CHILE · COURTS
Key Facts
- The country Chile is a South American democracy where a 21-member Supreme Court oversees discipline of judges.
- Why it matters Rules on judges’ conduct shape legal risk for US companies that sign contracts or invest in Chile.
- Why now The court announced three judge removals on Wednesday 28 October 2026 over trips abroad during medical leave.
- How it works Article 80 lets the Supreme Court remove judges for bad conduct with votes from most of its members.
- What it means for you In Chile the court itself, not the government, decides whether a judge keeps the post.
- Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
Chile’s Supreme Court can remove any judge for bad conduct, and it has just used that power against judges who traveled abroad while on medical leave. The full court announced three more removals on Wednesday 28 October 2026, bringing the judiciary’s count under Article 80 of the Constitution to 18.
This guide explains the rule, the process and the leave regulations, while a separate report covers the Supreme Court’s decision on the three judges. For US readers, it shows who decides whether a judge keeps the post, which matters to companies that sign contracts, litigate or invest in Chile.
In Plain English
The plenary, or Pleno, is the Supreme Court meeting as one body of 21 members. The escalafón primario is the main career ladder, covering judges up to Supreme Court ministers and other court officers.
A removal file, or cuaderno de remoción, is the court’s internal case on a judge’s conduct. The Superintendency of Social Security is the national regulator of medical leave.
What Article 80 Says
Article 80 of the Constitution says judges keep their posts during good behavior, and it lets the Supreme Court declare that a judge has not behaved well. The court can act when the President of the Republic asks, when an interested party asks, or on its own initiative.
Before removal the court needs a report from the accused judge and, where it applies, from the judge’s court of appeals. The vote must come from a majority of all members, which on a 21-member court means at least 11 votes, and the President then carries out the decision.
How the Removal Process Runs
In a 2025 case the judiciary described the steps: the court’s president opens a removal file, the judge has five days to file a report, and a plenary hearing then hears arguments and decides. The court also suspended that judge during the file, citing Article 82 of the Constitution and Article 540 of the Organic Courts Code, the law that governs Chile’s courts.
The five files decided on 28 October had been heard but not voted because the Constitutional Tribunal, a separate court for constitutional challenges, had suspended them. Court president Gloria Ana Chevesich announced three removals and two rejections after plenary sessions on Monday 19 October and Wednesday 28 October, with names to follow once the rulings are final.
Medical Leave Rules for Judges
The Organic Courts Code lets the Supreme Court’s president grant judges sick leave under the general rules for civil servants. Those rules include Decree 3 of 1984 of the Health Ministry, which makes the treating professional certify the diagnosis, the recovery period and the place and type of rest.
Article 55 of the decree allows a leave to be rejected when the worker breaks the prescribed rest, unless the absence was for outpatient treatment ordered by the professional who issued the leave. The Superintendency of Social Security adds that a breach must be proven, that police travel records can serve as proof, and that documented travel for treatment of the same condition is not a breach.
Other Ways to Discipline Judges
Removal is the heaviest tool, since the Organic Courts Code also allows a private admonition, a written censure, a fine or a suspension of up to four months at half pay. The Supreme Court can apply those penalties to any judge.
A constitutional accusation is a political route: 10 to 20 deputies can accuse a judge of the superior courts, meaning the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals, of notable abandonment of duties, and the Senate decides. A guilty verdict needs a majority of senators in office and bars the person from public office for five years.
Why Leave Abuse Reached the Courts
On Tuesday 20 May 2025, Chile’s state audit office, the Comptroller General, published a report finding that 25,078 public employees appeared to have broken their medical rest by traveling abroad in 2023 and 2024. It counted 35,585 leaves and 59,575 entries or exits by their holders, based on investigative police records.
Law 21.746, published on Saturday 24 May 2025, strengthened regulators’ powers and set penalties in the rules on issuing and using medical leave. The judiciary’s 28 October release links its five removal files to members of the judiciary who traveled abroad on medical leave.
What It Means for You
For US companies with disputes in Chile, judges answer to their own top court, which decides removals by a majority of all 21 members. The President can ask for a removal and carries it out, but does not decide it.
US federal judges also hold office during good behavior under Article III of the US Constitution, but are removed through impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. In Chile the top court itself is the main disciplinary body, so the 18 removals came from a court vote, not from Congress.
What Is Not Known
The judiciary has not named the three removed judges or said when the written rulings will be issued. Reports name Daniel Urrutia, a judge of Santiago’s Seventh Garantía Court, a criminal court, as one of the three, and say his lawyer will pursue every available legal action.
Article 80 names no appeal, so it is unclear whether any court can review a plenary removal, and Chevesich said the defense’s request to annul an earlier vote is a matter for an ordinary tribunal to be convened. The judiciary’s release does not say how many removal files remain open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Chile’s Supreme Court remove a judge?
Yes, Article 80 of the Constitution lets it declare that a judge has not behaved well and remove the judge. The vote must come from a majority of all 21 members, which means at least 11 votes.
Can people travel abroad while on medical leave in Chile?
A doctor prescribes rest at a stated place, and breaking that rest can get the leave rejected. Travel for treatment of the same condition does not count as a breach if it is documented.
Is judicial removal the same as impeachment in Chile?
No, removal is a vote of the Supreme Court itself. A constitutional accusation starts in the Chamber of Deputies and is decided by the Senate, and among judges it reaches only those of the superior courts.
Can a removed judge appeal in Chile?
Article 80 does not provide an appeal against a plenary removal vote. Reports say one judge’s lawyer will pursue every available legal action, including a request to annul the vote.
Sources: Poder Judicial de Chile, Supreme Court plenary decision on five removal files, 28 October 2026; Poder Judicial de Chile, steps of a removal file, 27 August 2025; Constitution of Chile, Articles 52, 53, 80 and 82, official consolidated text; Organic Courts Code, Articles 93, 267, 340, 537, 540 and 541, official consolidated text; Decree 3 of 1984, Health Ministry, medical leave regulation; Superintendency of Social Security, compendium on breach of medical rest; Comptroller General of Chile, report on public employees traveling during medical leave, 20 May 2025; Law 21.746, Diario Oficial, 24 May 2025; US National Archives, Constitution of the United States, transcript.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief