Chile's constitutional court, reconstituted with much wider powers by the 2005 reform. It reviews bills before promulgation, decides the requerimiento de inaplicabilidad that disapplies a statutory rule in a pending case, and can then annul the rule for everyone in a second action — a two-step structure that is distinctive to Chile.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- constitutional
- Court type
- Constitutional court
- Jurisdiction
- National
- Seat
- Santiago
- Established
- 1970
- Composition
- Ten members serving nine-year terms, partially renewed every three years.
- Appointment
- Three appointed by the President, four by Congress, and three by the Supreme Court from among its own members or the wider bar.
- Languages
- Spanish
Where an appeal goes next
Final. No appeal lies from its rulings.
Decisions worth knowing
- Rol 740 (morning-after pill)2008
Struck down free public distribution of levonorgestrel, later reversed by legislation.
- Rol 3729 (abortion on three grounds)2017
Upheld the statute decriminalising abortion in three situations.
Found something out of date on Constitutional Tribunal of Chile?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.