Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Chile

Yes. Foreign judgments are recognised under our jurisdiction if the requirements comply with some conditions and no grounds for refusal are invoked. A court declaration of enforceability (exequatur) is required.

Under Chilean law, the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to issue and grant exequaturs. The procedure to request an exequatur is applicable to all types of matters (e.g. civil, criminal, foreign arbitration).

2.1 Recognition in general civil matters

Title XIX, paragraph No.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Article 242 and following) governs the recognition of judgments handed down by a foreign court in the following terms:

Articulo 242	Article 242
Las resoluciones pronunciadas en país extranjero tendrán en Chile la fuerza que les concedan los tratados respectivos; y para su ejecución se seguirán los procedimientos que establezca la ley chilena, en cuanto no aparezcan modificados por dichos tratados.	Judgments rendered in a foreign country will have in Chile the force that the respective treaties grant them, and for the enforcement thereof the procedures established by Chilean law will be followed, unless otherwise amended by said treaties.
Articulo 243	Article 243
Si no existen tratados relativos a esta materia con la nación de que procedan las resoluciones, se les dará la misma fuerza que en ella se dé a los fallos pronunciados en Chile.	If there are no treaties relative to this matter with the country from which the judgments come, they will be granted the same force given in the foreign country to decisions rendered in Chile.
Articulo 244	Article 244
Si la resolución procede de un país en que no se da cumplimiento a los fallos de los tribunales chilenos, no tendrá fuerza en Chile.	If the judgment comes from a country where no enforcement is given to decisions of the Chilean courts, the foreign judgment will have no force in Chile.
Articulo 245	Article 245
En los casos en que no pueda aplicarse ninguno de los tres artículos precedentes, las resoluciones de tribunales extranjeros tendrán en Chile la misma fuerza que si se hubieran dictado por tribunales chilenos, con tal que reúnan las circunstancias siguientes: 1a. Que no contengan nada contrario a las leyes de la República. Pero no se tomarán en consideración las leyes de procedimiento a que haya debido sujetarse en Chile la substanciación del juicio; 2a. Que tampoco se opongan a la jurisdicción nacional; 3a. Que la parte en contra de la cual se invoca la sentencia haya sido debidamente notificada de la acción. Con todo, podrá ella probar que, por otros motivos, estuvo impedida de hacer valer sus medios de defensa. 4a. Que estén ejecutoriadas en conformidad a las leyes del país en que hayan sido pronunciadas.	If none of the foregoing three Articles is applicable, the resolutions of foreign courts will have in Chile the same force as if rendered by Chilean courts, provided the following circumstances are met: 1a. Nothing therein is contrary to the laws of the Republic. However, procedural laws that would have been applicable in Chile for the prosecution of the case will not be taken into consideration; 2a. They are not contrary to the national jurisdiction; 3a. The party against which the foreign judgment is to be enforced must have been validly served of the complaint or action. Even so, this party may prove that, despite proper service it was prevented in some other way from making use of a means of defence; and 4a. They are final in accordance with the laws of the country of origin.

2.2 Exequatur procedure at the Supreme Court

The procedure to obtain the declaration of the exequatur starts with a request from the interested party submitted to the Supreme Court. The procedure continues as follows:

Articulo 247	Article 247
En todos los casos a que se refieren los artículos precedentes, la resolución que se trate de ejecutar se presentará a la Corte Suprema en copia legalizada o apostillada.	In all the cases referred to in the preceding Articles, the judgment which is the subject matter of the enforcement procedure will be presented to the Supreme Court in the form of a legalised or apostilled copy.
Articulo 248	Article 248
En los casos de jurisdicción contenciosa, se dará conocimiento de la solicitud a la parte contra quien se pide la ejecución, la cual tendrá para exponer lo que estime conveniente un término igual al de emplazamiento para contestar demandas.Con la contestación de la parte o en su rebeldía, y con previa audiencia del fiscal judicial, el tribunal declarará si debe o no darse cumplimiento a la resolución.	In all cases of contention or adversary proceedings, the application for enforcement will be served on the party against which the enforcement is petitioned, who may respond said motion with the timeframe to respond a complaint.With or without the reply of this party and after having heard the public prosecutor, the court will declare whether the judgment can or cannot be enforced.
Articulo 249	Article 249
En los asuntos de jurisdicción no contenciosa, el tribunal resolverá con sólo la audiencia del fiscal judicial.	In cases of non-contentious proceedings, the court will decide after having heard the public prosecutor.
Articulo 250	Article 250
Si el tribunal lo estima necesario, podrá abrir un término de prueba antes de resolver, en la forma y por el tiempo que este Código establece para los incidentes.	If the court deems it necessary, a term for submission of evidence may be opened before resolving the petition, in the manner and for a term established in this Code for ancillary petitions.

