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| State of Emergency (Chile) | |
|---|---|
| Name | State of Emergency (Chile) |
| Native name | Estado de Excepción Constitucional de Emergencia |
| Jurisdiction | Republic of Chile |
| Enacted by | National Congress / President of Chile |
| Status | variable |
State of Emergency (Chile)
The State of Emergency in Chile is a constitutional instrument enabling exceptional measures during crises, invoked by the President of Chile and regulated by the 1980 Constitution and statutory law. It has been applied in response to uprisings, public disorder, natural disasters, and security threats, intersecting with institutions such as the Supreme Court of Chile, Constitutional Court of Chile, Comptroller General of Chile, Ministry of the Interior and Public Security, and regional Intendancies. The mechanism has generated debate involving figures and entities like Augusto Pinochet, Patricio Aylwin, Michelle Bachelet, Sebastián Piñera, Gabriel Boric, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos.
The legal precursor traces to provisions in constitutions and emergency laws during the Salvador Allende period and the 1973–1990 military regime, notably under Augusto Pinochet when instruments such as estado de sitio and estados de excepción were used. Transitional administrations including Patricio Aylwin and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle reformed public order policy; later crises under Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet, and Sebastián Piñera prompted renewed invocations, for events like the 2010 Chile earthquake, the 2019 protests, the Mapuche conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Judicial and legislative responses involved the Supreme Court of Chile, the Constitutional Court of Chile, and international scrutiny from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The 1980 Constitution, amended in successive legislative packages, establishes exceptional regimes including the estado de excepción constitucional, the estado de sitio, and the estado de emergencia in articles administered via laws such as the Internal Security Law and statutes governing the Carabineros de Chile and Policía de Investigaciones de Chile. Constitutional jurisprudence from the Constitutional Court of Chile and rulings by the Supreme Court of Chile define scope, while oversight is prescribed to the Congress by mandatory notifications and authorizations. International obligations under instruments like the American Convention on Human Rights, treaties ratified by Chile, and decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights constrain measures.
Chile distinguishes several exceptional regimes: declarations for public calamity such as during the 2010 Chile earthquake; public order emergencies used in the 2019 protests; measures for territorial security in the Mapuche conflict affecting regions like Araucanía Region and Biobío Region; and health emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, invoking sanitary powers tied to the Instituto de Salud Pública. Procedures require presidential decree, publication in the Diario Oficial, notification to the Congress, and potential judicial review by the Supreme Court of Chile or constitutional challenge to the Constitutional Court of Chile.
Prominent invocations include: the 1973 Chilean coup d'état aftermath under Augusto Pinochet; responses to the Mapuche conflict involving Temuco and Collipulli; emergency declarations after the 2010 Chile earthquake by President Sebastián Piñera and President Michelle Bachelet administrations; the nationwide 2019–2020 Chilean protests when President Sebastián Piñera deployed measures in Santiago Metropolitan Region and other regions; public order actions during the 2007 Chilean forest fires; and pandemic-related measures under President Sebastián Piñera and President Gabriel Boric. Each instance implicated actors like the Carabineros de Chile, Chilean Army, Chilean Navy, Chilean Air Force, and regional authorities including Intendancy of Santiago.
Declared states grant authorities powers such as temporary restriction of movement in demarcated zones, curfews, control of access to areas, and requisition of facilities, applied by entities like the Carabineros de Chile and the Chilean Army. Restrictions are balanced by constitutional limits, mandatory congressional oversight, and international law standards including the American Convention on Human Rights. The Constitutional Court of Chile has ruled on proportionality and duration, while the Supreme Court of Chile adjudicates individual writs. Legal instruments such as the Penal Code of Chile and administrative law define sanctions and procedures for enforcement.
Invocations have affected rights protected by treaties and domestic law: freedom of assembly and association as exercised by groups like student movements, labor unions, and social organizations; freedom of expression involving media outlets including El Mercurio, La Tercera, and Radio Cooperativa; and indigenous rights claimed by organizations like the CONADI and Mapuche communities including Mapuche groups. Human rights bodies such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have documented allegations of abuses linked to Carabineros de Chile operations, prompting legislative debate in the Congress and reform initiatives affecting policing and security policy.
Oversight mechanisms involve congressional review, judicial remedies in the Supreme Court of Chile and Constitutional Court of Chile, administrative audits by the Comptroller General, and international monitoring by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and United Nations Human Rights Council. Accountability actions include criminal investigations by the Public Ministry of Chile, disciplinary processes within the Carabineros de Chile, and legislative inquiries by committees of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and the Senate of Chile. Civil society actors such as Observatorio Ciudadano (Chile), National Institute of Human Rights, and academic centers at University of Chile and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile contribute research and litigation supporting oversight.
Category:Government of Chile Category:Law of Chile Category:Human rights in Chile