I spent a few weeks in Buenos Aires in 2010 and I fell in love with Argentina. The people, the history, the dancing, the wine, and the alfajores were amazing. But one of the most important experiences I had when I was there was the chance to speak with local lawyers about their work in Argentine litigation. Years later, I got that chance again when Patricia Veronica Castaño, a senior lawyer at Navarro Castex in Buenos Aires, was kind enough to talk to me about her work.

Why should you continue reading this post about litigation in Argentina?

You want some links to primary sources so you can read more about Amparo proceedings!
You want have a contract without a fee shifting provision and want to find a jurisdiction where you can sue that may let you recover your attorneys fees anyway.
You also went to Argentina without learning enough about the law, but hopefully you were a better dancer than me.

Patricia Veronica Castaño is a senior lawyer at Navarro Castex in Buenos Aires. This interview has been lightly edited.

Can you tell me about the kinds of disputes you handle in your legal practice?

Our law firm handles disputes on a variety of issues, with the most prominent being tort disputes, business disputes, labor disputes, bankruptcy, and successions.

What type of clients do you generally represent in disputes?

The law firm's client profile focuses on multinational companies and medium-sized Argentine companies.

At the same time, we also represent individuals as clients, for example, for inheritance disputes or tax planning.

Besides Microsoft Office, what software do you use in your practice?

The most used software is the web browser "Google Chrome" and its ecosystem of applications (such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Meet).

What books and websites do you use for legal research?

For legal research we mainly use regulations commented by prestigious authors, both national and international. And we consult a digital compendium of regulations, jurisprudence, and doctrine. These include La Ley, El Derecho, El Dial, and Erreius, among others.

Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Argentina#/media/File:ID_472_Palacio_de_Justicia_de_la_Nación_5006.jpg

Do you electronically file pleadings with the court? Or must you send paper copies of them to the courthouse?

As of 2020, as a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic, progress was made in the digitization of court files, so the filing is done electronically. In exceptional cases, oral pleadings are made before the courts (for example, before the criminal justice or before the labor justice of the provinces).

While digital submissions require the creation of a user account, this is a website that answers frequently asked questions about the electronic filing system.

Does Argentina have specialized courts that only hear commercial cases?

Yes, Argentina has courts specialized in commercial cases, but only in the national courts, based in the City of Buenos Aires.

In general, local jurisdictions usually deal with civil matters (such as family law, inheritance, and real estate) together with commercial matters (such as insolvency and bankruptcy, intra-corporate, and inter-corporate disputes).

Who decides the facts in a commercial case? Is it a judge or a jury?

A judge decides them.

Generally speaking, how many pages are the complaints or initial pleadings you see in your work?

The number of pages of complaints or initial pleadings depends on the complexity of the case, but in general, they are usually 30 to 50 pages. For court filings consultation, you can read more at this site.

Generally speaking, how long does it take for a case to go from complaint to judgment?

As far as the national jurisdiction is concerned, and focusing on civil and commercial disputes, it tends to be approximately five years for a first instance judgment, and then some more months for the appeals. This is an approximation, since it depends on the complexity of the matter and the judicial office in charge.

Does Argentina have Amparo actions, as in Peru or Mexico?

Argentina has amparo actions, thanks to the jurisprudential creation of the Supreme Court, in two precedents from the 1950s, called "Siri" and "Kot", adopted by the national and local courts of the country.

In 1966, Law N° 16.986 established the guidelines for the application of amparo actions. However, it was with the reform of the National Constitution that took place in 1994 that they gained greater recognition and enforcement, by introducing Article 43.

Amparos are regulated by the procedural codes of each local state (or "province"), but in general, proceedings imply much shorter deadlines for the filing of pleadings and for the issuance of a judgment, which may accept or reject the claim.

Generally speaking, how is evidence exchanged between the parties before trial?

There is no pre-trial exchange of evidence between the parties; at most, certain evidence that for some reason must be produced early is produced through early evidentiary proceedings.

Do you get to interview the opposing witnesses before the trial?

Generally, witnesses cannot be interviewed before the start of the trial, except for special cases, such as danger to the mental or physical integrity of the witness (which we call "anticipated evidence").

If you win, does the other side reimburse your attorneys’ fees?

Yes, the fees fixed by the judge or the court must be paid by the losing party, as well as the other expenses of the trial.

Are Argentine courts open to the public? Can ordinary people watch a commercial trial?

Courts and files in general, except for the criminal courts, are open to the public.

Since commercial lawsuits (unless the file is reserved for some reason) are also publicly accessible and processed entirely electronically, and their content is accessible to lawyers who have registered with the respective judicial branch.

Do you believe that Argentine courts have a particular strength for resolving commercial disputes?

The wide range of matters resolved by the commercial courts, which has allowed them to establish jurisprudence on an enormous number of issues that has been later incorporated in the new legislation, could be considered a strength.

How about a weakness?

A weakness could be the lack of economic resources that affects the public agencies, including the courts. Another is that most of the proceedings are still entirely in writing, which generates extreme delays in the resolution of cases.

How often do you go to the courthouse?

Court visits have been reduced after the digitization process that occurred with the Covid 19 pandemic, concentrating most of the acts through electronic filing. Visits to the courts are now made only for some particular reason.

When you are there, do you need to wear a special robe or wig?

It is not necessary for visitors to wear any special clothing.

Litigation in Argentina