The Full stop law, ''Ley de Punto Final'', was passed by the National Congress of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 1986, three years after the end of the military dictatorship of the

Proceso de Reorganización Nacional The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...

(1976 to 1983) and restoration of democracy. Formally, this law is referred to by number (Law No. 23492), like all others in Argentine legislation, but ''Ley de Punto Final'' is the designation in common use, even in official speeches.

History

It was passed after the government in 1985 had prosecuted men at the top of the military hierarchies in the

Trial of the Juntas The Trial of the Juntas ( es, Juicio a las Juntas) was the judicial trial of the members of the ''de facto'' military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (''el proceso''), which laste ...

for crimes committed during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

against political dissidents. Several officers were convicted and sentenced; the government's security and military forces had "

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

" and killed an estimated 15,000-30,000 people. The law mandated the end of investigation and prosecution of people accused of political violence during the dictatorship and up to the restoration of democratic rule on 10 December 1983. It was passed on 24 December 1986, after only a 3-week debate. Its text is very short; it has seven articles. Article No. 5 excepts from the application of the law the cases of identity forgery and

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

of minors. The Ley de Punto Final was extremely controversial in its time and afterward. Under pressure from the military, the law was proposed by the

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

administration of President

Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...

as a means to stop prosecution of additional suspects among military and security officers after General Jorge Videla, Admiral Emilio Massera, General Roberto Viola, Admiral Armando Lambruschini, and General Orlando Agosti had been prosecuted. Alfonsín was initially opposed to this law, but under threat of a ''coup d'état'', he accepted the legislation. In the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, 114 deputies voted for the law, 17 against, and two abstained; in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, 25 senators voted for, and 10 against. This law had a complement in the '' Law of Due Obedience'', passed in 1987, which exempted subordinates from prosecution when they were carrying out orders. Both laws were repealed by the National Congress in 2003.BBC News, 21 August 2003
"Argentina scraps amnesty laws"
The

Supreme Court of Justice A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled both laws were unconstitutional on 14 June 2005. The government re-opened prosecution of cases for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

. The first of such cases, against the former

Buenos Aires Provincial Police The Buenos Aires Provincial Police (Spanish: ''Policía de la Provincia de Buenos Aires'', informally ''Policía Bonaerense'') is the police service responsible for policing the Province of Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is one of the biggest pol ...

second-in-command

Miguel Etchecolatz Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz (1 May 1929 – 2 July 2022) was an Argentine police officer, who worked in the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the first years of the military dictatorship of the 1970s. Etchecolatz was deeply involved in the " ...

, ended in September 2006 with his conviction on several counts of kidnapping, torture and murder. In sentencing him to life imprisonment, the tribunal said that the dictatorship's

state terrorism State terrorism refers to acts of terrorism which a state conducts against another state or against its own citizens.Martin, 2006: p. 111. Definition There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper def ...

against political dissidents was a form of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

."Condenaron a Etchecolatz a reclusión perpetua"
("Etchecolatz sentenced to life imprisonment"), ''La Nación'', 19 September 2006 It was the first time in the Argentine trials that genocide had been applied to the assaults against the class of political dissidents.

References

{{Raúl Alfonsín Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín Repealed Argentine legislation Dirty War 1986 in Argentina 1986 in law

History

See also

References