Constitution of Chile
Encyclopedia
In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military
government, with Augusto Pinochet
as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta
(formed by the heads of the navy, air force
, National Police, and a representative of the army
, the head of the Army being president of the republic), to a civil one, with a time frame of eight years, during which the Legislative Power would still be the Military Junta. It set the first eight year presidential term for Pinochet, with a plebiscite in the eighth year, in which only one candidate, nominated by the Junta, would be accepted or not. The candidate, as expected, was Pinochet himself. While the steps to follow in the case of a triumph of the "yes" option, which the document obviously anticipated, were clearly delineated, the steps for the "no" triumph were less so, but still clear enough that no serious doubt emerged when the "no" option actually was victorious in the 1988 plebiscite.
After the plebiscite, several modifications
to the Constitution were agreed and subjected to referendum, among them a simplification on the mechanism of future modification.
In 2005 over 50 reforms were approved, which eliminated some of the remaining undemocratic areas of the text, such as the existence of non-elected Senators (appointed senators, or senators for life) and the inability of the President to remove the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. These reforms led the President to controversially declare Chile's transition to democracy as complete. However, the anti-terrorist measures
of it remained in force.
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
government, with Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
(formed by the heads of the navy, air force
Chilean Air Force
The Chilean Air Force is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.-History:The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France...
, National Police, and a representative of the army
Chilean Army
The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army is organized into seven divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade....
, the head of the Army being president of the republic), to a civil one, with a time frame of eight years, during which the Legislative Power would still be the Military Junta. It set the first eight year presidential term for Pinochet, with a plebiscite in the eighth year, in which only one candidate, nominated by the Junta, would be accepted or not. The candidate, as expected, was Pinochet himself. While the steps to follow in the case of a triumph of the "yes" option, which the document obviously anticipated, were clearly delineated, the steps for the "no" triumph were less so, but still clear enough that no serious doubt emerged when the "no" option actually was victorious in the 1988 plebiscite.
After the plebiscite, several modifications
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to the Constitution were agreed and subjected to referendum, among them a simplification on the mechanism of future modification.
In 2005 over 50 reforms were approved, which eliminated some of the remaining undemocratic areas of the text, such as the existence of non-elected Senators (appointed senators, or senators for life) and the inability of the President to remove the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. These reforms led the President to controversially declare Chile's transition to democracy as complete. However, the anti-terrorist measures
Anti-terrorism legislation
Anti-terrorism legislation designs various types of laws passed in the aim of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations...
of it remained in force.
Timeline of Constitutions
- Reglamento para el arreglo de la Autoridad Ejecutiva Provisoria de Chile 1811
- Reglamento Constitucional 1812
- Reglamento para el gobierno Provisorio 1814
- Constitución de 1818
- Constitución de 1822
- Constitución de 1823
- Ensayo Federal de 1826
- Constitución de 1828
- Constitución de 1833Chilean Constitution of 1833thumb|right|200px|Painting of Diego Portales. The Constitution of 1833 has been seen as the embodiement of the "Portalian thought".The Constitution of 1833 was the constitution used in Chile from 1833 to 1925 when it was replaced by the Constitution of 1925...
- Written among others by Mariano EgañaMariano EgañaMariano Egaña Fabres was a Chilean lawyer, conservative politician and the main writer of the Chilean Constitution of 1833....
and Manuel José Gandarillas- Reinterpreted after the 1891 Civil WarChilean Civil WarThe Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...
augmenting the power of the National Congress of ChileNational Congress of ChileThe National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...
- Reinterpreted after the 1891 Civil War
- Constitución de 1925Chilean Constitution of 1925The Constitution of 1925 was the constitution in force in Chile between 1925 and 1973 when the Government Junta suspended it. In the 1920s Chile suffered from a severe social and economic crisis that led to the loss of prestige for old ruling class, labeled oligarchy in Chilean historiography, and...
- Written among others by Arturo Alessandri Palma and José Maza - Constitución de 1980 - Written among others by Jaime GuzmánJaime GuzmánJaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz was a Chilean lawyer and senator, member and doctrinal founder of the conservative Independent Democrat Union party. He opposed Marxist President Salvador Allende and later became a close advisor to dictator Augusto Pinochet. A professor of Constitutional Law, he...
- Has been reformed in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
See also
- Chilean transition to democracyChilean transition to democracyThe Chilean transition to democracy began when a Constitution establishing a transition itinerary was approved in a plebiscite. From March 11, 1981 to March 11, 1990, several organic constitutional laws were approved leading to the final restoration of democracy...
- Constitutional economicsConstitutional economicsConstitutional economics is a research program in economics and constitutionalism that has been described as extending beyond the definition of 'the economic analysis of constitutional law' in explaining the choice "of alternative sets of legal-institutional-constitutional rules that constrain the...
- ConstitutionalismConstitutionalismConstitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law"....
External links
- 2005 recasting of the 1980 Constitution (PDF version) (Spanish original)
- Official translation of the original 1980 Constitution (PDF file)
- Text of Chilean constitutions - Library of Congress of Chile (Spanish original)
- "Untying the knot" (The Economist)