Ricardo Gil Lavedra
Encyclopedia
Life and times
Ricardo Rodolfo Gil Lavedra was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1949. He enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
Law School, and earned a juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1972. He was named Secretary to the Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires in 1973, and judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
in the provincial Court of First Instance in 1974. He served as Solicitor General for the Argentine Supreme Court between 1976 and 1978, and was hired as Vice President of Legal Affairs for the Pérez Companc Group
Gregorio Pérez Companc
Gregorio Perez Companc also known as "Don Gregorio" or "Goyo," is Argentina's wealthiest individual, with an estimated net worth of US$1.4 billion dollars in 2011.- Background :He was born Jorge Gregorio Bazán in Buenos Aires, in 1934...
in 1979.
Gil Lavedra was appointed to the National Criminal Court of Appeals in 1984, and in this capacity, he served in the panel of judges overseeing the historic 1985 Trial of the Juntas, presiding over the trial in its early phase. His cross-examination
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
of both witnesses and defendants reportedly focused on exploring the extent of criminal organizations that existed among the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
perpetrators.
He was appointed Assistant Minister of Interior (akin to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
) by President Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
in 1988, and from 1987 to 1995, served as Vice President of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Committee Against Torture.
Following a term as Vice President of the Crime Prevention Institute of the Province of Buenos Aires, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Human Rights by President Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10, 1999 to December 21, 2001 for the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education ....
upon the latter's inaugural in December 1999. Subsequent revelations that the administration had bribed a number of UCR senators for their support of a stalled labor law flexibilization bill in April 2000 led to Gil Lavedra's resignation (as well as that of Vice President Carlos Álvarez and three other cabinet members) in October. President de la Rúa himself resigned a year later.
Gil Lavedra served as an Associate Judge in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
between 2001 and 2003, and in the Argentine Supreme Court, between 2002 and 2005. He wrote numerous articles on constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
and legal theory beginning in 1977, including An Overview of Constitutional Amendments in Latin America in 2002. He also served as legal advisor for the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
, and is a member of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights
Permanent Assembly for Human Rights
The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights is an Argentine non-governmental human rights organization; founded in 1975.- History :...
and other Argentine jurisprudence associations.
He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Argentine Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
on the center-left UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
ticket in 2003
Argentine general election, 2003
Argentina held presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 27, 2003. Turnout was 78.2% and the results were as follows:-Argentine Congress:-Background:...
, and in 2009
Argentine legislative election, 2009
Legislative elections were held in Argentina for half the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the seats in the Senate on 28 June 2009, as well as for the legislature of the City of Buenos Aires and other municipalities.-Background:...
, was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
as a UCR member of the Social and Civic Agreement. He endorsed fellow UCR Congressman Ricardo Alfonsín
Ricardo Alfonsín
Ricardo Alfonsín is an Argentine lawyer, academic and politician prominent in the Radical Civic Union. His father, Raúl Alfonsín, was the President of Argentina from 1983 to 1989.-Life and times:...
upon the latter's August 2010 announcement of a presidential bid in 2011
Argentine general election, 2011
Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on 23 October 2011. Incumbent president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner secured a second term in office after the Front for Victory won just over half of the seats in the National Congress....
.
His son, filmmaker Nicolás Gil Lavedra, announced the production in 2011 of Estela, a biographical film on the life of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation with the aim of finding the babies stolen during the era of the Argentine dictatorship known as the "Dirty War" . Its president is Estela Barnes de Carlotto....
leader Estela Barnes de Carlotto
Estela Barnes de Carlotto
Enriqueta Estela Barnes de Carlotto is an Argentine human rights activist and leader of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.-Early life and family tragedy:...
(whose testimony the elder Gil Lavedra took as part of the Trial of the Juntas in 1985).