Supreme Court of Chile

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Supreme Court building in Santiago

The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administrates the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago.

In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review — it cannot set binding precedent or invalidate laws. Instead, it acts on a case-by-case basis. Trials are carried out in salas, chambers of at least five judges, presided over by the most senior member.

1 Membership
- 1.1 Current Supreme Court members
2 Notable decisions
3 External links

[edit] Membership

The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President, but must be chosen from a list of five choices which is prepared by the sitting members of the court. Two of these choices must be senior judges from appellate courts; the other three need not have any judicial experience. The president's choice must then be ratified by the Senate.

Supreme Court justices must be at least 36 years old. Once appointed, a Chilean Supreme Court justice is extremely difficult to remove from office. Justices are entitled to remain on the Court until the compulsory retirement age of 75. Otherwise, a justice can be removed only if he or she breaches the obligation of "good behaviour" established in the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has twenty-one members, called ministros. One member is selected to serve a three-year term as President of the Supreme Court.

Main article: List of presidents of Supreme Court (Chile)

[edit] Current Supreme Court members

Enrique Edmundo Tapia Witting (President)
Marcos Libedinsky Tschorne
Ricardo Fernando Gálvez Blanco
Alberto Aníbal Chaigneau del Campo
Orlando Antonio Álvarez Hernández
Urbano Marín Vallejo
Milton Iván Juica Arancibia
Nibaldo Segura Peña
Adalis Salvador Oyarzún Miranda
Jaime del Carmen Rodríguez Espoz
Rubén Alberto Ballesteros Cárcamo
Sergio Manuel Muñoz Gajardo
Margarita Eliana Herreros Martínez
Hugo Enrique Dolmestch Urra
Juan Araya Elizalde
Raúl Patricio Valdés Aldunate
Héctor Guillermo Carreño Seaman
Pedro Pierry Arrau
Vacant (after compulsory retirement of María Antonia Morales Villagrán on September 2006 after attaining the age of 75)
Vacant (after resignation of Jorge Rodríguez Ariztía on February 1, 2007; effective on April 1, 2007)
Vacant (after compulsory retirement of Jorge Humberto Medina Cuevas on March 2007 after attaining the age of 75)

[edit] Notable decisions

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[edit] Augusto Pinochet

The Chilean Supreme Court has been involved in many important human rights cases regarding the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

In July 2002, it dismissed a case against Pinochet, saying that he was unfit to stand trial due to dementia.
In August 2004, it confirmed a lower court's decision that Pinochet should lose his automatic immunity he acquired from being a former senator.
In March 2005, it reversed a lower court's decision stripping Pinochet of immunity in the case of the assassination of Carlos Prats.
In August 2007, it upheld a life sentence for Hugo Salas Wenzel, the first senior official to receive a life term for human rights violations conducted during the reign of Pinochet. [1]

[edit] Gay rights

The Chilean Supreme Court has made controversial decisions in the area of gay rights.

In 2004, it confirmed a lower court's decision that stripped former judge Karen Atala of custody of her three daughters because she is a lesbian. The case has been taken up by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In January 2004, it removed judge Daniel Calvo from his position on the Santiago Court of Appeals, after media reports that he visited a sauna frequented by gay men.

[edit] Abortion

In November 2005, the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that the sale of contraceptive morning-after pill Postinor 2 is constitutional. Abortion is banned in Chile.