By Jim Hart
On Sunday afternoon the National Library of Argentina hosted the opening session of the IALL Conference in the Luis Vargas Auditorium. Jeroen Vervliet, the IALL President, presided over the program that featured Horacio Gonzales, the Library Director, Elisa Barber, the Associate Director, and Professor Lucas Grossman of the University of San Andreas Law Faculty. Dr. Gonzales gave an interesting description of the founding of the Library by Mariano Moreno. Next, Ms. Barber spoke of the importance of the work we do and her pleasure at hosting our conference.
Professor Grossman gave us a scholarly overview of the Argentine legal system, which is a combination of civil and common law systems. Although the Argentine Constitution is modeled on the American one, procedural law is promulgated by the states. The federal government consists of a strong president, a Congress with a House of Representatives and a Senate, and a judiciary with some independence.
This was followed by a tour of some of the Library’s most prized rare books and the Library’s reading rooms and a delightful reception.
The day was topped off by a tour of the lights of Buenos Aires and a good night’s sleep.
DipLawMatic Dialogues 
Hello friends! Here are a few more interesting notes from the opening lecutre:
– The Argentine Constitution (1853) is modeled after the US Constitution. In fact, many clauses were a translation, including the Bill of Rights. The original constitution has been reformed a few times, most recently in 1994.
– Constitutuion Art. 2 states that the government endorses the Catholic Apostolic faith BUT allows freedom of religion. Argentina was conceived as a Catholic nation because the founders thought it was important to attract Catholic immigrants from Northern Europe in order to prosper.
– The 1994 reforms elevated the international human rights treaties to the level of the constitution — the hightes status possible.
– Argentina’s Civil Code is undergoing reform as we speak.
LikeLike