pSL 11 Vr<.c... Technical Papers Number 5 November
Civil Registration In the Republic of Argentina
.:,l
International Institute for Vital Registration and Statistics 9650 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20014 USA
Civil Registration in the Republic of Argentina
CONTENTS
Foreword
The country
The civil registration system
Civil registration legislation 2
Congresses of civil registration directors 2
Permanent coordinating body for civil registration 2
Some details of registration legislation 3
Registration personnel 3
Samples from the registration books 5
Samples of statistical forms 7
FOREWORD
In a federated system of government, there is usually no national focus of the civil registration system This gives rise to problems of coordination, and of obtaining uniformity of procedures and practices The pro duction of uniform national vital statistics, both in terms of content and quality, is also a special problem The Republic of Argentina is coping with these problems through their Permanent Coordinating Organization for Civil Registration which has an active program involving the 22 state registration offices, the Federal Capital District and the National Territory
The Technical Papers series is issued by IIVRS for the information of its Associates The views presented are those of the authors' The IIVRS does not necessarily endorse the views or recommendations 'In this docu ment There are no restrictions on the use of material published by IIVRS Material from this publication may be quoted or duplicated without permission Civil Registration In The Republic Of Argentina Jorge P, Seara' and Marcelo E. Martin"
THE COUNTRY The governmental system is representative, The Republic of Argentina is in the Southern republican and federal in nature National authorities Hemisphere, occupying its extreme south Its land are elected by popular vote of the entire population area is about 400 million km2, with a population and, as already mentioned, provincial authorities are presently estimated at 26 million The inhabitants are elected by the inhabitants of the respective pro almost exclusively Caucasian of Spanish and Por vinces tuguese European descent Each province is in turn divided into One of the country's most serious problems is municipalities or departments and the authorities are underpopulation Another problem is the maldistribu again locally elected Under the successive electoral tion of the population in such a vast land area, given systems, minority political parties have enjoyed that 80 percent live in urban, and 20 percent in rural representation areas This immediately confronts us with the serious difficulties encountered in attempting to provide the THE CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM entire country with an efficient civil registration The Argentina federation was patterned after system and the enormous economic and organiza the US Federal System whose Constitution, in tional effort required to provide adequately for this 1853, served as a basis for the Argentina Constitu fundamental public service tion This means that all powers not delegated to the The country is organized on a federal basis central government are reserved to the (States) pro and consists of 22 provinces, one Federal District and vinces One such, is the responsibility to organize civil one National Territory The Provinces are: Buenos registration This has resulted in 24 different systems, Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Corrientes, Chaco, one for each province, plus the Federal Capital and Chubul, Entre Rios, Forgosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La the National Territory Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, San Concurrently and independently, there Juan, San Luis, Salta, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, San operates in the Capital a "National Registry of Per tiago del Estero, and Tucuman Each Province elects sons," intended to identify both citizens and its local authorities by popular vote foreigners, which provides them with a "National The Federal District comprises the capital of Identity Document" To achieve this, all civil registra the country, Buenos Aires, encompassing an area of tion offices in the country are vested with the cor almost 200 km2 within the Province of Buenos Aires responding responsibility in their respective jurisdic Here the national authorities are headquartered The tions inhabitants of Buenos Aires elect their representatives The local civil registration offices handle not to the House of Representations or the "Council," only civil registration and the above identification pro but the chief administrator of the city is appointed by cedure, but th§y also serve as recording offices for the President of the Republic various incapacities They record, inter alia, judicial The National Territory consists of Tierra del declarations of insanity, limitations due to deaf Fuejo, Antartic Argentina and the Southatlantic muteness and civil restrictions of the incarcerated Island The President of the Republic appoints the Furthermore, many civil registration offices produce Governor who resides in the southernmost city of the demographic statistics; this in addition to the record world, Ushuaia ing of vital events, of judicial functions and the iden tification of persons
