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DE RUEHBU #0381/01 0911926
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O 011926Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3452
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 000381 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS PHUM KPAO AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE JUSTICES TO VISIT U.S. IN MAY, HOST RULE OF LAW 
CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Argentine Supreme Court is organizing a 
regional conference on rule of law issues in early September, 
bringing together Supreme Court justices from throughout the 
Americas, Chief Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti and Associate Justice 
Juan Carlos Maqueda told Ambassador Wayne in a March 25 meeting.  In 
preparation for the conference, the two Argentine Justices are 
traveling to the United States in May and plan to meet with Chief 
Justice Roberts as well as Justices Ginsburg and Alito.  They would 
like support in setting up meetings at state and other agencies we 
suggest (e.g. DOJ or NSC) during their visit. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The September conference will discuss the possibility of 
creating an international body to support the rule of law in the 
Americas.  Post thinks this could be an excellent initiative for 
which to offer USG support.  The Ambassador's meeting with the 
Supreme Court Justices was an excellent opportunity for Post to 
demonstrate the USG's continued interest in GOA efforts to 
strengthen its judicial system.  Septel will report comments 
concerning recent finger-pointing between the judicial and executive 
branches over responsibility for Argentina's increasingly 
dysfunctional judicial system.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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UPCOMING JUDICIAL VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES 
---------------------------------------- 
 
3.(SBU) On March 25, Ambassador Wayne met with Chief Justice Ricardo 
Lorenzetti and Associate Justice Juan Carlos Maqueda to discuss 
their upcoming trip to the United States in preparation for a 
hemisphere-wide judicial conference the Court plans to organize in 
September.  Lorenzetti and Maqueda will travel to the United States 
May 16-23 and have scheduled meetings with Chief Justice Roberts on 
May 16 as well as Justices Ginsburg and Alito on May 22.  They said 
they would like Department help to set appointments with WHA A/S Tom 
Shannon, with whom they have discussed a rule of law project, as 
well as others at state and elsewhere in Washington.  They plan to 
meet with Federal Judicial Center Director of International Programs 
Barbara Rothstein, the Inter- American Development Bank, and the 
Organization of American States.  The Ambassador advised them to 
coordinate with the Argentine Embassy in Washington in organizing 
their agenda and suggested they also try to meet with the chairmen 
or members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees 
(Representative Conyers and Senator Leahy).  He suggested that 
possible State meetings would include the new Legal Adviser and DRL 
A/S as well as calls at the Department of Justice. 
 
----------------------------------- 
JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Justice Lorenzetti told the Ambassador that the Supreme 
Court plans to host a Judicial Conference of the Americas the first 
week of September.  The first two days of the four-day conference 
would bring together Supreme Courts Justices from MERCOSUR 
member-states and associate states.  The conference would then be 
open to Supreme Court justices from the rest of the Americas for the 
last two days.  Ambassador Albino Gomez, private secretary to Chief 
Justice Lorenzetti, is in charge of the conference program.  Thirty 
delegations have confirmed their attendance so far, including 
Canada, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.  The conference will 
focus on the rule of law and examine the potential creation of an 
international body supporting rule of law in the Americas. 
Compliance with human rights standards will also be discussed, 
Lorenzetti said. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The tentative agenda includes judicial independence, 
budgetary autonomy, judicial management, cooperation and 
communication among judges, environmental issues, and drug 
trafficking.  [Note: This agenda is an updated version of the 1995 
Agenda of the First Judicial Conference of the Americas held in 
Washington DC, an initiative of then-Chief Justice Rehnquist. End 
note.]  Potential participants from the U.S. include the American 
Bar Association's International Office, the International 
Association of Women Judges, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown, the National Endowment for 
Democracy, and one or more members for the Supreme Court. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The meeting was an excellent opportunity for Post to 
demonstrate the USG's continued interest in GOA efforts to 
strengthen its judicial system.  Lorenzetti is working hard to 
strengthen Argentina's judicial branch.  We are pleased that the 
Supreme Court is taking the initiative to bring together judiciary 
officials in the Americas to discuss the rule of law, and we are 
ready to assist with U.S. participation in the September conference. 
We believe it worth exploring the Chief Justice's idea to create a 
body supporting rule of law in the Americas.  This could well be an 
 
BUENOS AIR 00000381  002 OF 002 
 
 
initiative worth USG support.  END COMMENT. 
 
WAYNE