Beyond the Judicial Review of Public Power: The Horizontal Effects of Constitutional Rights in Chile

Martínez-Estay, José Ignacio; Arancibia Mattar, Jaime

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55186-9_23

José Ignacio Martínez-Estay⁵ &
Jaime Arancibia Mattar⁵

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 61))

1048 Accesses

Abstract

In classic constitutionalism, rights and freedoms were conceived as protection barriers against power, not against individuals. Nevertheless, today it does not seem so clear that constitutional rights have only the State as passive subject, at least since the German theory of Drittwirkung or the horizontal effects of constitutional rights. In this article, we will analyze the horizontal effects of constitutional rights in Chile, and how has been recognized and applied by the jurisprudence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 109.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Softcover Book: USD 139.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 199.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
Laws No. 18.895, 19.055, 19.097, 19.174, 19.295, 19.448, 19.519, 19.526, 19.541, 19.597, 19.611, 19.634, 19.643, 19.671, 19.672, 19.742, 19.876, 20.050, 20.162, 20.193, 20.245, 20.337, 20.346, 20.352, 20.354, 20.390, 20.414, 20.503, 20.515, 20.516, 20.573, 20.644, 20.710.
2.
Favoreau, Louis y Rubio, Francisco, El bloque de la constitucionalidad (1991), p. 19.
3.
“The sovereignty assertion recognizes as limitation the respect of the essential rights that arise from human nature. It is the duty of the State agencies to respect and promote those rights, guaranteed both by this Constitution and by the international treaties ratified by Chile and that are in force”.
4.
“Institutionalism Bases”, Arts. 1–9. This Chapter collects the basic principles of the Chilean constitutional system, such as subsidiarity, State serviceability, supremacy and direct applicability of the Constitution, among others.
5.
“Of Constitutional Rights and Duties”, Arts. 19–23.
6.
“Constitutional Court”, Arts. 92–94.
7.
“Electoral Justice”, Arts. 95–97.
8.
“National Security Council”, Arts. 106 and 107.
9.
“Constitutional Reform”, Arts. 17–129.
10.
Pereira Menaut, Antonio Carlos, Teoría Constitucional (2006), p. 56.
11.
Ibíd., p. 58.
12.
Loewenstein, Karl, Teoría Constitucional (1976), 2^nd ed., pp. 216 and following.
13.
Cfr. Transitory Article 24 of the Constitution, which allowed the President of the Republic to adopt restrictive measures on rights and freedoms in exceptional circumstances. It also provided that no legal action could be brought against the measures adopted by the President of the Republic in those cases. This provision weakened the effectiveness of fundamental rights. In addition, during this period (1981–1989), Chapter IV on the National Congress was not in force. The legislative power was exercised by the Military Board.
14.
Art. 1 of the Civil Code.
15.
Kriele, Martin, Introducción a la Teoría del Estado (1980), pp. 149 and following.
16.
Schwartz, Constitutional Law (1972), p. 3.
17.
See Soto Kloss, Eduardo, Derecho Administrativo. Bases Fundamentales (1996), Volume II, p. 163 and following. Also his work Derecho Administrativo (2010), 2^nd ed., p. 443 and following.
18.
“Article 6. State authorities shall subject their action to the Constitution and to the norms promulgated according to it, and to guarantee the institutional order of the Republic. The provisions of this Constitution oblige both the holder and the members of said entities and every person, institution or group. The infringement of this norm will generate the liabilities and penalties prescribed by law”.
19.
“Article 7.- The State organizations act validly prior to their members regular investiture, within their competence and as prescribed by law. No judiciary, no one nor a group of persons may attribute, not even under the pretext of extraordinary circumstances, another authority or rights than those expressly conferred by virtue of the Constitution or the laws. Any act that infringes this Article is null and will originate the liabilities and penalties prescribed by law”.
20.
