Everything about Supreme Court Of Chile totally explained
The
Supreme Court of Chile is the highest
court in
Chile. It also administrates the lower courts in the nation.
In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of
judicial review -- it can't 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.
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.
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)
Notable decisions
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. (External Link
)
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's 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.
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.
Alberto Fujimori
On September 21 2007, the court accepted Peru's request to extradite former president Alberto Fujimori, on human rights and corruption charges.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Supreme Court Of Chile'.
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