Gil Lavedra was appointed to the National Criminal Court of Appeals in 1984, and in this capacity, he served in the panel of judges overseeing the historic 1985 Trial of the Juntas, presiding over the trial in its early phase. His cross-examination of both witnesses and defendants reportedly focused on exploring the extent of criminal organizations that existed among the Dirty War perpetrators.[2]
Following a term as Vice President of the Crime Prevention Institute of the Province of Buenos Aires, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Human Rights by President Fernando de la Rúa upon the latter's inaugural in December 1999. Subsequent revelations that the administration had bribed a number of UCR senators for their support of a stalled labor law flexibilization bill in April 2000 led to Gil Lavedra's resignation (as well as that of Vice President Carlos Álvarez and three other cabinet members) in October. President de la Rúa himself resigned a year later.[3]