Asesor del Organismo de Coordinacion Permanente delos Registro Each of the 24 registration offices is headed by Civiles de la Republica Argentina a Director, a number of Deputy Directors, qualified advisors and lower level staff It is usual for local •. Presidents de! Organismo de Coordinacion Permanente de los regulations to require the Directors to be lawyers or Registros Civiles de Ie Republica Argentina actuaries Each provincial registration authority then has Mendoza, Province of Mendoza in 1965; the fourth a number of administrative branch offices These are was held in Santa Fe in Santa Fe Province in 1972, tile contact point with the public and carry out the ac and the fifth caine to San Salvador de Jujuy in 1974 tual registration function: birth, death and marriage The sixth congress may be held in the city of La registration, etc Those same offices issue the Na Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province, in 1979 tional identity Documents, a function they discharge To reinforce the federative spirit, and to reflect under delegated powers from the National Reg'lstry of the political organization of the Republic, these con Persons The country has about 4000 such offices, gresses have been held in different parts of the coun many of them headed by lawyers or actuaries try The subject matter of the meetings deals with proposals for improving legislation relating to the registration of persons Conclusions are transmitted CIVIL REGISTRATION LEGISLATION to the national authorities in order to seek im Until 31 December 1963, each of the local provements in the appropriate legislation jurisdictions (provinces, Federal Capital and the At times, these Directors' meetings are less National Territory) followed their own civil registra formal than a congress and somtimes they have a tion legislation as enacted by local authorities This regional character These may deal with regional means that identical subject matter was dealt with in a issues, or they may lay the groundwork for another diverse manner, a state of affairs which pointed to congress, or again they may deal with the application the need of achieving some uniformity To this end, it of a new legal provision proposed that the several Directors of Civil Registra The congresses and meetings have been a tion meet (together) and the "First Argentina National constructive force for improvements in the registra Congress of Civil Registration Directors" was held in tion task of the country It should be noted that Buenos Aires in 1960 registration officials from other South American During the Second Congress which was held countries have attended some of these congresses as in 1961 in Parana, the capital of Entre Rios, a draft observers bill was prepared and subsequently approved by the National Congress in October 1963 as Statute No 8204/63 The decree was to apply in the entire coun PERMANENT COORDINATING ORGANIZATION FOR CIVIL REGISTRATION IN try as of 1 January 1964, In the same year, the Con THE REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA gress promulgated Law No 16478 With some subse quent modifications, this law now governs civil It has already been pointed out that Argentina registration and personal identity is a Federal Republic This means that there is no cen Also applicable are some substantive issues trally controlled registration system The repeated covered by the Civil Code and some national legisla contacts among the local directors pointed to the tion enacted to deal with specific questions related to desirability of institutionalizing these contacts into a the registration of persons, eg" decree No 18248, permanent organization In the course of the Fourth dealing with names, and decree No 18327 which Congress, there came into being the "Permanent covers creation of a microfilm system for registration Coordinating Organization for Civil Registration in the Republic of Argentina," and it was decided that one It should be noted that the "National Registra of the offices should assume the leadership until the tion of Persons" system has provisions for iSSUing the next congress The Head of the Buenos Aires Province National Identification Document (0 NI) for both Registration Office was so elected and subsequently citizens and foreigners reelected during the Fifth Congress This means that Furthermore, the provinces have local regula the above mentioned organization is headquartered tions to complement the "National Civil Registration in the Registration Office of Buenos Aires Province at Law," intended to facilitate the application of stan First Street, corner of 60th i'n the City of La Plata The dards in each jurisdiction latter 57 km from Buenos Aires Since its creation, the Organization has main tained contact with all the Heads of Registration Of CONGRESSES OF CIVIL fices, as well as with many registration offices in REGISTRATION DIRECTORS other countries and with international organizations The first two congresses of provincial Additional functions included responding to in registrars have already been mentioned A total of 5 quiries, and representation before the authorities to congresses has been held The third took place in achieve improvements Its Director and an adviser at-
