Enrique Bacigalupo

Enrique Bacigalupo Zapater (14 July 1938 – 16 July 2026) was an Argentine and Spanish lawyer, jurist, and professor of criminal law. Born in Argentina and educated in law at the University of Buenos Aires, he taught at the university until 1967. Briefly the Attorney of the National Treasury during the presidency of Héctor José Cámpora, Bacigalupo was forced to leave Argentina for Europe after receiving threats from the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance. He taught at the University of Bonn in West Germany until 1978, when he moved to Spain. He taught criminal law at the Complutense University of Madrid and became an advisor for the Constitutional Court of Spain. From 1987 to 2011, he served as a magistrate in the second chamber of the Supreme Court of Spain.

Education and career Bacigalupo studied law at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating with a degree in the subject in 1960 and a doctorate in the law and social sciences later; his thesis was titled . Bacigalupo taught at the University of Buenos Aires until resigning in 1967 and moving to Germany for five years; in 1973, he worked for 49 days as the Attorney of the National Treasury during Héctor José Cámpora's administration.

Forced to flee the country in 1974 after receiving threats from the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance due to his left-wing beliefs and activism, he lived and taught at the University of Bonn in West Germany for several years with the assistance of the Max Planck Society. His reputation gave him favor in his new country; Bacigalupo became an advisor for the Constitutional Court of Spain and, from there, began to work as a magistrate in the second chamber of the Supreme Court, the criminal chamber, in 1987. Notable cases he oversaw during his time with the court included the 1999 Sogecable case and a case relating to the 1981 rapeseed oil mass poisoning in Spain.

He retired in 2011 after reaching the mandatory retirement age. He and his daughter defended Argentine footballer Lionel Messi when he was charged with tax evasion in Spain.

Bacigalupo died in Madrid on 16 July 2026, two days after his 88th birthday. In the years before his death, he was a trustee of the .