A few days before the inauguration of the government presided over by Javier Milei, the discussion on the budget allocations of the State occupies a large part of the agenda. The President-elect of the Nation has already anticipated that there are agencies that will be privatized, that the cut in public spending is under absolute review. This debate will be transferred to Congress, which will modify its composition on December 10 and where the Budget Bill for 2024 has been for months. With year-on-year inflation of more than 130%, the Judiciary projected an allocation of more than 652 billion pesos "to guarantee the functioning of justice": 94.7% is destined to the payment of salaries.
The judges' economic request intersects with Javier Milei's promise to grant total economic autonomy to the Judiciary, which of course cannot be fulfilled in the next budget year, but which would be tarnished if any unilateral cut in the magistrates' claim were attempted.
The Judicial Branch gave priority to goods and services, in order to "achieve a real assessment of the needs according to the essential functions of this branch of the State," according to the bill signed by Horacio Rosatti in his capacity as president of the Supreme Court.
With year-on-year inflation exceeding 150%, the Justice Department is requesting a budget for next year of 652,264,898,345 pesos. Compared to 441,648,406,370 pesos that were required for the current cycle, this is an "increase" of only 68%.
How much of this budget is allocated to the payment of salaries? 94.7 per cent. The document sent to the Executive Branch and which was included in the bill that is already in Congress, details an item of 618,541,797,850 pesos for the item "personnel expenses."
It is made up of the total plant of the judicial structure, which demands 575 billion pesos. The total independence of the judges proclaimed by Milei and ratified before the Court this week by his nominated Minister of Justice, Mariano Cuneo Libarona, would prevent the chainsaw from passing through the staffs of the Judicial Branch
Empty armchairs
With 25% of positions vacant throughout the country, the Judicial Branch allocates 26,595,558,675 pesos in subrogations and substitutions.
As reported by Clarín, one of Cúneo Libarona's first objectives is to fill positions that lack a national and federal judges.
Faced with the delay of the competitions in the Council of the Magistracy, responsible for taking the exams, evaluating them, conducting the corresponding interviews and finally sending the shortlists to the Executive Branch, the elected Minister of Justice will ask that the internal regulations be reviewed to speed up the process.
It should be remembered that once the Executive Branch has the shortlists sent by the Council, it must send them to Congress so that they can go through the Evaluation Commission and finally be approved in the chamber.
Cuneo Libarona is also looking for positions thatare not yet vacant to be contested, so that when that place is vacant there will already be a judge in bankruptcy and can be appointed immediately.
These measures are aimed at improving what is known as the "administration of justice". When a court, or a position in a Court, such as in a Court of Review, is vacant, it is filled by the Surrogacy Act. The judge who accepts receives a 30% more salary, but the same thing happens as in the case of Comodoro Py, where a magistrate covers up to three courts, which makes it impossible for any progress in the investigations in a timely manner. Something that is replicated in the trial courts, thus delaying this instance that is the one that puts an end to a judicial process.
Overtime & New Charges
Another of the new government's priorities is the acceleration of trials, which depends on two key factors reflected in the budget: adequate number of staff in courts and tribunals to be able to resolve cases as quickly as possible, and an infrastructure compatible with those employees and their space and technology needs.
The budget also calculates for next year an item of 3,144 million pesos destined for the payment of overtime.
Another piece of information: for Courts to be "enabled created by Law", as stated in the budget sheet, there are estimates of 2,864 million pesos. On the other hand, 1,124 million pesos were calculated for the "Courts in the process of occupation".
A total of 24,477 people work in the National Judiciary, of which 23,414 are permanent staff. The 1,063 are temporary.
"In terms of human resources, the staffing level of the structure has been quantified, as well as the staff of the tribunals created and not yet authorized. In addition, the provision of the floor plan of those courts authorized with a lower number than that indicated in the corresponding creation laws has been contemplated," explains the project.
A figure that is not minor, is that of more than 3,100 million pesos for the creation of positions "that make up the Courts created by law in the process of occupation, the Judicial School, the Directorate of Computer Audit, the Interdisciplinary Forensic Corps, as well as the increase of the staff of various people."
Infrastructure deficit
The Judiciary has been facing a large infrastructure deficit for years and the draft 2024 Budget once again exposes it. 2,369 million pesos will be needed only to allocate to the rental of facilities in which various jurisdictions of justice operate.
There are few buildings belonging to the Judicial Branch: most of them are rented and sometimes do not respond to the needs of the assigned jurisdiction. The maintenance of buildings and premises, for which it is paid monthly, demands 1,763 million pesos. This is partly due to the age of many of the facilities.