CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Valdivia, Juan Francisco Sánchez, José Tomás Blake and Tomás Izquierdo, Valdivia Legal
Recurso de Protección If an administrative decision violates fundamen - tal rights, affected individuals can file for this fast-track constitutional writ, seeking urgent relief. Reclamo de Ilegalidad In contrast, when an administrative decision is ultra vires the claimant can seek relief before the judiciary, without violating fundamental rights. These mechanisms ensure that even govern - ment decisions that only affect one person can be subject to legal oversight. 3.4 Agreements Between Private Entities and Public Bodies In Chile, private law agreements can be chal - lenged before the Public Procurement Court ( Tribunal de Contratación Pública ), which is a specialised tribunal for public procurement dis - putes. The jurisdiction of the Public Procurement Court was initially limited to the pre-contract stage and primarily reviewing the legality of public tender procedures. However, a recent legal reform has expanded its scope to cover disputes arising throughout the execution of contracts. As a result, public procurement in Chile is now subject to comprehensive legality control by the Public Procurement Court, ensuring oversight at both the tendering and contract execution stages. 3.5 Challenging Decisions Without Legal Effect It is possible to challenge a decision or act that does not have legal effect, such as advice or guidance. Any administrative act that lacks a legal basis can be challenged. The principle of
These mechanisms uphold constitutional supremacy by ensuring that laws conform to the Constitution, either before their enactment or when their application results in unconstitutional outcomes in specific cases. 3.2 Challenging Secondary Legislation It is possible to challenge secondary legislation on two main grounds. Unconstitutionality This only applies to supreme decrees issued by the President of the Republic. Constitution - al review of these decrees can be initiated by members of Congress, who may bring a case before the Constitutional Court. Additionally, the Comptroller General of the Republic can con - duct ex officio constitutional review as part of its oversight duties. Illegality This can be challenged through various legal mechanisms and applies to all types of sec - ondary legislation. Citizens can exercise legal - ity control through actions such as the consti - tutional protection writ ( recurso de protección ) and other specialised legality actions. These mechanisms ensure that secondary leg - islation complies with both the Constitution and the legal framework, providing oversight at both institutional and individual levels. 3.3 Government Decisions Affecting Sole Individuals Government decisions that only affect one per - son can be challenged on grounds of illegality through different legal actions. There are spe - cific remedies depending on the nature of the violation.
91
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook