The primary objective of the Office of the Procurator for Prisons is to protect the human rights of persons held in the federal prison system, of all persons deprived of their liberty for any reason under federal jurisdiction, and also of persons held in remand and convicted by the judicial authorities and held in provincial facilities, thus extending the Office's jurisdiction to facilities that were not included in Decree No.
Conforme lo dispone la Ley, el Procurador Penitenciario es elegido por el Congreso de la Nación -tal como ocurre con el Defensor del Pueblo de la Nación- mientras que, previo a la sanción de la misma funcionaba bajo la órbita del Ministerio de Justicia de la Nación, como fuera señalado precedentemente.