2 tended the "Meeting on Strategies to Improve Civil The books are bound and the pages sequentially Registration Data" which was held in Montevideo, numbered At the end of each calendar year, a set of Urguay in November 1977 under the auspices of the books is closed and a new set is started on 1 January Inter-American Children's Institute, the Panamerican The books and other documentation related to Health Organization, the Statistical Office of the registration may be turned over only to the public of United Nations, the National Center for Health ficial charged with their custody, but they may be Statistics lof the US) and the Agency for Interna shown to anyone having a legitimate interest tional Development Archives Upon completion, the books and Every four months the Organization publishes their duplicates are filed; one set locally, and the an Information Bulletin issued by the Registration Of duplicates in the central office of each Registry lof fice in the Province of Buneos Aires It usually con the Federal Capital, the province and the National tains subject matter deemed of interest to all the civil Territory) registration offices in the country Registration procedures Birth, marriage, The Organization also maintains a central file death, etc, registration is carried out in numerical and that contains registration legislation from many coun chronological order Both the original and the copies tries, with emphasis on the Spanish-speaking coun are signed by the Registrar and the declarer, except in tries These materials are made available for study the case where the copies are microfilmed The sup purposes porting documentation remains on file for a period of time subject to local determination The period may SOME DETAILS OF CIVIL be no less than 5 years, after which time it may be REGISTRATION LEGISLATION destroyed National statute 8204/63, ratified by Public Law Indexes and card ftles .. In order to facilitate 16478, regulates, as already mentioned, matters per searches, there is an index at the end of each book taining to civil registration and civil rights A few of Each registration is also transferred onto a card and the essential features are explained below: these cards remain on file in the central offices to Organization The national legislation states futher facilitate local searches In the event where the that the organization of registration rests with local locality of a birth, marriage or death is not known, it government, ie, respective authorities of the pro may be possible to obtain this information through vinces, the Federal Capital and the National Ter the card files of the National Registration Office in the ritories Public officials in charge of registration of city of Buenos Aires fices and their branches are appointed by the Gover Copies Interested parties may obtain registra nor of the provinces, the Municipal Mayor of the City tion copies in the form of photocopies, certificates, of Buenos Aires, and the Governor of the National etc The registration offices also issue a Family Docu Territory of Tierra del Fuego ment This public document contains a certification Offices and branches. These have been of the marriage registration, and of the birth and established on the basis of population density, com death registration of the couple's children munications, availability of transportation, etc Modifications Should it become necessary to Registration books An amendment introduc modify a registration, a note to that effect is placed in ed in 1969 as Public Law 18327 provides for separate the margin registration books for births, deaths, marriages, and in Birth registration Registration takes place competence The pages of this book are copied into within 40 days before the public official in whose another book, either by manual transcription, or by jurisdiction the event occurred In case of failure to microfiche, or by some other system In practice, on comply within this time period, Directors are ly very few provinces use the microfiche system and authorized to hear the reasons for noncompliance the vast majority function with the traditional and they may order the event to be registered for a duplicate book period of one year after its OCCUrrence If this legal Each Director is empowered to use judgment limit is exceeded, a judicial order is reqUired to effect in the establishment of additional books for the record the registration ing of events over and above those mentioned pre The law specifies that birth registration must viously This has occurred in some cases, for in be based on medical obstetric certificates; who may stance, for adoptions, reaching of majority, etc register the event, the supporting documentation to The birth, death and marriage books are remain in the registration office, the procedures for preprinted, with appropriate spaces for each entry registering fetal deaths, etc
3 9
