Ley de Obediencia Debida
Ley de Obediencia Debida (Spanish,
Law of Due Obedience) was a law passed by the
National Congress of
Argentina after the end of the military dictatorship of the
Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (which started with a
coup d'état in 1976 and ended in 1983). Formally, this law is referred to by number (Law No. 23521), like all others in Argentine legislation, but
Ley de Obediencia Debida is the only designation in common use, even in official speeches.
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March of the Memorial Day, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the coup d'etat and the disappeared. |
The law was passed on
1987-06-04. It dictates that it must be assumed, without admitting proof to the contrary, that all officers and their subordinates including common personnel of the Armed Forces, the Police, the Penitentiary Service and other security agencies cannot be legally punished by crimes committed during the dictatorship as they were acting out of
due obedience, that is, obeying orders from their superiors (in this case, the heads of the military government, who had already been tried in the
Trial of the Juntas).
This law was passed one year after the
Ley de Punto Final in order to contain the discontent of the Armed Forces. It effectively exempted military personnel under the rank of
Colonel from responsibility for their crimes, which included
forced disappearances, illegal detentions,
torture and
murders. Its text is rather short, with only 7 articles, the second of which contains an exception (the law does not apply to cases of rape, disappearance or identity forgery of minors, or extensive appropriation of real estate).
The
Ley de Obediencia Debida and the
Ley de Punto Final were repealed by the
National Congress in August 2003, which allowed for the re-opening of cases that involved
crimes against humanity.
*
Juicio a las Juntas*
Ley de Punto Final*
Carapintadas
*
Law 23521 - Full text of the
Ley de Obediencia Debida.
*
Ley de Obediencia Debida in the
:Spanish Wikipedia.
