Despegue REFORMS ESEN
up to date · reviewed Jun 22, 2026
The norm, in detail

Reiteration: pretrial detention for offenders with open cases

Ley 27.785
in forceNATIONAL State, institutions and security

Ley 27.785 adds art. 222 bis to the Código Procesal: having another open case now counts as procedural risk grounds for pretrial detention.

What changed and who it applies to

What changed
It toughens the criminal regime against repeat offending. It creates the concept of 'criminal reiteration' (new art. 222 bis of the Federal Criminal Procedure Code): being simultaneously charged in another case or cases becomes a procedural-risk criterion that enables pretrial detention. It reforms recidivism (art. 50 CP): someone convicted two or more times to a custodial sentence with the first conviction final is considered a recidivist. And the consolidation of sentences (art. 58 CP) by arithmetic sum of the imposed penalties. It also amends the Federal Criminal Procedure Code (arts. 17, 210, 218) and the Criminal Procedure Code ley 23.984 (arts. 280, 312, 319). verif Mar 7, 2025
In force
03/08/2025, the day after its publication in the Official Gazette. The legal text itself provides: 'This law will take effect the day after its publication'. verif Mar 8, 2025
Are you in or out?
Defendants with concurrent criminal cases and people with criminal records nationwide: the law amends the National Criminal Code and the federal and national criminal-procedure codes, so it reaches the federal and national criminal jurisdictions. Indirectly, citizens and companies as beneficiaries of the tougher regime against repeat crime. verif Mar 7, 2025
The norm
Ley 27.785, passed by the national Congress on Feb 20, 2025 and published in the Boletín Oficial on Mar 7, 2025 (notice 322213, BO N° 13187/25). Official title in the BO: 'Código Penal - Modificación' (Criminal Code - Amendment); 'Ley de Reiterancia' is the popular, press-given name. The BO notice transcribes the text passed by Congress; its body states no enacting decree number (the attribution to a 'Decreto 173/2025' does not come from this primary source and remains unconfirmed). verif Mar 7, 2025

Our reading

The program delivers on the legal security it promised: reiteration and the toughening of recidivism give the courts a concrete tool to keep the offender with several open cases behind bars, a signal of predictability for those who invest and produce (R3, stability and firm rules of the game). What is worth watching, without assuming bad faith, is the judicial front: there are constitutionality challenges to reiteration in specific cases, though to date there has been no general suspension or repeal and the law remains fully in force. thesis

Where it lands, province by province

Applies the same nationwide

No effect lands differently in any one province: it applies the same across the country.

The other rules on this subject24

Ignacio Aredez
Ignacio Aredez· Chief analyst
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