Discretion in local justice: Local Police Courts in the Province of Llanquihue, Chile
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| Autores: | , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2026 |
| Descripción: | 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. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Institución: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.revistas.ucr.ac.cr:article/3026 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/ralp/article/view/3026 |
| Palabra clave: | 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 |