Supreme Court President Gloria Ana Chevesich has proposed to both the Executive and Legislative branches the need for a legal or constitutional reform to regulate the enforcement of Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) rulings in Chile, according to reports from latercera.com.
The announcement was made this Wednesday during a seminar titled “Compliance in Chile with Inter-American Court of Human Rights Rulings,” organized by the Judiciary at the Palacio de Tribunales. The event was attended by various officials, including Minister of Justice Fernando Rabat.
Chevesich warned that the lack of clear regulations creates operational difficulties. “The absence of specific procedural regulation poses very complex challenges for the various bodies called upon to intervene in its implementation,” the magistrate noted.
The Minister detailed that, due to this legal vacuum, the Supreme Court has had to rely on interpretive solutions or ad hoc mechanisms. She specifically cited the cases of “Maldonadamente Vargas et al. v. Chile,” “Norín Catrend et al. v. Chile,” and “Vega González et al. v. Chile.”
Tensions in enforcement
The enforcement of the ruling in the “Vega González et al. v. Chile” case has become a major point of tension. In that proceeding, the IACHR ordered the Chilean State to reverse sentence reductions in 14 cases related to human rights violations.
This ruling forced the Supreme Court to increase sentences for former state agents, which resulted in several individuals convicted of crimes against humanity being returned to prison. The lack of an established procedure for such cases has been challenged by defense attorneys.
Minister Manuel Valderrama, President of the Supreme Court's Second Chamber, explained that the Criminal Chamber has had to address issues that strain the existing regulatory system. Valderrama emphasized the need to provide the system with procedural rules for future cases through a technical and constructive debate.
For his part, Minister of Justice Fernando Rabat agreed on the need for an institutional framework. According to latercera.com, Rabat noted that the lack of a comprehensive mechanism has forced the State to develop improvised responses that fail to guarantee coordination or long-term sustainability.
Chevesich reiterated that while the Judiciary's commitment to complying with resolutions is clear, it is imperative to establish rules and procedures for the internal execution of the regional court's decisions.
