Supreme Court of Chile

The Supreme Court of Chile (Spanish: Corte Suprema de Justicia de Chile) is the highest court in Chile and the head of the Chilean judiciary. Seated in the Justice Courts Palace in the capital, Santiago, it exercises "directive, correctional, and economic" oversight over nearly all of the country's courts, with the exception of the Constitutional Court, the Election Certification Tribunal, and the regional electoral tribunals.

Installed on 29 December 1823 under Chile's 1823 constitution, it is among the oldest institutions of its kind in the world and the oldest still-functioning supreme court in Latin America. In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review—it cannot set binding precedent or invalidate laws—and instead resolves matters case by case. Most cases are heard in salas (specialized chambers) of at least five judges; a smaller number of matters go before the full court sitting en pleno.

History

The idea of a supreme tribunal for Chile predates the Court's actual founding. The 1811 "Provisional Regulation for the Administration of Justice" first proposed a "Supreme Judicial Tribunal," and the constitutions of 1818 and 1822 each envisioned a similar body, though none was implemented.

The 1823 Constitution created the "Supreme Court of Justice," describing it as the "first judicial magistracy of the State" and charging it with protecting individual and judicial guarantees. It was installed on 29 December 1823 with four ministers, a president, and a national prosecutor; its first members were José Gregorio Argomedo (president), Francisco Antonio Pérez, Gaspar Marín, and Lorenzo José Villalón, with Mariano Egaña as prosecutor. The 1828 Constitution renamed the body the "Supreme Court" (Corte Suprema), the name it retains today.