On March 27, 2012, the Argentine Executive Branch filed a draft bill for amendment and unification of the Civil and Commercial Codes which was prepared by an amendment committee created for such purpose in 2011, composed of Messrs. Ricardo Lorenzetti, Elena Highton de Nolasco and Aida Kemelmajer de Carlucci.

Some of the most significant amendments and repealed provisions are as follows:

1. Repeal of current provisions of the Civil and Commercial Codes; Law No. 11,357 (on women's legal capacity); Section 31 of Law No. 11,723 (protection of photo portraits); Law No. 13,512 (on horizontal property); Law No. 14,394 (on minors and family); Law No. 18,248 (on persons' names); Law No. 19,724 (on intended horizontal property); Law No. 19,836 (on foundations); Law No. 23,091 (on urban leases), Sections 1 to 26 of Law No. 24,441 (on trusts); Law No. 25,509 (on forest surface); Law No. 25,248 (on leases with option to purchase); Law No. 26,005 (on consortiums); and Law No. 26,356 (on timeshare properties). A large portion of the contents of these laws have been included in the draft bill.

2. Unification of civil and commercial obligations.

3. Substantial replacement of the general provisions of Law No. 19,550 (Companies' Law) and inclusion of single member companies.

4. Inclusion of business cooperation contracts, such as: agency, concession, franchise and banking and financial contracts, such as factoring.

5. Amendments regarding civil liability regarding property damage as a prerequisite for liability, elimination of pain and suffering as a separate notion, inclusion of "dissuasive monetary penalties" and consideration of the threat of damage as damage per se.

6. Acknowledgement of the existence of a person as from implantation of the embryo in a womb in cases of assisted reproduction.

7. Regulation and acknowledgement of anonymous donation of gametes and embryos, surrogate maternity and post-mortem insemination.

8. Amendments to the marriage system, including, among others: (i) acknowledgement and regulation of unmarried cohabitants' unions; (ii) inclusion of prenuptial agreements to regulate the economic relationship among spouses, allowing spouses to opt for such system or for the community property system currently in force; (iii) elimination of the duty of marital fidelity among spouses – spouses having only the duties of support and alimony-; (iv) inclusion of the right of any spouse to file for divorce without stating any grounds; and (v) elimination of the notion of legal separation as grounds for dissolution of marriage.

9. Inclusion of surface rights (not only forest surface rights), indigenous community property, private cemetery and real estate groups.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.