Venice Commission - Report on Bicameralism

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Chile

1.Has the country always had a bicameral parliamentary (or congressional) system? If not, from when did the country adopt a bicameral system? Is there a public debate about keeping bicameralism or moving to a unicameral system? Why? What are the terms of the debate? What is the public perception of the usefulness and acceptability (legitimacy) of the second chamber?

Created in 1811, the National Congress is a bicameral parliament. At the same time, statutes pursued guaranteeing the autonomy of the Captaincy General of Chile before the Spanish Crown, and later gaining full independence and consolidating an institutional system. The first texts were only provisional decrees and later became more established normatives.

2.What is the population of the country? What is its size?

19 212 000 inhabitants - 755 276 km.

3.What form of state and form of government has the country? Please provide details with reference to relevant constitutional provisions. a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralization; b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed

As specified in the Political Constitution of 1980, Chile is a unitary state, with its territory divided into 16 regions. Sovereign power is vested in the nation, and is exercised through the election of representatives by universal suffrage or referendum. Chile is a republican democracy.

The President of the Republic has important powers, such as appointing senators, nominating ministers and declaring a state of war. Since then, democratic reforms have substantially modified the Constitution.

Under the Constitution, the Chilean state is divided into three classic powers.

4.How many members are in the lower house?

155 nowdays but 120 before 2017.

5.How many members has the second chamber?

50 nowdays, but 38 before.

6.How are members of the second chamber selected? Please describe: a) direct/indirect/mixed suffrage (if the suffrage is indirect or mixed, who elects or appoints the second chamber? b) territorial or other criteria; i) region/provinces/municipalities/others; ii) professional categories/ethnic/age/other; c) candidates’ independence from/affiliation with political parties; d) in case of indirect election, is there an imperative mandate or a similar practice?

Multi-mandate proportional representation in 15 constituencies of two to five senators, corresponding to the regions of Chile. Seats are allocated on the basis of votes counted using the D'Hondt method, with no electoral threshold. Candidates must: be a Chilean citizen with the right to vote ; have completed secondary education; be at least 35 years old; not be a member of parliament.

7.Age. What is the age limit to elect and be elected or appointed to the second chamber? Does it coincide with the lower chamber? Are there other requirements for election than those for members of lower chambers?

Candidates must : be a Chilean citizen with the right to vote ; have completed secondary education; be at least 35 years old; not be a member of parliament.

8.Gender. Are there any requirements to achieve gender parity between men and women in the composition of the second chamber or is there any gender quota system? If so, is there a similar requirement or gender quota system for the lower chamber?

9.Term of office or tenure. Duration? Does it coincide with lower chamber? Does the second chamber follow the continuity rule (members are not replaced all at once, new elections concern only part of the chamber at a time)? Can the second chamber be dissolved and if yes, who and how exercises its competences in the meantime? Please report any particularity.

Senators are elected for eight years and renewable by half every four years. The Chamber of Deputies is made up of 155 deputies elected for a four-year term by direct universal suffrage in 28 multi-member constituencies of between three and eight deputies, distributed after counting the votes using the D'Hondt method, with no electoral threshold.

11.Status. Are there differences between the legal status of members of the two chambers, and if so, what (e.g., immunity, conflict of interest)?

Both have immunity, but Chilean law sets a low threshold for the lifting of immunity (simply requiring that there be grounds for suspicion of involvement in crimes).

12.Rules of procedure. How are the rules governing the second chamber established? Are they different from the lower chamber’s and what are the most relevant differences? Are the internal regulations controlled by the constitutional judge?

Chile's Constitutional Tribunal is a judicial body responsible for ensuring that laws in Chile comply with the Constitution.
The Constitutional Tribunal was re-established in the Chilean Constitution of 1980, during the Pinochet dictatorship. Pinochet's distrust of political power led to the majority of its seven members being appointed by the military (one by the President and 3 by the National Security Council), three others by the Supreme Court, and the Senate electing only one constitutional judge. The constitutional reform of 2005 modified the composition of the Council and the method of appointing its members: politicians now appoint seven of its ten members. Its powers have also been extended.

