Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, the judiciary is perceived by households as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country. Among the Latin American countries included in the Latinobarómetro 2008 (see English version) public opinion survey, Argentina is the country where the largest percentage of respondents believe that it is possible to get a favourable sentence by bribing a judge. According to the US Department of State 2010, provincial courts and federal courts at the provincial levels are alleged to be more prone to corruption compared to federal courts at the city levels and the federal court over the province of Buenos Aires. The report further notes that the judiciary is rendered inefficient due to changes of judges, inadequate administrative support, procedural logjams and delays. Investigations are carried out in broad discretion which has led households to perceive judicial decisions as being arbitrary. The judiciary is also described as ineffective in fighting corruption due to the high level of political interference. Furthermore, Global Integrity 2010 assesses the accountability of the judiciary in Argentina as being 'weak'.

Business Corruption

The protection of free competition and property rights is impeded by corruption within the judiciary and by political pressure on judges. According to the US Department of State 2011, despite of the availability of local investment dispute adjudication through local courts or administrative procedures, many investors prefer private or international arbitration.

According to the World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2011, enforcing contracts through Argentinean courts is cumbersome, time-consuming and costly when compared to the average for OECD countries. Companies should note that lengthy and complicated bureaucratic procedures are widely regarded as fuelling the use of bribes, although there is little evidence of companies' experiences in this regard in the judiciary in Argentina.

Political Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2007, in August 2007, the Council of the Magistracy suspended Judge Guillermo Tiscornia, and initiated a trial against him. The main accusation was that Tiscornia's father requested a bribe of USD 4 million from the Spanish company CODERE, so that his son would not convict the directors of the company. The day before his suspension, in an attempt to avoid his dismissal, Tiscornia accused the Minister of Defence Nilda Garré of smuggling spare rifle parts into the United States. The investigation of Garré, however, was cancelled within a week.

According to Freedom House 2010, although former President Néstor Kirchner initiated several measures to deal with allegations of politicisation and corruption within the judiciary, such as the appointment of magistrates based on professional qualifications, incompetent and corrupt judges still remain a serious problem. The Bertelsmann Foundation 2010 reports that the judicial reform measures implemented under Kirchner are, however, a positive step towards increased transparency and neutrality within the judiciary.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- Enforcing a commercial contract in Argentina requires a company to go through an average of 36 administrative procedures, taking an average of 590 days and costing an average of 16.5% of the claim.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the independence of the judiciary from the influence of members of government, citizens, or companies a score of 2.6 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'heavily influenced' and 7 'entirely independent').

- Business executives give the efficiency of the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and to challenge the legality of government actions and/or regulations a score of 2.6 and 2.3 respectively on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'highly efficient').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- Citizens give the judiciary a score of 3.7 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

- 29% of households surveyed consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- 7.2% of households who had contact with the judiciary in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

Latinobarómetro: Annual Report 2008 (see English version):
- 54% of the respondents in this public opinion survey believe that it is possible to bribe a judge in order to get a favourable sentence - the highest percentage of all 18 Latin American countries included in the survey.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Business executives give the judiciary a score of 3.7 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2006:
- Less than 16% of companies operating in Argentina perceive the judiciary as fair, impartial and uncorrupted.