Essential Elements of Due Process in Disciplinary Administrative Law:

A Reading from the Case Law of the Chilean Constitutional Court

Abstract

This paper analyzes the essential elements of due process applicable to administrative disciplinary proceedings, drawing on the case law of the Chilean Constitutional Court (TC). It argues that the TC has developed a standard under which disciplinary due process does not amount to mere ritual compliance, with a substantive dimension that imposes concrete obligations on the Administration. Through a systematic examination of the components of due process (right to defense, reasonable time, impartial adjudicator, equality of arms, right to evidence, presumption of innocence, legality of offenses, proportionality, and right to appeal) it concludes that the guarantees of Article 19 No.3 of the Constitution operate as an overarching guarantee that irradiates every punitive procedure, including disciplinary ones, regardless of their administrative nature. It further examines the delimitation between the action of inapplicability and the constitutional protection action as distinct yet closely correlated avenues of judicial review.