See the judgments of the Constitutional Court, Dockets No 1,348 (paragraph 34º and 35º), 1,710 (paragraph 40º), 2,025 (paragraph Nº 13º and 14º), 2,026 (paragraph 28º), 2,081 (paragraph 5º), 2,108 (paragraph 15º), 2,505 (paragraph 4º), 2,113 (parapgraph 7º), 2,647 (paragraph 15º), 2,648 (paragraph 14º), 2,700 (paragraph 4º), 2,841 (paragraph 4º).
21.
Art. 93 No. 1: constitutionality control of drafts of interpretative bills of the Constitution, of Constitutional Organic laws and of International Treaties that include norms equivalent to Constitutional Organic laws.
22.
Art. 93 Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 16.
23.
See the judgment of Constitutional Court, Docket Nº 2.627, paragraph Nº 23.
24.
For example, Guzmán Brito, Alejandro, El Derecho Privado Constitucional de Chile (2001) and Aguilar Cavallo, Gonzalo, “Principio de Solidaridad y Derecho Privado: Comentario sobre un fallo de la Corte Constitucional”, in Ius et Praxis 14, 2008, pp. 593–610.
25.
Among others, Martínez Estay, José Ignacio: “Particulares como sujetos pasivos de los derechos fundamentales: La doctrina del efecto horizontal de los derechos”, in Revista Chilena de Derecho, special number 1998, 59-64; Fernández, Miguel Ángel, “Fundamentos Constitucionales del Derecho de los Contratos: Intangibilidad, Autonomía de la Buena Voluntad y la Buena Fe”, Cuadernos de Extensión Jurídica Universidad de los Andes No. 6, 2002, pp. 17–46; Aldunate Lizana, Eduardo, “El efecto irradiación de los derechos fundamentales”, in VVAA, La Constitucionalización del Derecho Chileno (2003), Universidad Austral de Chile y Editorial Jurídica de Chile, pp. 13–38; Fernández, Miguel Ángel, “Constitución y Autonomía de la Voluntad”, in VVAA, Sesquicentenario del Código Civil de Andrés Bello (2005), T. II, Santiago, Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de Chile, y LexisNexis, pp. 1245-1269; Aguilar Cavallo, Gonzalo y Contreras Rojas, Cristian, “El Efecto Horizontal de los Derechos y su Reconocimiento Expreso en las Relaciones Laborales en Chile”, in Ius et Praxis 13, 2007, pp. 205–243; Nogueira Alcalá, Humberto, Derechos fundamentales y garantías constitucionales (2008); Alcalde Rodríguez, Enrique, “Relación entre valores y principios generales de Derecho en la interpretación constitucional de los derechos fundamentales” in Revista Chilena de Derecho, 35 No.3, 2008, pp. 463–484; Figueroa García Huidobro, Rodolfo, “Justiciabilidad de los derechos sociales económicos y culturales. Discusión teórica”, in Revista Chilena de Derecho, 36, 3, 2009, pp. 587–620; Aldunate Lizana, Eduardo, “La fuerza normativa de la Constitución y el sistema de fuentes del Derecho”, in Revista de Derecho de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso XXXII, 2009, pp. 443–484; Marshall Barberan, Pablo, “El efecto horizontal de los derechos y la competencia del juez para aplicar la Constitución” in Estudios Constitucionales 8, 2010, pp. 43–78.
26.
Both the protection action and the legal protection or habeas corpus are entertained by the Court of Appeal in the first instance, and by the Supreme Court in the second instance.
27.
See the judgment of Constitutional Court, Docket Nº 2.846, paragraph Nº Fifth.
28.
Soto Kloss, Eduardo, El recurso de protección (1982), p. 312.
29.
Ibid., p. 312.
30.
Gómez Bernales, Gastón, Derechos fundamentales y recurso de protección (2005), pp. 247 and following.
31.
Vergara Blanco, Alejandro, “La propietarización de los derechos”, in Revista de Derecho de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, t. XIV, pp. 281–283.
32.
Cea Egaña, José Luis, Derecho Constitucional Chileno, vol. II, Ediciones UC, 2012, p.565. “Propietarización” means rights of property over other rights.
33.
Supreme Court, 24 June 1997, Docket No. 4.033; Supreme Court, 19 April 2010, Docket No. 1554; Supreme Court, 6 September 2010, Docket No. 649; Supreme Court, 2 december 2013, Docket No. 134,608.
34.
Supreme Court, 6 April 1989, Docket No. 504–88. See also, Supreme Court, 7 March 1994, Docket No. 22,522; Supreme Court, 17 May 1995, Docket No. 24,655.
35.
Supreme Court, 10 July 1995, Docket No. 31,799.
36.
Supreme Court, 10 July 1995, Docket No. 31,799.
37.
