[JURIST] Argentina’s congress on Thursday passed a new law that would allow the government to intervene in setting prices and profits in order to ease high inflation rates. Economy Minister Axel Kicillof [NYT profile] said the measure would defend consumers against monopoly power. However, local business leaders say the law will likely aggravate shortages and inflation [AP report] by discouraging people from selling price-controlled goods. The new law gives power to set maximum and minimum prices and control profit margins. Companies that set “artificial or unjustified” prices will be fined. However, most small and medium sized companies will be exempt.

Argentina has faced a number of legal and economic woes regarding its foreign debt since its economic collapse in 2001. In August Argentina initiated legal proceedings against the US in the International Court of Justice [official website] over US interference in the restructuring of Argentina’s foreign debt [JURIST report]. Argentina contends that the US violated its sovereignty and immunities as a result of judicial decisions adopted by US tribunals concerning the restructuring of the Argentine public debt. In June Argentina appealed to the US Supreme Court [official website], but the court refused to hear its appeals, denying certiorari [JURIST report] in two cases: Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd. [docket; cert. petition, PDF] and Exchange Bondholder Group v. NML Capital, Ltd. [docket; cert. petition, PDF]. That same day the court ruled in a related case, also named Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd. [SCOTUSblog backgrounder; JURIST report], that a hedge fund can subpoena banks for information about Argentina’s non-US assets. In an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court held that no provision in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act [text, PDF] immunizes a foreign-sovereign judgment debtor from post-judgment discovery of information concerning its extraterritorial assets.