The Administrative Divorce Debacle: A Humorous Take on Bureaucratic Madness
Ah, the drama of divorce! It’s almost as if it were scripted by some tragically comic playwright. Today, we find ourselves entertained—if that’s the right word—by none other than Ricardo Gil Lavedra, the president of the Public Bar Association of the Federal Capital. How exciting! He’s here to tell us what’s wrong with the executive branch’s recent bill on administrative divorces.
So, picture this: the government, in all its bureaucratic wisdom, decides to “modernize and simplify” divorce. Sounds like a parent trying to explain Netflix to their grandparents, doesn’t it? “It cannot be done at the expense of rights,” he cautions, reminiscent of a knight warning a damsel about the perils of (gasp) a microwave.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I heard “simplifying procedures”, the first thing I thought was—who’s simplifying what? Last time I checked, divorce was complicated enough without adding an administrative quagmire to it! After all, you can’t put many of the rights of the spouses at risk under the pretext of simplifying divorce! It’s a bit like trying to simplify a five-course meal by just serving the dessert and calling it a hit.
Gil Lavedra isn’t just acting on impulse here; he’s got his finger on the pulse of the law. He’s advocating for what every good lawyer would scream from the rooftops if the rooftops weren’t so crowded with… well, the legal system. “The presence of the judge is irreplaceable,” he argues, much like how the best part of a comedy show is always the punchlines, my friends.
Let’s move on to the grand proposal, shall we? The Ministry of Deregulation— yes, we’re not making this up, folks—came up with the Hojarasca Law. Sounds like something out of a bizarre fairy tale where fairy godmothers only grant divorces instead of wishes! Their big idea? Modify divorce law so couples can wave goodbye to marital bliss in a lightening-fast manner, similar to three-day shipping on Amazon.
The new rule aims to let couples divorce with the same ease they signed the prenup—jointly, before a public official! “It allows spouses to end their marriage bond in the same way they began it: by mutual agreement!” This, my friends, is what we call a solid plan—if you want to encourage everyone to hate paperwork. I mean, what’s next, an app for that?
But before you all jump for joy at the thought of avoiding attorney fees—“A divorce through judicial means entails the expenditure of substantial sums of money!” —pause for a moment. Because let’s be honest, what could possibly go wrong when you’re letting a bureaucrat handle your emotional mess with the same finesse as they would a stapler? It’s like asking the office intern to fix your car; amusing until you find yourself on the side of the road!
This hilariously misguided proposal did not get off to a great start last time around, as the Bar Association already expressed its distaste back when Javier Milei was still riding a wave of simplistic ideas. It couldn’t quite manage to charm anyone in Congress, much like a dad joke at a funeral. And now it’s making yet another comeback—cue the laughter!—hoping, perhaps, that this time the audience will be drunk enough to find it funny.
In conclusion, while the government might fancy itself a prince ready to sweep us off our feet with a grand administry of matrimony—even if it’s going to step on some toes—let’s hope that our beloved Gil Lavedra and his gang of lawyers keep waving their flags high. Because if we’re going to get divorced, we might as well get a proper send-off—maybe even a farewell party with cake! In the meantime, let’s toast to the chaos that is divorce law—may it always keep our lives as entertaining as a comedy club on karaoke night!
Remember folks, while love may be fleeting, the comedic potential of bureaucratic red tape is forever!
The president of the Public Bar Association of the Federal Capital, Ricardo Gil Lavedra, rtoday reiterated his emphatic rejection of the executive branch’s bill on administrative divorces. “Modernize and simplify procedures “It cannot be done at the expense of rights.”warned the former chambermaid who tried and imprisoned the commanders of the last dictatorship.
“You cannot, under the pretext of simplifying the procedures, put many of the rights of the spouses at risk,” said the head of the entity that brings together Buenos Aires lawyers. “Once again, the lack of knowledge of our Civil Code regarding the need to comprehensively consider “all the effects of divorce to guarantee the protection of the most vulnerable party.”
The entity’s commitment to defending the necessary professional intervention of lawyers in any situation that involves the application of the law was highlighted. ““We believe the presence of the judge is irreplaceable to best guarantee the rights at stake,” assured Gil Lavedra.
The Ministry of Deregulation today presented the Hojarasca Law and, in addition, sent two other projects to the National Congress. The first establishes modifications in divorce law and the second a judicial modernization process that includes deposits and seized assets. The project modifies the Divorce Law, by adding in its article 1 of article 435 of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation” one more cause for the dissolution of the marriage. There it is stated that the “divorce in administrative jurisdiction will be valid, equivalent in terms of its effects to that declared in judicial jurisdiction.” It also modifies article 437 of the Civil and Commercial Code which provides that divorce is judicially decreed at the request of both or only one of the spouses. In the new version, it is added to this point that “at administrative headquarters, exclusively at the joint request of both spouses, before the public official in charge of the Registry of Civil Status and Capacity of Persons corresponding to the last marital domicile.” According to the official initiative, it is promised to speed up the process times and reduce costs since lawyers are not needed.
Within the foundations of Message No. 60/2024, it is stated that this project “aims to cover a gap, divorce at administrative headquarters allows spouses to end their marriage bond in the same way they began it: by mutual agreement and before the public official in charge of the Registry of Civil Status and Capacity of Persons, with a simple administrative procedure.”
In addition to this, it is justified by the possible expenses and the time it takes for a procedure in court, stating that “A divorce through judicial means entails the expenditure of substantial sums of moneys for the cost of the process and everything that it entails. Besides, the time it takes “The aforementioned process implies for the parties that during that period of time they will not be able to dispose of some of their assets with complete freedom.” Finalizing that these processes increase the number of cases in the judicial system.
This proposal was part of the Bases law that Javier Milei’s government sent at the beginning of his administration. The project highlighted the need to offer a faster and cheaper alternative for spouses who wish to divorce. At that time, the Bar Association of the Federal Capital had already opposed the initiative, which was left out along with other projects in the framework of the debate that took place in Congress. Now, by separate order, the project returns to Parliament to be debated.