53 Winter 2025 of injustice harm the entire international community, it is inescapably necessary for the State to adopt alternative and complementary procedures that ensure the possibility of advancing in the proceedings and thus avoid the impunity of the perpetrators, instigators and accomplices.11 The ruling specified that a trial in absentia would be permissible as long as specific conditions were established to protect due process and the rights of the accused. The Court pointed to various countries such as France, Italy and the United Kingdom, to serve as examples for consideration. The Court understood that this procedural tool would guarantee the right to truth and access to justice for the victims. Shortly after the ruling of April 2024, the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a ruling in June 2024, declaring the State of Argentina responsible for various human rights violations related to the AMIA case.12 Like the Federal Criminal Cassation Court, the IACHR found that the State of Argentina failed to conduct adequate due diligence when investigating the AMIA bombing, and intentionally tried to cover-up their failures. This ultimately resulted in a denial of access to justice and truth for the victims and their families. The IACHR ordered Argentina to continue the necessary investigations, while urging Argentina to publicly acknowledge its responsibility and create a publicly accessible historical archive about the case. Among other measures, the IACHR awarded reparations to the victims and their families. It should be noted that, following the exhortation made to the authorities in the aforementioned decision of the Federal Criminal Cassation Court and the publication of the brief judgment of the IACHR, the Argentine Government submitted a bill aimed at regulating trials in absentia.13 The Government noted that “recently, the Federal Criminal Cassation Court has emphasized the importance of regulating trials in absentia in order to guarantee the right to truth and improve access to justice for victims of terrorism…”14 As outlined in the bill, this initiative aims to prevent impunity by using the National Code of Criminal Procedure as a means of dealing with defendants who deliberately evade the process for an extended period of time. The bill will also help Argentina comply with its international obligations and commitments to international justice and human rights. Essentially, the law stipulates that Argentina will not suspend the course of the investigation even if a defendant refuses to cooperate. However, if “rebellion” is declared during the trial (where a person who fails to appear in his criminal proceedings may be declared in default or in contempt), the proceedings will be suspended for the defendant who declared rebellion, while the trial will continue for the other defendants. In this case, the law provides an exception that allows the trial to proceed in cases involving the following crimes: n Sections 6, 7, 8, and 8 bis of the Rome Statute;15 n offenses under the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons; n offenses under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; n cases involving offenses related to the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; n or any offense incorporated into domestic law following Argentina's ratification of international conventions aimed at terrorizing the population or coercing national public authorities, foreign governments or agents of an international organization to perform an act or refrain from doing so. Additionally, the bill requires that a trial in absentia can only proceed if one of two criteria are met: n The accused know of the proceedings against them, and either fail to appear or evade judicial authority; or n A judicial authority duly issues an arrest warrant, but either the defendant was not located within four months, Argentina never received a response to the warrant within four months, or a request was denied. The Bill also includes several procedural safeguards to ensure the rights of the accused. These include recording the trials to guarantee the authenticity of the 11. Id., at 117. 12. See https://jurisprudencia.corteidh.or.cr/serie-c/ sentencia/1039244171 13. Bill submitted by the Honorable Chamber of Deputies regarding trials in absentia. file number 61/2024, sent to the National Congress on 12/07/2024 - currently at the Entry Desk, available at https://www.senado.gob. ar/parlamentario/comisiones/verExp/61.24/PE/MD 14. Id., at 6. 15. See https://www.un.org/spanish/law/icc/statute/spanish/ rome_statute(s).pdf
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