These companies, known as ISAPREs (social insurance health institutes), render health insurance services exclusively. The persons may freely choose to pay their health contributions to an ISAPRE or to the State health insurance system known as FONASA (National Fund of Health). The ISAPREs were established by Statutory Decree (D.F.L.) No.3 of the Ministry of Health on March 1981. The persons may deposit their mandatory contributions (7% of their taxable remuneration) in private organizations based on an insurance scheme, thus covering their health expenses. Obviously, one may also choose the State health insurance, which has additionally a subsidiary character, since it covers those who cannot pay a private insurance. This as a consequence of the State subsidiarity principle recognized in the Constitution. Art. 1.
38.
Some of the various cases upon which this doctrine has sustained: Supreme Court, 22 May 1989, Docket No. 14,167; Supreme Court, 30 October 1991, Docket No. 17.739; Supreme Court, 25 April 1995, Docket No. 24,830; Supreme Court, 21 July 2005, Docket No. 2,046; Supreme Court, 12 July 2005, Docket No. 2,156. More recently, Supreme Court, 6 September 2010, Docket 6271–2010; Supreme Court, 17 May 2010, Docket No. 2933–2010.
39.
Supreme Court, 2 April 2012, Docket No. 2.485; Supreme Court, 9 may 2013, Docket No. 2,717; Supreme Court, 30 August 2010, Docket No. 6,054; Supreme Court, 23 August 2005, Docket No. 3,737.
40.
Article 576.
41.
Article 577.
42.
Article 577.
43.
Article 578.
44.
Article 583.
45.
López Santa María, Jorge, Los contratos. Parte general (1986), p. 204.
46.
Article 1,437.
47.
Supreme Court, resource of inapplicability, judgment of 24 December 1968.
48.
Fuentes Olmos, Jessica, El derecho de propiedad en la Constitución y la Jurisprudencia, recursos de protección e inaplicabilidad 1981–1996 (1998), p. 78 and 79.
49.
Jana Linetzky, Andrés y Marín González, Juan Carlos, Recurso de Protección y Contratos (1996), p. 46.
50.
Fuentes Olmos, p. 80 and 81. See the judgment of the Supreme Court, 13 October 2013, Docket Nº 24,703 (paragraph 9º and 10º).
51.
Supreme Court, 11 December 1989, Docket No. 15,078.
52.
Supreme Court, 28 September 1993, Docket No. 21,753.
53.
Court of Appeals of San Miguel, 19 March 1996, Docket No. 305–95.
54.
Supreme Court, 27 December 1994, Docket No. 24,257.
55.
The exception is constituted by the right to live in a free from pollution environment; the right to health protection as regards the power to choose between the public and the private health system; and the right to unionize which are certainly guaranteed by the resource of protection.
56.
Law No. 18,469 that “regulates the exercise of the Constitutional Law to health protection and sets up a Health Benefit Régime”.
57.
Supreme Court, 29 January 1988, Docket No.14,021, where as clause 10.
58.
Supreme Court, 28 December1987. Docket No. 13,857, where as clauses 7 and 8.
59.
Supreme Court, 5 March 2001. Docket No. 381–01.
60.
Law 18,469 that “regulates the Constitutional Law exercise to health protection and establishes a Health Benefit Régime “
61.
Supreme Court, 9 October 2001. Docket No. 826–01, where as clauses 3, 5 and 6.
62.
Supreme Court, 26 March 2002. Docket No. 547–02, where as clause 8.
63.
Supreme Court, 16 December 2009. Docket No. 563–09.
64.
See note 31.
65.
The relationship between persons and Isapres has a contractual character, as derived from Art. 184 of Statutory Decree No. 1 of 2006; the contractual freedom of the parties is regulated and limited by a series of conditions and prohibitions. Among the conditions contemplated by this Statutory Decree there was the possibility of the Isapres revising the prices of the health programs offered. To this effect they should apply to the base prices “the factor or factors in respect of each beneficiary, in line with the respective table of factors” (Art. 199 subparagraph 1). The table of factors structure was determined through an administrative act by the Health Superintendency, wherein were considered the parameters of sex and condition or burden of the contributor, and the age range (Art. 199). Isapres were free “to determine the factors of each table used” (Art. 199).
66.
Article 38 of Law No. 18.933, Article 199 Statutory Decree (Ministry of Health) No. 1 of 2005, that determines the integrated, coordinated and systematized text of S.D. No. 2,763 of 1979, and of Laws Nos. 18,933 and 18,469.