Upon registration of a birth, the newborn is Changes In regi.srratlon In general, it may be issued the National IdentitY Document The latter said that changes in registrations to correct errors is must subsequently be renewed, for the first time vested in judges For certain cases, however, such as upon reaching the age of 8 The law also makes pro when a mistake was made in an entry that might vision for illegitimate children result in a discrepancy with other documents of the GIVen names and surnames Public Law 18248 same person, Registration Directors are legally em of 1969 modified existing legislation on this subject powered to make corrections The prevailing law now consists of 25 articles These Reg/srratlon of incomperence All local regulate names which may be given to the person be registration offices have a special book for purposes ing registered; naming in cases of adoptions; names of registering judicial declarations of insanity, restric of married, divorced or separated women; protection tions for reasons of deaf-muteness, civil rights restric of names, etc tion for felons, self-declarations of limitations for Marriages These are subject not only to the physical reasons and other judicially determined Civil Registration Act, but also to lhe Civil Marriage restrictions Act and to a number of their laws Among them is Viral sraristles Most of the local registration Public Law 18444 through which Argentina ratified offices also serve as collection points for vital the United Nations' General Assembly's "Convention statistics information Four types of forms must be on Marriage Consent, Minimum Age and Marriage filled out before an actual entry may be made into a Registration" as signed in New York on 7 November registration book These are: the Statistical Report 1962 Thus, there is a full body of law to deal with all of Live Birth, the Statistical Report of Marriage, the questions and situations that may arise in connection Death Certificate, and the Fetal Death Certificate Ithe with marriage, divorce and annulment latter part of this report contains samples of theseI Oearh reg/srrarlOn Registration must take After completion of these forms by the local place within 48 hours of occurrence before the public public officials, they are transmitted to the central of official in whose jurisdiction the death occurred fices in the provincial capitals, the Federal Capital and After that time, the event is still subject to registra the capital of the National Territory for processing tion It may, however, result in a fine levied against purposes This is to say, that the civil registration of the person responsible for the delay The law specifies fices act as data collection points, but they have no the form in which death has to be proven, the manner responsibility for the subsequent statistical opera in which the attending physician certifies a death, the tions However, many local registration offices do persons responsible for the registration and the par have some functions in the area of demographic ticulars of the event There are also a number of statistics, primarily the preparation of monthly safeguards that must be observed by the public of reports that provide registration totals from individual ficials These relate to the cause of death, especially offices These are used for internal planning purposes in cases where there is some reason to believe that for the distribution of offices and personnel the death may have been caused by a crime There are other situations where health authorities must be alerted to the possibility of communicable diseases as REGISTRATION PERSONNEL a cause Reg/suarion bevond jurisdicrion The ethnic Argentina has about 20,000 officials who work composition of Argentina is strongly influenced by a in the 24 (existing) Civil Registration Units The sizeable inmigration from Europe and a large number educational level is generally high The country's of the residents were born abroad From a education system comprises 3 levels. 7 years of demographic standpoint, there is also much internal elementary school; and 5 or 6 years of secondary migration in the country What this means is that a school and 3 to 7 years of university training, depend birth or marriage may be registered in one place and ing on specialization The leadership of the Civil by the time people have used copies of the registra Registration Units is generally in the hands of universi tion of these events, they are residents in another ty graduates Most of the other higher officials have jurisdiction To remedy this situation, all the registra advanced education degrees, whereas the other tion offices are authorized to accept what is called employees have usually completed secondary school "Registration Beyond Jurisdiction" where interested As far as training of the civil registration per parties may register events that occurred in other sonnel is concerned, they do undergo special instruc countries or other provinces This permits them to tion to acquire the necessary technical skills for the obtain copies with greater ease discharge of their duties
4 •
SAMPLES (in photographs taken directly from the registration books) OF PAGES IN THE REGISTRATION BOOKS FOR BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS.
ACTA N9 En Partido Pcia Bs. As., a de /19 Ante mi Deleg. Regional, compar'ece don
0, 1. N9 domicilio u r DECLARA: Que el dia mes aiio m;l. novecientos t ~,,~- hora lugar .....; ;, ,f "' .. FALLECIO . -:ot..''';,'<">,~ ~~~··l,.,~", de ,,,:''\- Cert. medico Dr. , ,,"'-. '.";/ sexo de aiios, estado projesian ,~~"),&' domicilio nacionalidad ~~ :~N9 nacido el // en mWde y de Intervenido Testa Leida el acta, la jirman conmigo
ACTA N9 En . Partido provincia de Buenos Aires, a de 19 .. Ante mf '•.
