Law of Chile

Chile follows a civil law system in the continental European tradition, introduced under Spanish colonial rule and given its lasting form in the Civil Code drafted chiefly by Andres Bello and enacted in 1855, a code so influential that several other Latin American nations later adopted it as a model. Codified legislation, covering civil, commercial, penal and procedural matters, is the primary source of law rather than binding judicial precedent. The judiciary is organized hierarchically under the Supreme Court, while a separate Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of statutes and treaties. The current constitutional order dates to the 1980 Constitution, amended repeatedly since the return to civilian rule in 1990, which sets out the structure of government and the catalogue of individual rights that ordinary legislation and judicial review must respect.