Manuel García-Mansilla was appointed by Milei by decree, but nomination was rejected by the Senate
Judge Manuel García-Mansilla resigned in the Argentine Supreme Court on Monday (7.ab.2025) after the Senate rejected his appointment. O -President Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza, right) placed Mansilla and Ariel Lijo in court by decree on February 25. The standard rite for nominations states that the name must be first approved by the High House before the nominee assumes the position.
The Senate, even if Mansilla was already in office, disapproved on Thursday (3.br.2025) the appointment by 51 votes to 20, while 43 opposed Lijo’s appointment. Another 27 senators were favorable.
In a letter to the Argentine president, Mansilla stated that he renounced “Facilitate the process” and ensure that vacancies in the Supreme Court are “Filled once and for all” in due shape. This is the message (PDF – 559 KB, in Spanish).
“I accepted this appointment with the conviction that the lack of members in the Supreme Court was a serious institutional problem that required an urgent solution […] Based on the same conviction that I accepted the commissioned appointment with which they honored me […] I must do everything within my reach to facilitate the process [no Senado]“said the judge.
The Argentine President indicated Mansilla and Lijo in May 2024, but the Senate did not vote the nominations for lack of political consensus. When Milei signed Decree number 137/25, which appointed the 2 magistrates, the president justified the decision for “silence” of the Senate to evaluate the indications.
At the time, the Argentine leader indicated that he needed to fill the vacancies of the Supreme Court, as there were only 3 judges acting.
“Although I would like to stay longer and in other circumstances, my stay in office will not facilitate the integration of the Supreme Court, but quite the contrary: it will be another excuse to distract the attention of those who have to give an urgent solution to a longtime problem.”said Mansilla in the letter when talking about vacancies in court.
Milei did not speak directly about Mansilla’s departure, but the presidency’s office repudiated the Senate vote on April 3 and said the Legislative House “Does not act in favor of the people”.
“After postponing the vote for months, they [senadores] They chose to prioritize their legal concerns and those of their leaders, to the detriment of the functioning of one of the three powers. […] It is evident that the politicization of justice represents a threat to democracy. While the political class prioritizes criminal justice to the detriment of the normalization of the judicial system, the right to justice will remain limited in Argentina ”Milei’s office in an X (former Twitter) publication.
