CHILE [1]

General Information


Chile is a unitary state composed of thirteen regions with a population of 15,328,467 (2004).[2] Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the country’s population grew at an average rate of 1.2% per year, down from 1.6% during the previous decade (1982-1992).[3] The current population density is 20.8 inhabitants per sq. km. The urban population increased from 11,140,405 in 1992 to 13,044,221 in 2002 (+17.1%) and the rural population decreased from 2,207,996 to 2,006,120 (-9.1 %) during the same period[4]. Chile’s literacy rate is 95.2%. In terms of age group distribution, 28.5% of the population is between 0 and 14; 32.2 % between 15 and 34; 20.5 % between 35 and 49; 11.6 % between 50 and 64; and 7.2 % 65 or over[5]. Life expectancy at birth is 76.3 years. In 2000, the percentage of households living below the poverty line was 17%, down from 23% in 1994 and 39% in 1987[6]. The rate of growth of the GDP increased from 2.2% in 2002 to 3.3% in 2003,[7]when per capita income was US$4,390, with purchasing power parity equal to US$9,810.8[8]. In 2004, Chile’s unemployment rate was 8.8%, slightly lower than its 2000 level of 9.2%.[9]


 

Judicial System Highlights

 

• The budget allocated to the justice system has increased in recent years. The sector received approximately 366 billion pesos (equivalent to US$523,161,428) in 2003; approximately 394 billion pesos (equivalent to US$668,413,559) in 2004; and about 500 billion pesos (equivalent to US$892,671,428) in 2005.

• The justice sector budget represented 4.5% of total public expenditures in 2004 and increased to 5.3% in 2005.

• The new criminal procedure system entered into force in the Metropolitan Region on June 16, 2005, bringing to a close the final stage of the most important judicial system reform to be implemented in Chile in the past one hundred years. It is worth noting that the total cost of implementing the reform was 341 billion pesos (equal to US$608,928,571), of which 199 billion pesos (or US$355,357,142) represent investments and 142 billion pesos
  (US$253,571,428) go to covering the operational costs of the system each year.

• Chile’s new Civil Union Law went into effect on November 18, 2004. The old law was over a century old and did not reflect the changes that the Chilean family had undergone. The new law is more modern and comprehensive,  addressing situations such as divorce, which Chilean law had not allowed.

• The country’s new family courts will begin operating on October 1, 2005. These institutions will concentrate all legal family matters in the hands of a specialized judiciary. The new system features the creation of sixty new courts, which will initially be staffed by 128 judges (this number will gradually increase to 258) and 153 family law specialists (gradually increasing to 344), who will serve on technical boards to advise the judges.

• The year 2004 saw the approval of the Constitutional Justice Reform, which will replace the old system of double control of constitutionality (by the Constitutional and Supreme Courts) with one that concentrates control in the Constitutional Court.

• In late 2004, the Ministry of Justice officially announced that it would take the first steps towards implementing civil justice reform in 2005.

• The Law on International Commercial  Arbitration went into effect on September 29, 2004, allowing access to international commercial arbitration mechanisms within Chile. The purpose of this effort is to increase opportunities for reaching agreements and reduce litigation costs.

• In late 2004, Chile had 488 courts, which represented an increase of fifty courts over 2002. This is primarily due to the Criminal Procedure Reform.

• Chile had a total of 766 judges in 2004 (or 5 per 100,000 inhabitants) of whom twenty-one were Supreme Court justices, 151 ministers of the Courts of Appeal, and 594 first instance judges.

• 399,507 complaints of socially relevant crimes were filed in 2004, representing a rate of 2,555 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. This is the highest rate recorded, and represents an 11.7% increase over the previous year.