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The Executive presents to the Senate a bill on statuses applicable to delegates assigned in official missions by foreign states or international organizations

Apr 2007

On February 12, 2007, the Executive presented a bill concerning statuses applicable to delegates assigned to official missions by foreign states or international organizations for consideration to the Chilean Senate. The bill appears to be a SOFA, which would grant privileges and immunities to foreign personnel and military working in Chile. According to information presented by the national newspaper, El Mercurio, on March 24, 2007, “the project, in practice, extends privileges to foreign security experts, functionaries, and guests on official posts; denies access to various documents that beneficiaries produce or carry during their stay in Chile; and grants the President discretionary powers to reject complaints that may arise related to damages to people or resources.”

At the national level, socialist senator Alejandro Navarro expressed his disagreement with the bill and Christian Democrat lawyer Ramón Briones also showed his disapproval labeling the project as “unconstitutional.”

The Chilean Supreme Court of Justice has also opposed the proposal. According to El Mercurio, the Supreme Court stated in a memo presented to the Senate that “it is not advisable to exclude them (foreign military) from national jurisdiction.” The text has been sent to the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate, which will discuss it in April.

The debate takes place in the context of the discussion at the Senate concerning the constitutional amendment that would allow Chile to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The initiative of the Executive has been questioned, as it appears to be a gesture toward the United States, given the fact that the US seeks to enter into bilateral immunity agreements with countries around the world so as to exclude their nationals from the ICC’s jurisdiction.