The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It also administers the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

—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.

Membership

The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from a list of five choices prepared by the sitting members of the court. Two of the choices must be senior judges from appellate courts; the other three may have no judicial experience. The president's choice must then be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Supreme Court justices must be at least 36 years old. Once appointed, a Chilean Supreme Court justice is entitled to remain on the Court until the compulsory retirement age of 75. The only exception is if a justice can be removed by "notorious abandonment of duty," as deemed by a majority of both chambers of Congress.

Current Supreme Court members

The Supreme Court has twenty-one members, called ministers (''ministros''). One member is selected to serve a two-year term as President of the Supreme Court. The composition of the Supreme Court changes relatively quickly, as judges attain the retirement age of 75. ''Note: List last updated on 21 August 2023.''

Notable decisions

Augusto Pinochet

The Chilean Supreme Court has been involved in many important

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

cases regarding the former Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

. * In July 2002, it dismissed a case against Pinochet, saying that he was unfit to stand trial due to

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. * 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 Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

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

Gay rights

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

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

. * 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 A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. In 2012, the case was overturned by the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

. * 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 A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

frequented by gay men. (''See'' Spiniak Case.)

Women's health

* In November 2005, the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that the sale of contraceptive

morning-after pill Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), ...

Postinor 2 is constitutional.

Alberto Fujimori

On September 21, 2007, the court accepted Peru's request to extradite former president

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

, on human rights and corruption charges.

References

External links

*
Chilean Judiciary website

Supreme Court of Chile in Tamizh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme Court Of Chile 1823 in Chilean law Government of Chile

Judiciary of Chile 1823 establishments in Chile Courts and tribunals established in 1823