67.
Judgments dockets 976, where as clause 26; 1218, where as clause 20, and 1287, where as clause 20, respectively.
68.
Where as clause 32 of judgments dockets 976, 1218 1287.
69.
Where as clauses 47 and 88, respectively.
70.
Judgment docket 1710, where as clause 94. It should be considered that the expression “fundamental rights” was originated in Germany (Grundrechte), and implies the idea that rights are “the foundation of all the judicial and evaluative system, a system of value suits and ethic choices, the proper Constitution being…, ‘a positivistic set of values’ that shall permeate everything”. Pereira menaut, antonio carlos, Teoría Constitucional (2006), p. 251. But one usually forgets that the German view of the Constitution and the rights is not the only one, nor that fits the Constitutional Law origins and sense. As Pereira himself notes, in the traditional English, North American and French constitutions, the rights have been seen differently “(“an English rights of birth”, “freedom”, “civic freedom”, “public freedoms”) not as foundation of political community nor of judicial system, or as a set of values, but as brake or limitation intended to protect us from the State interference”. Ibíd.
71.
Judgments dockets 976, where as clause 34; 1218, where as clause 35 and 1287, where as clause 35, respectively.
72.
Judgments dockets 976, where as clauses 36, 37, 38 and 42; 1218, where as clauses 37, 38, 39 and 43, and 1287, where as clauses 37, 38, 39 and 43, respectively. Art. 19 No. 26 states that “The Constitution guarantees all persons that the certainty of legal provisions that by authority of the Constitution regulates or complements the guarantees by it established or limit them whenever authorized, may not affect rights in their essence nor impose conditions, taxes or requisites avoiding its free exercise.
73.
Judgments dockets 976, where as clause 63; 1218, where as clause 61; 1273, where as clause 77; 1287, where as clause 66, y 1710, where as clause 155, respectively.
74.
Where as clauses 9, 5, 5 and 2, respectively.
75.
As Pereira states, “right is the implementation of justice to concrete cases, to reality. It does not coincide a hundred per cent with justice, it would be rather that the quantity of possible justice in whichever suits. Its aim is the solution of conflicts, not to make men good but neither bad: good law will indirectly induce people to behave better -”. Pereira menaut, antonio carlos, p olítica y d erecho (2010), p. 59.
76.
Where as clause 51; and on he same terms judgment docket No. 1140, where as clause 45 and judgment docket No. 1254, where as clause 77.
77.
Where as clauses 25, 19 and 19 of judgments dockets 976, 1218 and 1287, respectively. In judgments dockets Nos. 1273 and 1710, the Constitutional Court departs somewhat from the previous decisions, since rather than speaking about values, it arguments on the basis of the person dignity, to which attributes the character of principle and norm (where as clauses 46 and 48, respectively). This argument is based on Pereira’s view concerning the person dignity (judgment docket 1273, where as clause 44), to which, together with life, freedom and equality, qualifies as pre-legal realities. The problem resides in that, for Pereira, pre-judicial realities are that and not principles, even less norms. For an analysis related to what he understands by values, principles and norms, see his Teoría Constitucional (2006), p. 315 and following.
78.
Pereira menaut, antonio carlos, Teoría Constitucional (2006), p. 320.
79.
Ibíd., p. 322. Pereira himself correctly holds that values “fit badly into the legal reasoning, they may distort the right interpretation and application. They insert non-legal evidences, sometimes openly ideological; increase insecurity and in the specific case, threat normal allotment development, due to the fact that they do not try to give their own to each one but promote a value. As stated by Richard Stith, values do not propose proceedings but targets (not always legal), therefore tending to pay slight attention as to how those targets are reached; thence the contrary to legal reasoning”. Pereira menaut, antonio carlos, p olítica y d erecho (2010), pp. 62–63.

