[NEW PUBLICATION] “Trial by Jury in Chile”

August 12, 2020
Training

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) and the Universidad Alberto Hurtado (UAH) Law School present a new Spanish-language publication entitled Trial by Jury in Chile: A Pending Discussion for Strengthening the Adversarial Criminal Justice System and Its Public Legitimacy. The study was written by JSCA Training Director Leonel González, UAH Law Professor Rafael Blanco Suárez and Santiago Guarantee Court Judge Fernando Guzmán Fuenzalida. The text includes an introduction by Andrés Harfuch, the Vice President of the Argentine Trial by Jury Association, and was edited by JSCA Research Attorney Laura Cora Bogani.

The publication is meant to serve as an initial platform for discussing the institution of trial by jury in the context of criminal procedure in Chile. It addresses the foundations of this discussion in two ways. First, it explores the legitimacy of the criminal justice system and the public’s level of trust in it. Second, it examines the technical areas in which a popular jury system used in the adjudication of the facts could contribute to strengthening the adversarial model 20 years after its introduction.

While Chile’s criminal justice reform has made a great deal of progress and serves as a regional reference, it is facing new demands and discussions. It is thus necessary to explore new avenues of action or institutions such as trial by jury through academic discussions and the study of empirical evidence from our region.

As Andrés Harfuch writes in his introduction, “Trial by jury –like all human endeavors- is not a magical panacea that will solve every problem. In fact, one of the virtues of the justice system is that it addresses the most serious disputes in a given community. Public trial is meant to reduce conflict and the tensions surrounding it. That is where trial by jury has a great deal to contribute.”

Click here to download the publication. (In spanish)

Noticias relacionadas:

CEJA Welcomes Its New Executive Director

CEJA welcomes Ana Aguilar as its new Executive Director for the 2026–2029 term and wishes her every success in this new stage of institutional leadership and management.

CEJA to Examine Key Challenges in Chile’s Judicial Response to Gender-Based Violence

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA) will carry out a study aimed at identifying and analyzing the main critical bottlenecks that arise in the application of Law No. 21.675, which establishes standards to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women based on gender, with a particular focus on its implementation within the Chilean Courts of Justice.

CEJA Receives the Director of Brazil’s National School of the Public Defender’s Office and Discusses Cooperation to Strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ Access to Justice

On Friday, November 28, CEJA’s Executive Director, Nataly Ponce, and the Coordinator of Studies and Training, Rodrigo Nakada, held a working meeting with Diego Oliveira Silva, Director General of the National School of the Public Defender’s Office of the Union (DPU) of Brazil.

CEJA Highlights the Importance of Data to Make Afro-Descendant Populations Visible in Justice Systems across the Americas

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA) participated in the International Workshop “Interculturality Approach in Policies for Afro-Descendant Populations”, organized by the Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Network of High Authorities for Afro-Descendant Populations (RIAFRO) of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Panama’s Judicial Branch and CEJA Present the Case Management Protocol at an International Seminar

On November 19, the International Seminar on the Dissemination of the Case Management Protocol was held in Panama City, marking a key milestone in the process of modernizing Panama’s civil justice system. The initiative was jointly promoted by Panama’s Judicial Branch and the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA).

CEJA Launches in Ecuador the Specialized Program “Governance and Modern Management of High Jurisdictional Courts”

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA) will launch on October 28 in Ecuador the Specialized Program “Governance and Modern Management of High Jurisdictional Courts”, developed in partnership with the National Court of Justice of Ecuador and the International Italo-Latin American Organization (IILA), within the framework of the FIEDS/ITAJUS project.