Queja de derecho in Chile? 12:16 Dec 9, 2014
Yes, it does exist, but it’s called a ‘recurso de queja’ following the pattern where all appeals against sentences etc. in Chile are called ‘recursos de …”.
The recurso de queja was originally allowed for a wide range of claims of miscarriage of justice, but the law has been tightened up over the years - partly because it was being mis-used to get revenge on judges. A judge found 'guilty as charged' in a recurso de queja can be admonished, fined or temporarily suspended.
It is now allowed only in a very restricted number of circumstances, specifically where the judge has made certain kinds of formal procedural error when delivering a decision or sentence. It is therefore a recurso (queja) 'de derecho’ in as much as it is based on an error ‘de derecho’, not ‘de hecho’.
An important difference compared to the Peruvian 'queja de derecho', as I understand it, is that a Chilean recurso de queja can only be made against a judge, and it decided upon by the court of appeal for that judge's jurisdiction. No-one else is (or needs to be) involved (fiscalía, etc.), since it only deals with matters 'de derecho' for which the judiciary has sole responsability. |