Argentina President Milei Likely to Delay Signing Judge Michelli's Appointment

Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques said President Javier Milei may withhold his signature on the decree appointing María Verónica Michelli as a magistrate of the yet‑to‑be‑established Federal Criminal Oral Court No. 3 in La Plata. He noted that the Senate authorised the appointment but did not obligate the President, stressing that the executive has a constitutional power to veto candidates – a practice used by previous presidents. Mahiques denied that the attempt to withdraw the nomination was motivated by Michelli’s relationship with a journalist and recalled that a similar pliego was removed during Alberto Fernández’s term. He framed the recent approval of 74 judicial candidates as a “debt” to the justice system amid a 37 % vacancy rate, describing it as an unprecedented institutional crisis. He also explained that the new court’s physical infrastructure – locating a building, furnishing and equipping it – must still be arranged, which further postpones the judge’s assumption of duties. The decree will be signed “when the appropriate moment to guarantee the service of justice arises.”