Assessment of competency to stand a trial and the use of remote information and communication techniques in the argentine Justice

Abstract

The COVID-19 has changed the way of working of forensic doctors, and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has gained relevance. But its implementation, for psychiatric-forensic evaluations, should comply with standards endorsed by the scientific community. Psycho-legal instruments are necessary in order to determine the procedural capacity of an accused person to stand trial. In the Justice of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA), virtual proceedings are carried out, as the National Government decreed the obligatory social lockdown. In the case of the criminal jurisdiction, web platforms and electronic notifications are used for the processing of legal cases. However, in the practice of forensic medicine, there are difficulties in the use of ICTs to determine a person's capacity for criminal prosecution.