Discretion in local justice: Local Police Courts in the Province of Llanquihue, Chile

 

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Autoren: Díaz Ruiz, Christopher, Corrotea Vásquez, Matías, Valdivieso, Diego
Format: artículo original
Status:Versión publicada
Publikationsdatum:2026
Beschreibung:This article analyzes judicial discretion in the Local Police Courts (Juzgados de Policía Local, JPL) of the Llanquihue Province, focusing on the adjudication of cases related to compulsory voting violations and serious traffic infractions. Based on a survey conducted with court officials, the study explores the criteria used by judges when applying sanctions, revealing discretionary spaces that go beyond strict legal mandates and are not always supported by clear argumentative reasoning. While electoral matters tend to be addressed through rule-based procedures, traffic-related cases show greater use of discretionary judgment, with minimal explicit reference to principles such as sana crítica. The findings raise critical concerns about potential arbitrariness and underscore the need to reinforce ethical standards, accountability mechanisms, and judicial training processes, aiming to secure a more coherent, transparent, and legitimate local justice system.
Land:Portal de Revistas UCR
Institution:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Portal de Revistas UCR
Sprache:Español
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.revistas.ucr.ac.cr:article/3026
Online Zugang:https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/ralp/article/view/3026
Stichwort:Sana crítica
ética p´´ublica
justicia local
municipalidad
encuesta
infracciones de tránsito
voto obligatorio
Public ethics
local justice
rules of sound criticism
city council
survey
traffic violations
mandatory voting