AMICUS CURIAE: A JUDICIAL INTERVENTION TOOL FOR PUBLIC DEBATE ON POVERTY AND ENERGY INSECURITY FROM A GENDER AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The article presents the arguments submitted under the legal concept of amicus curiae before the trial court of the city of Oran, Salta, Argentina, in early 2025 in the case of Mercedes Yolanda Vargas. This young single mother lost her two children after her humble home caught fire due to a short circuit and was charged with the crime of abandonment of a person followed by death aggravated by the relationship.  The arguments presented before the court connect different points of an ongoing investigation into inequality, poverty, and energy security from a gender and human rights perspective. The document is an analytical tool for the Vargas case, but also for a more comprehensive understanding and judicial approach to social inequality, poverty, and their link to energy security, the right to energy, and caregiving tasks.  The work respects almost entirely the original structure of the plea presented before the Trial Court of Oran - Chamber I - Vocalía N°3, which refers to the provisions of Agreement 28/2004 of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation. The methodology implemented responds to a mixed modality that combines research techniques, quantitative and qualitative methods and approaches.