CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Valdivia, Juan Francisco Sánchez, José Tomás Blake and Tomás Izquierdo, Valdivia Legal
an explanation of the necessity of the evidence for initiating proceedings. Courts may only grant requests for evidence explicitly outlined in the Chilean Civil Procedure Code. It is also important to note that failing to comply with the court’s order does not constitute con - tempt of court. The consequences for a defend - ant who fails to abide by these pre-trial evidence requests are minimal. Specifically, the non-com - pliant party cannot use any undisclosed docu - ments as evidence in the case. In other words, there is no motion to compel discovery for the requesting party. 8.2 Alternatives to Disclosure/Discovery Unfortunately, there are no specific provisions or rules in place to ensure that courts have access to all of the relevant information in a case. Chile does not have a discovery process, which is a pre-trial procedure that allows each party to obtain evidence from others through civil pro - cedure law. However, the Transparency Act of 2008 provides claimants with a valuable tool for gathering evidence. By making a single request under this legislation, claimants can obtain infor - mation from the State within 20 business days, including emails from government officials and relevant documents. Conflicts arise when there is a need to obtain information from third parties, as there is no mechanism for issuing subpoenas in Chile. This limitation can hinder the ability to collect the evi - dence required for a case. 8.3 Live Evidence and Cross- Examination The Chilean Civil Procedure Code of 1902 does not generally provide for live evidence or the cross-examination of witnesses. This limitation applies equally to administrative litigation as
well as civil and commercial disputes before the courts. Cross-examination is restricted, as wit - nesses do not testify directly before the judge but instead in front of an auxiliary of the admin - istration of justice, who reads written questions. However, live evidence and cross-examination are permitted in specific areas where more recent legislation has been enacted. For instance, spe - cific trials involving the State, including antitrust dispute resolution, environmental damages and criminal litigation, allow for live evidence and cross-examination of witnesses. 9. Time Limits and Preliminary Steps 9.1 Preliminary Requirements There is generally no formal requirement to complete preliminary steps such as pre-action correspondence before issuing a challenge to an administrative decision in Chile. However, in some cases, legislation may oblige the claim - ant to present the dispute to the administra - tive body before approaching the judiciary. This ensures that the administrative process has the opportunity to address the issue before judicial involvement. 9.2 Exhausting Internal Appeals There is a requirement to exhaust any context specific appeals before an administrative law challenge can be made. There is typically a requirement to exhaust internal appeals before initiating an administrative law challenge. This means that individuals must pursue all available remedies within the administrative system relat- ed to the decision being contested first, before seeking judicial review in the courts.
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