The Professional Judge in Jury Trials

Instructions as Verdict Justification

Authors

Keywords:

jury trial, instructions, reasoning for the verdict, constitutional guarantees, Jujuy

Abstract

The implementation of jury trials in Argentina is grounded in the dual purpose of promoting citizen participation and improving the administration of justice, thereby contributing to strengthening public confidence in the Judiciary. Within this framework, the role of the professional judge as director of the proceedings is essential. This article examines the significance of the judge’s instructions to the jury as a mechanism for providing sufficient reasoning for the verdict, as recognized by the Supreme Court in the Canales precedent, where it held that the grounds of the decision may be reconstructed from the evidence presented, the parties’ arguments, and the directives given for deliberation.

Author Biographies

  • Ignacio Gallo, National University of the West

    Lawyer (Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina – UCA). Secretary of the Court of Guarantees No. 3 of Moreno–General Rodríguez and Ph.D. Candidate in Legal Sciences (UCA). Holder of diplomas in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and Human Rights. University professor and lecturer at police training institutes in the areas of gender, criminal law, and criminal investigation.

  • Jonatan Lay, National University of the West

    Lawyer (University of Morón). Prosecutor in the Judicial Department of Moreno–General Rodríguez, specialized in gender-based violence and complex crimes. Holder of diplomas in various branches of law, university professor, and researcher on access to justice and the challenges democracy faces in relation to digital platforms.

Downloads

Published

2025-09-08

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 3 (2025)

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Ignacio Gallo, Jonatan Lay (Autor/a)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Esta licencia permite a los usuarios distribuir, reorganizar, adaptar y elaborar a partir del material en cualquier medio o formato únicamente para fines no comerciales, y siempre que se dé crédito al creador (CC BY-NC). Para más información, se sugiere visitar este enlace: Creative Commons Licenses.