Find Lawyers in Chile for Litigation
Practice Area Overview
When a civil or commercial conflict of legal relevance cannot be resolved amicably by the parties, they are forced to resort to adversarial procedures. In Chile, there are mainly two types: Litigation and Arbitration.
Litigation before the courts comprises two stages: the first before the ordinary courts of justice, and the second before the respective Courts of Appeals. Additionally, it is possible to appeal to the Supreme Court to correct serious infractions of law.
The first stage is initiated by the written presentation of the concerned party before the appropriate court. This procedure consists of three stages: a discussion phase, an evidentiary phase, and decision through a final judgment. The total duration of this procedure is between 2 to 4 years depending on its complexity.
If any of the parties is not in agreement with the decision, they can appeal to the respective Court of Appeals, through the means expressly established in the law. Unlike arbitration, these remedies cannot be waived in advance by the parties. The appeal may refer to both factual and legal aspects and must be defended orally before the court, with the appearances of both parties.
The decision of the Court of Appeals may only be reviewed by the Supreme Court, which addresses exclusively infractions to the law. This latter decision is not subject to appeal. The process before the higher courts takes approximately between one to two years.
Judgments issued as a result of the litigation process are binding to the parties and can be enforced compulsorily, even with the help of the public force. The arbitration tribunals lack this judicial power, having to resort to the ordinary court system to obtain it.
Additionally, to ensure compliance with the judgments, there are precautionary measures (injunctions), which can be decreed before and during the entire trial process, even without prior notification to the affected party.
Litigation before common courts constitutes the general rule of dispute resolution in Chile. The exception is arbitration, which is applied when the parties have agreed to it or is expressly provided for by the law (for example, compulsory arbitration proceedings for company liquidation, disputes between partners, partition of assets, insurance contracts, among others). In practice, almost all complex commercial matters are submitted to arbitration by agreement of the parties.
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Cuando un conflicto civil o comercial de relevancia jurídica no puede ser resuelto amigablemente por las partes, los interesados se ven forzados a recurrir a los procedimientos adversariales. En Chile, existen principalmente dos tipos; la litigación y el arbitraje.
Los litigios ante los tribunales constan de dos instancias; la primera ante los tribunales ordinarios de justicia, y la segunda; ante las Cortes de Apelaciones respectivas. Adicionalmente se contempla la posibilidad de recurrir a la Corte Suprema para corregir infracciones de ley graves.
La primera instancia se inicia por la presentación escrita del interesado ante el Tribunal competente. Este procedimiento consta de tres etapas; una fase de discusión, otra de prueba, y una final de decisión a través de una sentencia definitiva. La duración total de este procedimiento es de 2 a 4 años dependiendo de su complejidad.
Si alguna de las partes no está conforme con esta decisión puede recurrir ante la Corte de Apelaciones respectiva, por medio de los recursos expresamente establecidos en la ley. A diferencia del arbitraje estos recursos no pueden ser renunciados de forma anticipada por las partes. El recurso que se interponga podrá referirse tanto a aspectos de hecho como de derecho y deberá defenderse de forma oral ante la Corte, con la comparecencia de ambas partes.
La decisión de la Corte de Apelaciones sólo podrá ser revisada por la Corte Suprema, quien deberá avocarse a las infracciones de ley. Esta última decisión no será susceptible de recursos.
La tramitación ante los tribunales superiores es de uno a dos años aproximadamente.
Las sentencias que se dicten como resultado del proceso de litigación son vinculantes para las partes, pudiendo hacerse cumplir de forma compulsiva, incluso con auxilio de la fuerza pública. Los tribunales arbitrales carecen de esta facultad de imperio, debiendo recurrirse a la justicia ordinaria para obtenerla.
Adicionalmente, para asegurar el cumplimiento de las sentencias, existen medidas precautorias, que pueden decretarse antes y durante toda la tramitación del juicio, incluso sin previa notificación del afectado.
La litigación ante los tribunales ordinarios constituye la regla general de resolución de controversias en Chile. La excepción es el arbitraje, que se aplica cuando así lo pactaron las partes o lo establece expresamente la ley (por ejemplo son materias de arbitraje forzoso los juicios sobre liquidación de sociedades; disputas entre socios; partición de bienes; contrato de seguros; entre otras). En la práctica, casi todas las materias comerciales complejas son sometidas a arbitraje por acuerdo de las partes.
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