Argentina
Prosecution in Argentina
A constitutionally autonomous "fourth-branch" federal prosecution (the Ministerio Público Fiscal) that directs the investigation, alongside a prosecution in every province.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
At the federal level, prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecution Service (Ministerio Público Fiscal), part of the broader Public Ministry that the Constitution defines as "an independent organ with functional autonomy and financial self-governance" (Article 120) — a body outside the three classic branches, neither part of the judiciary nor under the executive. It is headed by the Procurator-General of the Nation. Each province, in turn, has its own Public Ministry.
The same idea, explained generally
- What does a prosecutor do?
A prosecutor decides whether a criminal case should be brought, on what charges, and presents it in court. This guide explains the tests applied, the duties owed, and how the role differs between systems.
- Why do justice systems need oversight?
Justice institutions hold coercive powers, often operate out of public view, and make decisions that are hard to reverse. This guide explains the oversight mechanisms built to detect and correct errors, and their limits.
Sources
Sources
Constitution of the Argentine Nation (1853, reformed 1994)
Political Database of the Americas (Georgetown University) — official constitutional text · Legislation · 1853 · link verified 2026-07-27
The Constitution of the Argentine Nation (1853, comprehensively reformed 1994), confirmed verbatim in two independent passes. Supports Art. 5 (each province shall enact its own constitution and guarantee its own administration of justice); Art. 75 inc. 12 (Congress enacts the national codes — Civil, Commercial, Criminal, etc. — "without such codes altering the local jurisdictions", their application corresponding to the federal or provincial courts by subject-matter); Art. 108 (the judicial power of the Nation is exercised by a Supreme Court of Justice and inferior tribunals); Art. 110 (life tenure during good behaviour and irreducible compensation — judicial independence); Art. 114 (the Council of the Magistracy selects judges and administers the judiciary); Art. 120 (the Public Ministry is an independent organ with functional autonomy and financial self-governance — a fourth, extra-branch body); Art. 121 (the provinces keep all power not delegated to the federal Government — the reserved-powers clause); and Art. 86 (the Ombudsman, Defensor del Pueblo). Establishes the federation, the national codes applied by provincial courts, the autonomous Public Ministry, and the reserved-powers rule.
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.