Argentina
Criminal investigations in Argentina
In the federal accusatory system the prosecutor directs the investigation and the police are auxiliaries; the provinces follow their own procedural codes.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
At the federal level, Argentina has moved from an inquisitorial to an accusatory criminal process. Under the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (originally Law 27.063, reformed and renamed by Law 27.482, in force from 2019 and rolled out in phases across the federal jurisdictions), the prosecution directs the criminal investigation and the police act as its auxiliaries — replacing the older model in which an investigating judge led. In the provinces, the direction of investigations follows each province's own procedural code.
The same idea, explained generally
- What is a criminal investigation?
A criminal investigation is a legally authorised process for establishing whether an offence occurred and gathering evidence that can be tested in court. This guide explains its structure, safeguards, and known failure modes.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (CPPF) — accusatory system (Law 27.482)
Ministerio Público Fiscal / InfoLEG (Argentina) · Legislation · 2019-01-07 · link verified 2026-07-27
The Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (originally Law 27.063, reformed and renamed by Law 27.482, published in the Official Gazette on 7 January 2019), confirmed in two independent passes via the Public Prosecution Service and InfoLEG. Supports that the federal criminal process moved from an inquisitorial to an accusatory/adversarial system in which the Public Prosecution Service (Ministerio Público Fiscal) directs the criminal investigation, with the police acting as auxiliaries; and that the system is being implemented in phases across the federal jurisdictions.