Argentina’s government has confirmed it will seek to lower the age of criminal responsibility during special sessions of Congress next month.
Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni said in a post on social media that a bill outlining changes to the ‘Juvenile Criminal Regime’ would be included on the agenda.
The initiative was formally incorporated through a decree issued on Tuesday, signed by President Javier Milei and Adorni.
Confirmation of the legal push came after Adorni chaired a Cabinet meeting on Monday at the Casa Rosada to finalise the legislative agenda for the extraordinary sessions, which President Milei is expected to convene from February.
Those in attendance included Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, Interior Minister Diego Santilli, Lower House Speaker Martín Menem, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, presidential adviser Santiago Caputo and Senator Patricia Bullrich, who leads the ruling party caucus in the upper house.
“Early meeting at the Casa Rosada. The ‘Juvenile Criminal Law’ will also be on the agenda of the extraordinary sessions,” Adorni confirmed in an online post.
The government aims to move forward with a reduction in the age of criminal responsibility to 14 through amendments to an existing bill.
During a visit to Mar del Plata this week, Milei declared: “In Argentina, those who commit crimes pay for them; adult crime, adult sentence.”
Last week, Bullrich argued that a new Criminal Code and the ‘juvenile criminal regime’ would “put an end to the madness.”
Those who “choose to commit crimes will pay the consequences. Enough with going scot-free because you’re a minor,” she wrote on social media.
Bullrich has long pushed for a “zero tolerance” approach to crime that makes no distinction based on the age of the perpetrator and prioritises “the protection of victims over criminals’ rights.”
Adult crime, adult sentence
The decree outlining the bill is brief but forceful. Article 1 states: “The agenda to be considered by the Honourable National Congress during the period of Extraordinary Sessions convened as from February 2, 2026, is hereby expanded to include consideration of the Bills related to the Juvenile Criminal Justice Regime.”
The bill submitted by the Executive Branch, strongly promoted by the Security Ministry and Justice Ministry, seeks to reform the current system in force since the 1976-1983 military dictatorship by lowering the age of criminal responsibility, which currently stands at 16.
The initiative was approved in May by a joint plenary session of the Criminal Legislation; Family, Children and Youth; Justice; and Budget and Finance committees of the Chamber of Deputies, leaving only a floor debate pending.
Under the proposal, criminal responsibility – defined as the application of criminal sanctions to adolescents who commit offences – would be extended to those aged 14. At present, individuals are only punishable from the age of 16 under a special regime.
The bill stipulates that minors must serve sentences in facilities exclusively for juveniles, without contact with adult prisoners.
It also establishes that detainees must be separated within juvenile prisons according to their personality, personal characteristics and health conditions, age, cultural and educational identit, and whether the deprivation of liberty is precautionary or punitive.
Ruling party lawmaker Karen Reichardt was among those welcoming the move on social media, arguing the reform “has been postponed for far too long in Argentina.”
“This is not about political ideologies, it is about common sense. We want people who commit crimes, whatever their age, to pay for them. That is what we have wanted for many years,” said the La Libertad Avanza deputy in a video published online.
Reichardt accompanied the video with a written post stating that an “adult crime” should carry an “adult sentence.”
“There are minors in Argentina who kill, who rob while armed, and within a few hours they are back on the streets as if nothing had happened,” Reichardt claimed. “I am going to support this bill to put an end to impunity, to set a clear limit, and to ensure that anyone who chooses to go out and commit crimes takes responsibility.”
La Libertad Avanza officials had initially planned to debate the bill during ordinary sessions of Congress, which begin on Wednesday. However, the recent murder of a 15-year-old, captured on camera, has reignited the debate and prompted the government to fast-track the reform.
– TIMES/PERFIL/NA
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