The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation upheld the repeal of the Rural Land Law enacted by the national Government through article 154 of DNU 70/2023, by rejecting a lawsuit filed by the Center of Ex-Combatants of the Malvinas Islands (CECIM) of La Plata.
The highest court granted the appeal presented by the National State, overturned the ruling of the Federal Court of La Plata, and dismissed the lawsuit, considering that the association did not have standing to initiate the legal action.
The resolution was signed by judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti, who focused their analysis on a strictly procedural and constitutional issue: the absence of a specific case or controversy that would warrant the intervention of the Justice system.
The Court set a limit on judicial encroachment on decisions of other powers
The CECIM's argument sought to declare unconstitutional the repeal of Law 26.737, which established restrictions on the ownership and possession of rural land by foreigners.
The Federal Court of La Plata had accepted the argument and declared the unconstitutionality of article 154 of DNU 70/2023. However, the Supreme Court considered that the association could not judicially represent an alleged general harm to territorial sovereignty.
The judges emphasized that, although the Constitution allows for certain collective actions, the existence of a concrete harm and a real judicial controversy remains essential. In this regard, they pointed out that courts cannot become venues for conducting abstract reviews of norms that are not linked to a specific case.
The Court questioned the use of judicial processes without a concrete controversy
One of the central points of the ruling was the interpretation of territorial sovereignty. The Court maintained that it is a competence of the State, and therefore cannot be considered a “collective good” in the terms used to enable a collective action.
