The Government's arguments to defend the decrees to appoint Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla to the Court

Through a statement issued on the social media account of the Office of the President , Javier Milei reviewed the steps taken by the Government for the nominations of Manuel García-Mansilla and Ariel Lijo to join the Supreme Court of Justice and emphasized that the Senate "chose to remain silent" in the face of its duty to accept or reject the candidates proposed by the Executive Branch. That was one of the arguments for determining that the new judges will be appointed by decree and on commission .

In the same vein, the Government stressed the demand that the Senate deal with the petitions in ordinary sessions, something that the Chamber presided by Victoria Villarruel failed to do in extraordinary sessions, despite having the point on its agenda.

The text begins by stating that "on March 20, 2024, the President of the Nation communicated his decision to nominate doctors Manuel García-Mansilla and Ariel Lijo, and to send their applications to the Senate of the Nation for their corresponding agreement as ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation."

Then, it continues, on April 15 of the same year, the Executive Branch "published the preselection of these candidates in the Official Gazette, giving wide dissemination to their curriculum vitae." The statement adds that "in the same vein, administrative proceedings were initiated to initiate the consultation and citizen participation procedures corresponding to each of the candidates."

"Having complied with all procedural requirements, on May 27 of last year this administration sent the corresponding messages to the Senate to request the agreement of both candidates," says the statement published this Tuesday at 5:16 p.m. through the social network X.

The public letter then recalled that both candidates appeared at their corresponding hearings on August 21 and 28, 2024, a process after which "both candidates were in legal conditions to obtain an opinion and for their applications to be submitted for consideration by the Senate of the Nation."

The text then highlights the lack of responses from the Senate, which has not addressed either of the two requests so far, so the issue was included as a topic for the extraordinary sessions of Congress.

"As the President of the Nation did not deal with the documents submitted by the National Executive Branch during the regular period, he decided to include the issue in the agenda of the extraordinary sessions of the Honorable Congress of the Nation, giving the Senate a new opportunity to give its approval to the candidates nominated by the President."

Almost a year after the start of the process, the statement emphasised the Upper House's preference for silence.

"From May 27, 2024 until last Friday, almost a year having passed since the moment in which the President, exercising his power, decided to nominate both candidates, the Upper House should have given its approval to the candidates proposed by the Executive Branch. However, it chose to remain silent, despite the fact that all the current regulatory requirements were met and the suitability of the candidates for the position was demonstrated."

He stressed: "It is essential to remember that the National Constitution, in its article 99, paragraph 4, establishes the appointment of Supreme Court judges as the exclusive responsibility of the President."

The message concludes by stating that "the Senate of the Nation must express agreement or reject the presidential proposals, without in any case being able to propose candidates, for which it must carry out an objective analysis based on the suitability of the candidates and not on merely political interests."

City of Buenos Aires, February 25, 2025.- On March 20, 2024, the President of the Nation announced his decision to nominate doctors Manuel García-Mansilla and Ariel Lijo, and to send their applications to the Senate of the Nation for their corresponding agreement as ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

Subsequently, on April 15 of the same year, the Executive Branch published the preselection of these candidates in the Official Gazette, giving wide dissemination to their curriculum vitae. Along the same lines, the administrative proceedings were initiated to initiate the consultation and citizen participation procedures corresponding to each of the candidates.

Having complied with all procedural requirements, on May 27 of last year this administration sent the corresponding messages to the Senate to request the agreement of both candidates.

Following the hearings of Dr. Lijo on August 21 and Dr. García-Mansilla on August 28, both candidates were in a legal position to obtain an opinion and have their applications submitted for consideration by the Senate of the Nation.

Since the documents submitted by the National Executive Branch had not been dealt with during the regular period, the President of the Nation opted to include the issue within the agenda of the extraordinary sessions of the Honorable Congress of the Nation, giving the Senate a new opportunity to give its approval to the candidates nominated by the President.

From May 27, 2024 until last Friday, almost a year having passed since the moment in which the President, making use of his power, decided to nominate both candidates, the Upper House should have given its approval to the candidates proposed by the Executive Branch.

However, he chose to remain silent, despite the fact that all the current regulatory requirements were met and the suitability of the candidates for the position was demonstrated.

It is essential to remember that the National Constitution, in its article 99, paragraph 4, establishes the appointment of Supreme Court judges as the exclusive responsibility of the President. The Senate of the Nation must express agreement or reject the presidential proposals, without in any case being able to propose candidates, for which it must carry out an objective analysis based on the suitability of the candidates and not on merely political interests.

In no case does the Senate have the power to reject the agreement of the candidates proposed by the President based on personal or political preferences of the senators. In fact, the politicization of Justice is one of the main reasons why Argentines do not have a Justice service that resolves their problems.

The Constitution clearly establishes that it is the President, and no one else, who has the power to select candidates to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court, with the Senate limiting itself to giving its approval or rejecting them based on an objective analysis of the candidates' technical suitability.

The Office of the President recalls that a notable majority of the political spectrum supported both Néstor Kirchner and Mauricio Macri in the early appointment of judges to the Supreme Court during their mandates. However, for months, they have evaded respecting the decision of this Government, even though the lack of a pronouncement implies serious damage to the functioning of one of the three powers of the Republic.

In this context, it is worth noting that the National Constitution empowers the President to fill job vacancies that require the approval of the Senate and that occur during his recess, through commission appointments that will expire at the end of the next legislative term.

This power, present in the constitutional text since its origin in 1853, has been exercised throughout 171 years of history by various presidents from across the political spectrum, including Urquiza, Mitre, Sarmiento, Avellaneda, Pellegrini, Roca, Yrigoyen, Perón, Alfonsín, Menem and Macri, among others, and has been ratified on repeated occasions by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation itself.

For this reason, the President has decided to appoint on commission Drs. Manuel García-Mansilla and Ariel Lijo as judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, until the end of the next legislative period, with the aim of normalizing the functioning of the highest judicial court of our country, which cannot carry out its role normally with only three ministers.

During the aforementioned period, this administration will continue with the legislative process so that the Upper House exercises its powers and provides the corresponding agreements to the specifications.

The National Government does not and will not tolerate political interests being imposed over those of the Argentine people, under any circumstances.

Office of the President of the Argentine Republic