12
2.
Mendoza Province
49.
The Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal Procedure, Law 6730 of November 16, 1999,
which was in force at the time of the events in this case, regulates the cassation motions, constitutionality
challenges, complaint motion and appeal seeking review in articles 449 to 505. The pertinent provisions
appear below.
50.
Article 455 applies to four types of remedy and prescribes the conditions under which any
one of them is to be filed:
Remedies shall be filed within the prescribed time period and in the prescribed manner and shall
specify the points of the decision that are being challenged; failure to observe these conditions
shall render the remedy inadmissible.
51.
As for the cassation motion, Article 474 of the Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal
Procedure establishes the grounds for filing such a remedy as follows:
The cassation motion may be filed for the following cause:
1) Nonobservance or misapplication of the substantive law.
2) Nonobservance of the provisions that this Code sets forth, on pain of inadmissibility, lapsing of
legal action or nullity, provided the petitioner –save in cases of absolute nullity- has demanded,
within the prescribed period of time, that the error be corrected, if correction is possible, or has
entered an objection for cassation.
52.
The procedure and formalities for filing the cassation motion are prescribed in Article 480
of the Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal Procedure as follows:
The cassation motion shall be filed with the court that delivered the ruling, within fifteen days of
notification. It shall be in writing and signed by a barrister and shall cite the specific provisions of
the law deemed to have been violated or misapplied. It shall also state how the petitioner would
have the law applied.
Each cause and its grounds shall be indicated separately.
After this filing, no other cause may be alleged.
The petitioner shall indicate whether he/she shall make an oral presentation.
53.
If the cassation court grants relief, Article 485 of the Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal
Procedures describes what the consequences will be, as follows:
If the ruling being challenged has violated or misapplied the substantive law, the Court of Cassation
shall void said ruling and then decide the case in accordance with the applicable law and
precedents; however, it shall proceed in accordance with the following article, even ex officio,
whenever subparagraph 3 of Article 411 has not been observed.
54.
Article 486 of the Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal Procedure states the following:
In the case of Article 474, subparagraph 2, the Court shall nullify the ruling being challenged and
shall proceed in accordance with articles 203 and 204.
55.
For its part, Article 487 of the Mendoza Provincial Code of Criminal Procedure provides
that:
Errors of law in the legal reasoning applied to the facts of the ruling being challenged that have not
influenced the court’s ruling shall not have the effect of nullifying it but must be corrected.
The same can be said of any material errors in the determination or computation of sentence.