CHILE · COURTS
Key Facts
- The country Chile is a South American democracy whose 21-member Supreme Court runs the judiciary and can remove judges.
- Why it matters The court used its own constitutional power, so the case tests how the judiciary polices itself.
- What happened On Wednesday 28 October the court removed three judges over sick-leave trips abroad, 18 removals in all.
- What it means for you No effect on travel or trade; it matters to investors and expats who rely on Chilean courts.
- Still open The written rulings and the other two names are unpublished, and the defense plans further legal challenges.
- Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
The Pleno is the full Supreme Court of 21 members, which decides removals together. Article 80 is the constitutional clause that lets it remove a judge who has not kept good behavior.
A garantía court is a Chilean criminal court that protects the rights of the accused. The Constitutional Tribunal is a separate court that rules on constitutional challenges.
Chile’s Supreme Court removed three judges on Wednesday 28 October for traveling abroad while signed off work on medical leave, the judiciary announced. One of them is reported to be Daniel Urrutia, a judge of Santiago’s Seventh Garantía Court, whose lawyer called the decision “a tremendous error” and promised further legal action.
The case matters to US readers because Chile is a close trade partner, with US goods trade totaling an estimated US$38.1 billion in 2025 under a free trade agreement in force since 1 January 2004. The court’s own count of removals under the same power is now 18, and related coverage sits on the Chile page.
What the Court Decided
The full court, the Pleno, resolved five removal files on Wednesday after sessions on 19 October and 28 October. It removed one judge unanimously and two by divided votes, and rejected two removals, one by majority and one because that person was not serving as a judge during the leave.
Court president Gloria Ana Chevesich said the five files had not been voted earlier because the Constitutional Tribunal had suspended their processing. The court used its power under Article 80 of the Constitution, and she said the names will be published once the rulings are final.
The court’s announcement does not say what each file contained. Reports say the case against Urrutia rested on two trips made while he was on medical leave, one to Costa Rica in 2020 and one to Ecuador in 2022.
Reports add that the Court of Appeals of Santiago closed earlier disciplinary proceedings over the trips in May without sanctioning him, and his lawyer cites that outcome. The Supreme Court then used the separate removal route in Article 80, and the dates of the two trips have not been published.
Who Is Daniel Urrutia
Urrutia has served as a judge of Santiago’s Seventh Garantía Court. He is also the judge at the center of a 27 August 2020 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the regional human rights tribunal based in San José, Costa Rica, which held Chile responsible for violating his freedom of expression, his judicial guarantees and the principle of legality.
That case began when an appeals court censured him in writing in 2005 over an academic paper that urged the judiciary to make reparations for its role in human rights violations under military rule. The regional court’s official summary records that the Supreme Court cut the penalty to a private reprimand and annulled it on 29 May 2018.
Urrutia’s lawyer, Carlos Quezada, called the removal “a tremendous error” and “a settling of scores over things that had no relation to this”, and said the defense will use every legal action available. The defense has also asked for the earlier vote to be annulled, and Chevesich said Urrutia’s filing will be a matter for an ordinary tribunal to be convened in due course.
How Removal Works
Article 80 of the Constitution lets the Supreme Court declare that a judge has not kept good behavior and remove the judge after a report from the accused and from the relevant appeals court. Removal needs a majority of all the court’s members, and with 21 members that means at least 11 votes.
The agreement is communicated to the President of the Republic for execution. In June the court opened 56 removal files after reviewing 104 disciplinary investigations, the judiciary announced on Tuesday 16 June.
An explainer on how Chile removes judges for leave abuse sets out the medical-leave rules. The first removals came in September, as an earlier report on Chilean judges sacked over sick leave abroad described.
What It Means for You
The ruling has no direct effect on travel, trade rules or US business in Chile. It matters to investors and expats who rely on Chilean courts, because the highest court has now removed 18 members of the judiciary under its own power.
Readers can watch whether the written rulings are issued and the names published, and how the ordinary tribunal handles Urrutia’s challenge. Those steps will show whether the removals hold.
What Is Not Known
The written rulings have not been issued, so the legal grounds, each judge’s vote count and the names of all three removed judges are not public. Press accounts differ on who the other two are and on which was removed unanimously, so those details are left out.
It is not known whether the annulment request or other challenges will succeed, or what the ordinary tribunal mentioned by the court president will decide. It is also unclear when the rulings become final, the point at which the court has said the names will be published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Daniel Urrutia?
Daniel Urrutia has served as a judge of the Seventh Garantía Court in Santiago, a criminal court that protects the rights of the accused. He is reported to be one of the three judges removed by Chile’s Supreme Court on 28 October 2026.
Why did Chile’s Supreme Court remove the judges?
The court says they did not maintain the good behavior that Article 80 of the Constitution requires. The files concerned trips abroad made while the judges were signed off work on medical leave.
Can the removed judges appeal?
The court has not described an appeal route for the removals. Urrutia’s lawyer has asked for the vote to be annulled and promised to use every legal action available.
How many Chilean judges have been removed?
The Supreme Court says it has now removed 18 members of the judiciary under Article 80 of the Constitution. That count includes the three removals announced on 28 October 2026.
Sources: Poder Judicial de Chile, Supreme Court full-court release on five removal files, 28 October 2026; Poder Judicial de Chile, release on 104 investigations and 56 removal files, 16 June 2026; Constitution of Chile, Article 80, Library of Congress of Chile; Organic Courts Code, Articles 14 and 93, Library of Congress of Chile; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Urrutia Laubreaux v. Chile, official summary, 27 August 2020; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Urrutia Laubreaux v. Chile, full judgment, 27 August 2020; Office of the US Trade Representative, Chile country page, accessed 29 October 2026.
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