CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Bofill and César Ramos, Bofill Escobar Silva Abogados
information from the defendant; if not given will - ingly, the judge can always request the seizure thereof. In such cases, since this will be a moti - vated decision by the court, it is necessary for the prosecutor to justify the need for the meas - ure when presenting the request. 2.3 Obtaining Disclosure of Documents and Evidence From Third Parties The measures mentioned in 2.2 Preserving Evidence also apply to third parties, with the exception that the law includes the possibil - ity of requesting the court to give notice to the third party before asking directly for the authori - sation of the court to seize evidence forcefully, so that said party may hand over the objects or documents willingly. However, the court cannot authorise the forceful seizure of documents or evidence from people that are not obligated to testify, such as the defendant’s spouse and rela - tives or persons subject to professional secrecy, as further explained in 2.9 Compelling Witness- es to Give Evidence . If the documents and evidence have been legally obtained, there are no special restrictions on the use of such materials in the legal proceedings. 2.4 Procedural Orders A procedural order such as those mentioned previously could be requested without notice to the defendant when the knowledge of the meas - ure could endanger its success or effectiveness. In such cases, the prosecutor will have to jus - tify the necessity of the secrecy of the measure, which will always be in place for a determined period. 2.5 Criminal Redress There are several ways for victims to seek redress, whether in the criminal procedure itself
or in a posterior civil procedure based on the finished criminal procedure. Exercise of the right to ask for damages, as described in 1.5 Proprietary Claims Against Property , is not the only way of seeking redress. A victim could also negotiate directly within the criminal procedure in the context of a repara - tory agreement, which may be promoted only in cases in which the interests affected are of an economic nature or where the crimes are among those listed by law. These agreements entail the involvement of the victim and the defendant only, who can agree to any kind of compensa - tion they deem fit. Once the defendant fulfils the agreement, the court will dictate the definitive dismissal of the case. The prosecutor’s office may also satisfy the redress sought by the victim. In the context of a conditional suspension of the procedure, the prosecutor may choose to impose the compen - sation of the victim as one of the conditions, whether this be through a payment or by any other kind of suitable condition. In these cases, the prosecutor is not obliged to ask for such a measure, though it is a common practice. Please see 1.5 Proprietary Claims Against Property regarding the interplay between civil and criminal jurisdictions. 2.6 Judgment Without Trial In Chile, a judgment may not be obtained with - out the dutiful intervention of the defence and
the presence of the defendant. 2.7 Rules for Pleading Fraud
There are no special rules regarding plea agree - ments in fraud claims. The general rule in Chile is that a guilty plea to any indictment does not relieve the prosecutor of their burden of proof.
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