References

Chile

Alcalde Rodríguez, Enrique, “Relación entre valores y principios generales de Derecho en la interpretación constitucional de los derechos fundamentales” in Revista Chilean de Derecho, 35 N° 3, 2008, pp. 463–484.
Google Scholar
Aldunate Lizana, Eduardo, “El efecto irradiación de los derechos fundamentales”, VVAA, La Constitucionalización del Derecho Chileno (2003), Universidad Austral de Chile y Editorial Jurídica de Chile, pp. 13–38.
Google Scholar
Aldunate Lizana, Eduardo, “La fuerza normativa de la Constitución y el sistema de fuentes del Derecho”, in Revista de Derecho de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso XXXII, 2009, pp. 443–484.
Google Scholar
Aguilar Cavallo, Gonzalo, “Principio de solidaridad y Derecho Privado: Comentario a una sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional”, in Ius et Praxis 14, 2008, pp. 593–610.
Google Scholar
Aguilar Cavallo, Gonzalo y Contreras Rojas, Cristian, “El Efecto Horizontal de los Derechos Humanos y su Reconocimiento Expreso en las Relaciones Laborales en Chile”, in Ius et Praxis 13, 2007, pp. 205–243.
Google Scholar
Cea Egaña, José Luis, Derecho Constitucional Chileno, vol. II, Ediciones UC, 2012.
Google Scholar
Fernández, Miguel Ángel, “Fundamentos Constitucionales del Derecho de los Contratos: Intangibilidad, Autonomía de la Voluntad y Buena Fe”, Cuadernos de Extensión Jurídica Universidad de los Andes No. 6, 2002, pp. 17-46.
Google Scholar
Fernández, Miguel Ángel, “Constitución y Autonomía de la Voluntad”, in VVAA, Sesquicentenario del Código Civil de Andrés Bello (2005), T. II, Santiago, Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de Chile y LexisNexis, pp. 1245–1269.
Google Scholar
Figueroa García Huidobro, Rodolfo, “Justiciabilidad de los derechos sociales económicos y culturales. Discusión teórica”, in Revista Chilean de Derecho, 36, 3, 2009, pp. 587–620.
Google Scholar
Fuentes Olmos, Jessica, El right of property en la Constitución y la Jurisprudencia, recursos de protección e inaplicabilidad 1981-1996, Editorial Jurídica Conosur Ltda., Santiago, 1998.
Google Scholar
Gómez Bernales, Gastón, Derechos fundamentales y recurso de protección, Ediciones Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, 2005.
Google Scholar
Guzmán Brito, Alejandro, El Derecho Privado Constitucional de Chile, Ediciones Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2001.
Google Scholar
Jana, Andrés “La eficacia horizontal de los derechos fundamentales”, in Los derechos fundamentales, AA. VV., Seminario en Latinoamérica de Teoría Constitucional y Política, Buenos Aires, 2003.
Google Scholar
Jana Linetzky, Andrés y Marín González, Juan Carlos, Recurso de Protection y Contratos, Editorial Jurídica de Chile, Santiago, 1996.
Google Scholar
López Santa María1986JorgeLos contratos. Parte generalEditorial Jurídica de Chile, SantiagoLópez Santa María, Jorge, Los contratos. Parte general, Editorial Jurídica de Chile, Santiago, 1986.
Google Scholar
Marshall Barberan, Pablo, “El efecto horizontal de los derechos y la competencia del juez para aplicar la Constitución” en Estudios Constitucionales 8, 2010, pp. 43–78.
Google Scholar
Martínez Estay, José Ignacio: “Los particulares como sujetos pasivos de los derechos fundamentales: La doctrina del efecto horizontal de los derechos”, in Revista Chilena de Derecho, número especial, 1998, 59–64.
Google Scholar
Nogueira Alcalá, Humberto, Derechos fundamentales y garantías constitucionales, Librotecnia, Santiago, 2008, Tomo I.
Google Scholar
Pereira Menaut, Antonio-Carlos, Lecciones de Teoría Constitucional, Colex, Madrid, 1997.
Google Scholar
Pereira Menaut, Antonio-Carlos, Teoría Constitucional, LexisNexis, Santiago, 2006.
Google Scholar
Pereira Menaut, Antonio-Carlos, Política y Derecho, Abeledo Perrot, Santiago, 2010.
Google Scholar
Soto Kloss, Eduardo, Derecho Administrativo. Bases Fundamentales, Editorial Jurídica de Chile, Santiago,1996, Tomo II.
Google Scholar
Soto Kloss, Eduardo, Derecho Administrativo. Temas Fundamentales, LegalPublishing-Abeledo Perrot, Santiago, 2010, 2ª ed.
Google Scholar
Soto Kloss, Eduardo, El recurso de protección, Editorial Jurídica, Santiago, 1982.
Google Scholar
Vergara Blanco, Alejandro, “La propietarización de los derechos” en Revista de Derecho de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, t. XIV, pp. 281–291.
Google Scholar

Other Countries

Favoreau, Louis y Rubio Llorente, Francisco, El bloque de la constitucionalidad, Madrid, Civitas, 1991.
Google Scholar
Kriele, Martin, Introducción a la Teoría del Estado, Depalma, Buenos Aires, 1980.
Google Scholar
Loewenstein, Karl: Teoría Constitucional, 2ª.ed., Ariel, Barcelona, 1976.
Google Scholar
Schwartz, Constitutional Law, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1972.
Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Universidad de los Andes, Mons. Alvaro del Portillo 12.455, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
José Ignacio Martínez-Estay & Jaime Arancibia Mattar

Authors

José Ignacio Martínez-Estay
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Jaime Arancibia Mattar
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to José Ignacio Martínez-Estay or Jaime Arancibia Mattar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Faculty of Law, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
Rainer Arnold
University of the Andes, Santiago, Las Condes, Chile
José Ignacio Martínez-Estay

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Martínez-Estay, J.I., Arancibia Mattar, J. (2017). Beyond the Judicial Review of Public Power: The Horizontal Effects of Constitutional Rights in Chile. In: Arnold, R., Martínez-Estay, J. (eds) Rule of Law, Human Rights and Judicial Control of Power. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 61. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55186-9_23

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55186-9_23
Published: 17 May 2017
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55184-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55186-9
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics