The draft amendment to the rules concerning the National Tax Court, which is being studied by the Commission that meets within the scope of the Undersecretariat of Public Revenue, created by resolution 28/2002 of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, would provide: the unification of customs and tax jurisdiction and integration, in part, by accountants, as if these professionals could act in defense in customs processesThis initiative manifests a clear contradiction with the meaning of "due administration of justice."
First of all, it is worth highlighting that the “due administration of justice"It lies not only in the person who holds the jurisdictional power to judge, issuing the relevant rulings, but also in the person who, with the clear capacity and suitability in assisting his or her client, has the duty to guarantee the best defense for a citizen.
Therefore, it is reasonable to require a law degree to be appointed as a member of the Honorable Tax Court of the Nation; obviously because this body adopts decisions of real importance in the field of customs matters, which respond to operational and tax issues such as the type of criminal offense, dealing with judicial and legal points.
Since its creation, the National Tax Court has served to judge customs matters, in addition to tax matters, and in the field of customs issues, with its rulings it has always been able to expose a recognized task of the administration of justice with indisputable specialty in these matters.
The guarantee of defense in court that is proclaimed in Article 18 of the National Constitution, as well as the Pact of San José de Costa Rica, are also applicable to proceedings before the National Tax Court. It should not be forgotten that here, matters related to customs criminal infractions are judged, and the Criminal Procedure Code itself is supplementary. This requires that all administration of justice by the members that make up the chambers of this body must safeguard the faithful compliance with the principles of criminal matters of constitutional essence in their proceedings. Consequently, whoever has the power to exercise judgment as well as that of exercising defense, must align himself with the requirement of being a lawyer.
To deviate from this preaching is also to ignore those principles of justice that have their source in the National Constitution itself and thereby endanger the due sense of administration of justice. Especially when no one can ignore the background of the due action of this Court, which although it does not belong to the structure of the Judicial Branch of the Nation, is undoubtedly an example in the due study, development, considerations and foundation of its rulings, always aligned with specialization in the matter. As was pointed out, due to the special expertise in legal and judicial matters, the Tax Court of the Nation must be composed of lawyers.
Otherwise, the relevant powers entrusted to the Honorable Court, which is none other than the proper administration of justice in the area of its specialty, would deviate from the essential premise of due process imposed by the National Constitution, the duty to protect.
Dr. Guillermo Felipe Coronel
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