13.Powers/competences: Are the powers and competences the same in the two chambers (symmetrical bicameralism)? If the bicameralism is asymmetrical, what are the powers of the second chamber? Please describe: i) financial; ii) legislative; iii) oversight/control; iv) other specific powers, in particular as regards constitutional reforms, confidence motions, international treaties, etc; v) interim powers (e. g. in case of dissolution of the first chamber). a) Distinguish issues which are not submitted at all to the second chamber/where the final decision is taken by the first chamber/where the second chamber has a limited veto right etc. Please address these questions the other way round if the second chamber has more powers than the first one; b) Are there specific appointments that must be done solely by the second chamber? If so, the appointment must be done by supermajority/qualified majority/simple majority/absolute majority? c) What kind of parliamentary initiative can the first and second chamber exercise? d) What happens in case of disagreement (in case of asymmetrical as well as of symmetrical bicameralism); how many readings before the final decision? Does a mixed commission meet? e) To which chamber are draft laws and other drafts to be examined by Parliament or the legislature submitted first? f) Is the government responsible to the second chamber (when it is before the first one)? g) Are decisions taken by a joint meeting of both chambers and, in the affirmative, which ones? h) Does the second chamber have a specific role in emergency situations?

Chile has asymmetrical bicameral system – the respective powers of the two chambers vary.
i) financial; The financial powers of the two chambers are not distinct, as Article 65 specifies that "The National Congress will only be able to accept, reduce, or reject the services, jobs, emoluments, loans, benefits, expenses, and other initiatives proposed by the President of the Republic." And yet, on taxes of any nature, on the budgets of the public administration, laws can only originate in the House of Representatives.
ii) legislative; In the Chambers, the bill is discussed in committees and voted on the respective floor. To be approved, it must comply with the majorities required in the Constitution, which depends on the subject matter.
iii) oversight/control;
iv) other specific powers, in particular as regards constitutional reforms, confidence motions, international treaties, etc; According to Article 53 of the Constitution, the Senate holds exclusive authority to resolve jurisdictional disputes between political or administrative authorities and superior courts. Additionally, the Senate approves the President's absence from the country exceeding thirty days, as per Article 26. It also has the power to declare the incapacity of the President or elected President due to physical or mental impediment, and to assess the validity of a resignation, consulting the Constitutional Court in both cases.
v) interim powers (e. g. in case of dissolution of the first chamber); N/A

a) The Chamber of Deputies has the exclusive power to supervise the acts of the Government and approve the “constitutional accusations” (similar to impeachment proceeding) presented against the President, ministers and other high authorities. (If approved, these accusations must be judged by the Senate.)
b) Article 53, number 9 of the Constitution provides that the Senate has the exclusive power to approve, in a session specially convoked for that purpose and with the vote of two-thirds of the senators in exercise, the appointment of the Justices and judicial prosecutors of the Supreme Court and of the National Prosecutor. As such, the Senate has the unique power to confirm certain judicial appointments, via a simple majority vote.
c) These have been covered by the previous sections.
d) The legislative process within the Chambers is similar and the differences between them are resolved in a mixed commission. In the chambers, the bill is discussed in committees and voted on the respective floor. To be approved, it must comply with the majorities required in the Constitution, which depends on the subject matter. In the event of disagreement between the Chambers, the “Navette System” must resolve the issue, otherwise, it is settled in an ad hoc Conference Committee, made up of the same number of deputies and senators.
e) The Chilean Congress exclusively enacts legislation based on initiatives from the President of the Republic or legislators, who can propose bills on any non-exclusive executive matter or matters outside their chamber. Article 65 of the Constitution specifies exclusive areas for the Executive and each chamber, such as political-administrative division (Executive), taxes and recruitment (Lower House), and General Amnesties and Pardons (Upper House). The legislative process begins in the "chamber of origin" and proceeds to the "reviewer chamber," with either chamber capable of serving in either role depending on the subject.
f) While the government is not responsible to the second chamber, the President of the Republic has the authority to alter the legislative agenda and has partial, not total, veto power. During the discussion in the Chambers, the President can prioritize his/her projects by requesting for urgent procedures, which oblige the corresponding Chamber to debate and vote on the project within a specified period of time.
g) Decisions are made by a joint meeting of both chambers. One such decision pertains to the case of a vacancy in the office of the President, as outlined in Article 29 of the Constitution that if the vacancy is produced with less than two years left for the next presidential election, the President shall be elected by the Plenary Congress by the absolute majority of the Senators and Representative in exercise.
h) No.

14.Is there a form of intergovernmental conference of regions in your country (conference of ministers or presidents of regions, Landers, states members of the federations)? Does it interact with the second chamber? How often does it meet? What is its specific relevance?