Delegado, don _ O~l,- N9 Domicilfado 11 I DECLARA: Que el dfa mes . aiio mil novecientos hora NACIO una crfatura del sexo
APELLIDO su padre su madre ~ N9 M I L. Sanitarfa N9 Ficha identijicaclora N9 , Leido esta acta, fa firrnan conmigo
5 77 ACTA NP En Partido provincia de Buenos Aires, a dias, mes de mil noveeientos Ante mi Delegado, eompareeen: Don de anos, naeido en el / / 19 profesion domiciliado en estado O. 1. hijo de don " I naeionalidad y de dona ... :.' .. "/ naeionalidad ~.. ", .' profesion .J{,~": '. ", . ~ •• ,'. y Dona j,. . de mioa, 1wcida en V el /19 / wofesion domieiliada en estado O. 1. M, L hija de don naeionalidad profesion y de d01ia naeionalidad profesion Cumplidaa las formalidades legale8 y reeibido el eonsentimiento de los eontm yentes, en nombre de la Ley 108 deelaro Unido8 en legitimo matrimonio, ante los teatigos: don de alios,
o. I. domiciliado en U'I:"" NP y~ de domiciliado en o. 1. NP 11 I, Leida el acta, la firman todos los eompareeientes eonmigo
6 SAMPLES OF STATISTICAL FORMS FOR RECORDING DATA ON: BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, DEATHS, FETAL DEATHS,
INFORM\: ESTADISTlCO DE NACIOO VIVO
A' 0 .. 103 OIl U"~IMt!"lO
, \"~" _I ~""""',. 1"." pO' • ..",,,,"'.,\ .'u"·..1."", /I m~~;~'""o IQ 1,"""".10
'000""''''. h.b,'",'
1l,I,,,,,-
I'"d~" q,,' ...do" ~ • 0"' .• d.J"••1.".10''''''''''''. dO",d, , .. ,b" ,,,,,,.,AI. 010 ..~V,"~ h"... p'''i,vl", "1.",,,1<, "'_J Q l:>"'IO~ DEI PAO.~ 1.\. AM ., 10" 11, I""" "" ""''''',n'. ",,'''';'"'" Iii .' "O.nl;"O, '".1''''- P.o.;n,:.} 'n'" hi D' '''''''i''., I"d'''' P..", 11 C""II","" "" "'",,d.d, "...""' ,u'U. '0 "".'vo•000,,,,,,0''',0.... ""• 'ab'I"O .""".'""10 ...,.,,;,,<10 aD <4,., '1-" h~", ".b·i· 1 0 ~~;::~:.: /I 0 0"·'·0 19 C"'\I""" la.'·"'" "'''"010 'U'."'.,oOI.J 0 •..."" •• 10 :;b.':::.,',':;'W".O I""",, qui ",.<1,,,. 0 • o~. ,..,Oi<. ,I .",bl"""".". (fit"''''.. m".bl.~ .,"" INFOflME ESTADISTICO DE MATRIMONIO I. 0,.""...",,,, A' OAta~ 0(\ IN'A/;I .••"'d. 0. I~, '""D'T'"'" 7 CERTIFICADO DE OEFUNC10N FETAL I O'1",,,,,ml>n1o, .l. wg<>,do b 10) Provlnci", b) O"I"''''''''Onl", d.rundOn rotol I 4. Nombm y epell!do: 6.5..,.0' 7. FIllodOn, B. Tlpo dol porto, 5. lUil"lr de I 4} ProvinC'4: II) Oapnrumenlo: "",.cullno i 0 motd"",n!,,1 j 0