421. The Constitution and legislation of the Argentine State guarantee the provision of compulsory and free education throughout the education system.

424. Where specific legislation is concerned, Act No. 1.420 of 1884, the forerunner of the Federal Education Act (No. 24.195 of 1993), made school attendance compulsory for all children from ages six to 14 and provided for free and progressive secular education at the primary level (seven grades).

425. Article 10 of the Federal Education Act extends the period of compulsory school attendance to 10 years (one year in a kindergarten/reception class at age five, plus nine years of basic general education), while article 39 stipulates that education shall be free:

544. The Employment Contracts Act (No. 20.744) contains the current legislation on the prohibition of the performance of paid work by minors:

"Article 187. Minors of either sex aged over 14 and under 18 may enter into any contact of employment subject to the conditions laid down in articles 32 et seq. of this Act. All regulations, collective employment agreements and wage scales shall guarantee minors equal pay when they work the same number of hours a day or perform tasks usually performed by adults. The apprenticeship and vocational training of minors aged over 14 and under 18 shall be governed by the relevant legislation in force or by legislation adopted for this purpose".

"Article 189. Employers are prohibited from employing minors aged under 14 in any kind of activity, whether for profit or not. This prohibition does not extend to minors employed, with the permission of the school attendance office, in enterprises employing only family members, provided that the work is not harmful or dangerous. Minors of school age but older than the age indicated above may not work unless they have completed their compulsory schooling, except with the express permission of the school attendance office and when their employment is regarded as essential to their own subsistence or that of their direct relatives, and provided that they complete, in a satisfactory manner, the minimum period of compulsory schooling".

544. The Employment Contracts Act (No. 20.744) contains the current legislation on the prohibition of the performance of paid work by minors:

"Article 187. Minors of either sex aged over 14 and under 18 may enter into any contact of employment subject to the conditions laid down in articles 32 et seq. of this Act. All regulations, collective employment agreements and wage scales shall guarantee minors equal pay when they work the same number of hours a day or perform tasks usually performed by adults. The apprenticeship and vocational training of minors aged over 14 and under 18 shall be governed by the relevant legislation in force or by legislation adopted for this purpose".

"Article 189. Employers are prohibited from employing minors aged under 14 in any kind of activity, whether for profit or not. This prohibition does not extend to minors employed, with the permission of the school attendance office, in enterprises employing only family members, provided that the work is not harmful or dangerous. Minors of school age but older than the age indicated above may not work unless they have completed their compulsory schooling, except with the express permission of the school attendance office and when their employment is regarded as essential to their own subsistence or that of their direct relatives, and provided that they complete, in a satisfactory manner, the minimum period of compulsory schooling".

71. Act No. 23,515, of recent date, stipulates that women must be 16 years of age and men 18 in order to marry:

"Art. 166, para. 5. If the woman is aged under 16 or the man under 18, this shall constitute an impediment to matrimony."

If minors have not reached the minimum age for matrimony, the impediment may be lifted only with the permission of the courts, even if the permission of the parents has been granted; this decision is known as judicial dispensation.

"Art. 167. It shall be possible lawfully to enter into matrimony in the circumstances defined in article 166, paragraph 5, subject to prior judicial dispensation."

"Art. 168. Even if minors have been legally emancipated, they may not marry one another or another person without the consent of their parents or of the person exercising parental authority, or failing either of these without the consent of their guardian, or failing this without the consent of the judge."

615. Act No. 22.278 of 25 August 1980, as amended by Act No. 22.803, established the prisons regime applicable to minors. It reads in part:

"Article 1. No punishment may be imposed on any person under the age of 16 years. Nor may any punishment be imposed on a person under the age of 18 years for a privately actionable offence, an offence carrying a custodial sentence of not more than two years, or an offence punishable by a fine or disqualification." […]

"Article 2. Punishment may be imposed on a person between the ages of 16 and 18 years who has committed an offence other than the ones specified in article 1."