Abstract: In spite of the progress achieved regarding materials and of the significant increase in the personal of the Argentine Navy ocurred at the beginning of the 1890’s, the Institution was still governed by the criminal law of Spain, defined by the Navy Ordinances of 1748 and 1793, and by several treaties, rules and supplementary provisions that, despite their limitations, were useful to settle judicial cases of the navy and of the army without incurring in greater costs or making greater efforts. Although the lack of a modern legal system adequate for the national needs was a controversial issue, the absence of determinant factors which could justify the adoption of such a system delayed the efforts necessary to create it. The wreck of the torpedo-boat destroyer “Rosales” broke the routinary character of military cases on July, 1892. Due to its complexity and its political, social and institutional implications, such case became a paradigmatic one, characterized by the questioning of all the legal documents of the past. As a result of said circumstances, a series of different interpretations appeared, which confirmed the need for a special military legal entity capable of achieving the indispensable consistency.