CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Valdivia, Juan Francisco Sánchez, José Tomás Blake and Tomás Izquierdo, Valdivia Legal
9.3 Time Limits Chile lacks unified legislation governing all claims against the government, resulting in more than 100 rules that provide claimants with vari - ous writs to contest State decisions before the judiciary. As a result, procedural rules, including time limits, vary significantly from case to case, and there is no single time limit for bringing a challenge. For instance, procurement disputes must be ini - tiated within ten business days, while environ- mental claims seeking to annul administrative decisions have a deadline of 15 business days. In contrast, claims for environmental damages must be filed within five years while trials against municipal authorities must be commenced with - in 30 business days. 9.4 Evidence Required to Initiate a Claim In Chile, there is a notable absence of a merits review before initiating a new trial, meaning that courts do not evaluate the substance or merits of a claim before proceeding with it. This lack of an initial merits assessment can lead to the acceptance of cases that may lack sufficient legal grounding or evidence, thereby burdening the judicial system with disputes that may not warrant trial. Consequently, parties may engage in litigation without a preliminary evaluation of the validity of their claims, resulting in inefficien - cies and delays within the court process. 9.5 Procedural Stages Legal arguments are presented early on in the proceedings. The dispute with the State begins with a writ that outlines the claimant’s legal argu - ments. In contrast, the submission of evidence is not always mandatory. For instance, in some proceedings, the judiciary allows a voluntary phase for claimants to present their evidence, such as in cases against the Superintendency
of Electricity and Fuels. Additionally, evidence is severely limited in environmental claims where the claimant seeks to annul administrative deci - sions. 9.6 Initial Sifting Process Chilean procedural law does not include a merits review in either private law conflicts or admin - istrative disputes. Once a public law claim is issued, the process can proceed if the writ is accompanied by a power of attorney, is filed within the appropriate timeframe and the claim - ant has legal standing. In certain cases, leg - islation may require the claimant to deposit a sum of money after contesting a fine, as is the case with the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels (although this provision has been deemed unconstitutional in many other sectors). Addi - tionally, laws that require contesting an adminis - trative decision with its issuer can limit access to the judiciary, as seen in conflicts arising against municipalities. 9.7 Expedited Proceedings There are generally no express provisions in Chilean law for expediting a claim in urgent situations. The legal framework does not typi - cally include mechanisms specifically designed to accelerate the processing of cases based on urgency. While courts may have some discre - tion to prioritise certain cases, particularly cases involving immediate threats to rights, this is not a standardised or formalised process. In most instances therefore, the progression of claims through the legal system is governed by regular timeframes rather than specific expedited pro - cedures.
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