation of the Center for 
Strategic International Studies (CSIS) and with the financial 
support of the Embassy.  Lorenzetti stressed the importance of this 
trip and another one scheduled for later this year which came as the 
result of an invitation by U.S. Federal Judge Anthony Sirica (who 
was recently in Argentina) to attend a session of the American Law 
Institute and Unidroit (an international legal association) in 
Philadelphia. Lorenzetti told the Ambassador on May 12 that he would 
travel to Washington DC the week of May 19 for two days of meetings 
at an American Law Institute seminar, which would describe best 
practices in case law. The Justice will then participate in a 
Council of Americas event in New York City. 
 
--------------------------- 
Substitute National Judges 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador also asked Lorenzetti for an update on the 
status of substitute national judges. (NOTE: Several years ago, the 
National Council of Judges put into practice a system of hiring 
substitute judges on a temporary basis to fill the gaps produced by 
a rash of retirements from the bench. The appointments were supposed 
to be temporary until permanent replacements were named according to 
constitutional procedures. Last year, however, the Supreme Court 
declared the system unconstitutional, extended its validity only to 
the end of May 2008, and gave Congress one year to fix the problem. 
END NOTE.) Lorenzetti said that even though the Executive Branch 
promised a solution by sending a bill to Congress, he is very 
skeptical about the outcome and hinted that the Supreme Court may 
extend for another year the term of validity of these substitute 
judges because of the government4s delay. 
 
---------------- 
Phishing Episode 
---------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Wayne asked the Chief Justice about a phishing 
episode he recently suffered on his personal computer at the Supreme 
Court, as reported in the media. Lorenzetti described the situation 
to the Ambassador, saying that it started with several emails he 
received in which he was asked to provide personal information to 
the Supreme Court's alleged Internet provider. After some 
administrative inquiries and a talk with the other Justices, 
Lorenzetti reported the situation to the criminal judiciary. Pagina 
12 newspaper reported on May 4 2008 that a "Telmex" Internet 
provider4s written communication to the Chief Justice had involved 
another user who was alleged to be a former agent of the State 
Secretary of Intelligence -SIDE - named Ivn Germn Velzquez. On 
May 10-11 two other newspapers reported that these incidents were 
part of a broader pattern of electronic mail surveillance by GOA 
authorities, and one paper carried an interview with Velzquez 
saying he had been involved in some activities but was not 
responsible for the Supreme Court incident. On May 12 a Supreme 
Court source said the investigation continued but it appeared that 
some government element had been involved. 
 
------------------------- 
Justice Argibay4s health 
------------------------- 
 
 
¶9. (U) The Ambassador expressed to the Chief Justice his concern 
about Associate Justice Carmen Argibay4s health. Argibay had 
recently undergone an appendectomy followed by a mild heart attack. 
Lorenzetti told the Ambassador that Justice Argibay4s condition was 
improving and that she was resting after returning home from the 
hospital. 
 
------------------ 
Future Cooperation 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (U) At the conclusion of the meeting, Lorenzetti thanked the 
Ambassador for all the support provided so far by the Embassy and 
indicated he would be in touch again in connection with future moves 
 
toward the implementation of the National Judicial Management Plan. 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment: Lorenzetti is serious about strengthening 
judicial independence in Argentina and reforming the system to 
improve efficiency. It would be very worthwhile for U.S. officials 
to reach out to him during his visit. End Comment 
WAYNE