E/CN.4/2004/3/Add.3 page 7 (ii) Although article 50 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates that the provisions of the Covenant extend to all parts of federal States without any limitations or exceptions, the Working Group was not convinced that the federal Government has the means or resources to ensure that all provinces comply, both in their legislation and in practice, with the provisions of the Covenant and other international human rights instruments ratified by Argentina; (iii) During its talks, the delegation observed that many officials, judges and members of bar associations were not fully aware of, or did not attach sufficient importance to, the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as the universal international instrument applicable to detention. Nor did there appear to be greater awareness among the detainees interviewed about the State’s obligation to guarantee their right to an effective judicial remedy for their continued detention, or about the State’s international responsibility arising from acts by its public servants acting in an official capacity. Nor had they been informed by the authorities, their lawyers or even by NGOs that they could take their case to international bodies such as the United Nations Human Rights Committee or the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Domestic remedies for arbitrary detention appear to be rather complex, long, onerous, slow and, consequently, ineffective. III. LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK A. Constitutional framework 15. Argentina has adopted a federal republican representative form of government. The federal Government consists of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The President is the supreme leader of the nation and head of Government and is politically responsible for the general administration of the country (Constitution, art. 99, para. 1). He is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Congress consists of two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice and by the lower courts established by Congress (Constitution, art. 108). Argentina has a multiparty political system, in which the Justicialist Party and the Radical Civic Union have played a prominent part over the past 50 years. 16. Each province has its own congress; most provincial congresses consist of two chambers. Executive power is vested in the governor. The provinces retain all the power that the national Constitution does not delegate to the federal Government. The provinces set up their own local institutions and are governed by them, without intervention by the federal Government (Constitution, arts. 121 and 122). Provincial governors are responsible for enforcing the Constitution and laws on behalf of the federal Government (Constitution, art. 128). The city of Buenos Aires has an autonomous government with its own legislative and jurisdictional powers; in 1998, it adopted its own constitution. The provinces are responsible for the administration of justice and observance of the rights and guarantees contained in international instruments. The provincial police are administered by the governor.