2.3  Enforcement in general civil matters

Once the Supreme Court issues the exequatur, Article 251 of the Code of Civil Procedure governs enforcement of the recognised foreign decision in the following terms:

Articulo 251	Article 251
Mandada a cumplir una resolución pronunciada en país extranjero, se pedirá su ejecución al tribunal a quien habría correspondido conocer del negocio en primera o en única instancia, si el juicio se hubiera promovido en Chile.	Once the enforcement of a judgment rendered in a foreign country is decreed, the competent court for its execution is the court which would have been competent to know of the matter in the first or sole instance if the case had been ruled in Chile.

To establish the applicable procedure to achieve enforcement of the judgment, it must be established whether Chile has signed a treaty with the state of the foreign court which issued the judgment.

In that scenario, the applicable procedure must be the procedure set by the relevant treaty. Otherwise, the enforcement procedure applicable is the one established by Chilean law for that precise matter.

2.4  Special cases of foreign recognition

Exequatur of non-contentious matters are governed by a procedure very similar to the one explained above, with the difference that the only step needed is the pronouncement of the “judicial prosecutor” – a judicial officer who should be consulted by the Supreme Court or by the Courts of Appeals on certain matters – about the sentence to be executed. No other procedures are required, even though the Supreme Court is entitled to request evidence, if deemed necessary.

Regarding Family Law matters, although the procedure is similar, some special conditions to recognise the declaration of divorces or the annulment of marriages issued in foreign countries should be met. These special conditions are:

• the declaration of divorce or the annulment should have been declared by judicial decision;
• the decision should not contain anything that may be opposed to Chilean public law;
• the foreign decision should not contain anything that may be considered as “fraud against the law”.   

Additionally, with respect to insolvency matters, Chilean law provides certain rules to recognise the existence and validity of foreign insolvency procedures that may have effect over Chilean persons or assets located in Chile.

2.5  Arbitral awards

The recognition and enforcement of judgments handed down by a foreign arbitral court are also governed by Title XIX, paragraph No.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Article 242 and following).

Articulo 246	Article 246
Las reglas de los artículos precedentes son aplicables a las resoluciones expedidas por jueces árbitros. En este caso se hará constar su autenticidad y eficacia por el visto-bueno u otro signo de aprobación emanado de un tribunal superior ordinario del país donde se haya dictado el fallo.	The rules contained in the preceding Articles are applicable to the resolutions issued by arbitrators. In this case the authenticity and efficacy of the arbitration award will be attested by or bear a sign of approval issued by a higher ordinary court in the country where the award was issued.

Additionally, since 1975, Chile has been an active member of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. Therefore, this treaty governs these matters and recognises foreign arbitral awards issued by foreign courts. The applicant must submit:

• the original or a duly certified copy of the award. This copy should contain a certification – issued under the rules of the arbitration procedure in which the award was rendered, or under the foreign country law – that the award is currently binding on the parties, and/or that it has not been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the foreign country.
• the original or a duly certified copy of the arbitration agreement.
• certified copies of the documents showing that the defendant received proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings, under the rules of the arbitration procedure.
• certified copies of the documents showing that the award was duly notified to the defendant, under the rules of the arbitration procedure.  

Chile does not use a common law model. Therefore, Courts of Appeals and Trial Courts are not obliged to follow Supreme Court rulings, although the latter commonly have a relevant persuasive authority and accordingly are often followed by lower courts.

According to the Code of Civil Procedure, foreign judgments must be declared enforceable if:

• their recognition is set by a treaty entered between state which issued the ruling and Chile; or
• Chilean courts’ rulings are also legally binding and enforceable in the state of origin (reciprocity); and
• the foreign ruling is recognisable under Chilean Law (Title XIX, paragraph No.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure).   

Title XIX, paragraph No.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that foreign judgments may be recognised, except when one of the following grounds for refusal applies:

• the content of the foreign judgment contravenes Chilean law;
• the foreign judgment transgresses the Chilean jurisdiction;
• the document by which the proceedings were initiated was not duly served on the defendant or in such time to allow the defendant to defend itself;
• the foreign ruling is not definitive. This happens if challenges or appeals against the resolution are pending or may still be filed. 

The Supreme Court is not entitled to review foreign judgments on their merits.

The typical timeframe for the proceedings to grant enforcement is six to eight months.

Yes. Under Chilean legislation, after being legally served of the exequatur procedure, the defendant is entitled to present to the Supreme Court what it considers pertinent. The Supreme Court, generally speaking, only admits arguments related to defences against the enforcement defences recognised by law. In this case, the defendant has the same time to reply as under any other ordinary procedure – 15 days.

During the enforcement proceedings, the defendant is entitled to general remedies against enforcement measures under Chilean law.