Judgement on case Lara vs. Fisco de Chile: An act of conventionality control or an act of judicial activism?

Abstract

This article analyzes the Supreme Court decision in 2018 in the case Lara vs. Fisco de Chile, and its consequences. The first part describes the case facts. Next, it focuses on systematizing and examining the juridical problem treated by the judges in their verdicts. Then, it characterizes the Supreme Court decision, treating the subsequent jurisprudential turn in the consideration of the necessary elements to configure a crime against humanity. To conclude, it explores the nature of this Supreme Court decision, balancing arguments in favor to consider it as an act of conventionality control, and arguments in favor to consider it as an act of judicial activism.