Zaffaroni warned of the consequences of the decree of Lijo and Mansilla in the Court: he spoke of "usurpation of functions" and warned of "null sentences"

Former Kirchnerist judge Raúl Eugenio Zaffaroni warned of the consequences that the appointments by decree of President Javier Milei of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation may have.

"The judges of the Court are going to sign together with people who are not constitutionally appointed, which constitutes usurpation of functions for those who are not appointed," he said on AM 750 .

The former judge explained that it is not an instantaneous crime, but that the day they stop exercising the usurped functions, the criminal statute of limitations begins.

"This has never happened. There has never been a constitutional government, and not even until 1955 with the de facto government, where a judge of the Supreme Court was not appointed in accordance with the Senate's agreement," he said.

He also warned that in the future, "sentences may be null and void or annulled."

Zaffaroni also expressed his doubts about whether the current members, Carlos Rozenkrantz, Ricardo Lorenzetti and Horacio Rosatti, will swear in Lijo and García-Mansilla because they would also be participating in a crime .

"It could mean null sentences at some point, it is the last straw for something that has been going on for a long time, not just now, I do not only hold Milei responsible for this, it did not occur to anyone to rationalize the structure of the judiciary," he said.

The former magistrate also recalled that Mauricio Macri had used the same tool in 2016 to anoint Rosatti and Rosenkrantz, but finally the judges assumed office with the endorsement of two thirds of the Senate, which this time the Government did not obtain for the candidates it promoted.

"The two that Macri wanted to appoint by decree did not take office because, according to reports, the Court itself told the government: 'Don't get us into trouble, you're not going to get us into trouble like that.' Well, if you're signing a sentence with someone who says they're a judge and usurps the function, you're participating in an act of usurpation of functions," Zaffaroni insisted.

The position of the three current members of the top committee is still unknown. They will have to administer the oath to the two members appointed by the Executive.