Justice Minister and his next challenges: procedures will no longer need notarization, prison service powers will be reinforced and new infrastructure will be built

The Justice and Human Rights Minister, Luis Cordero Vega, took office on January 11, 2023, and in this short time he has already promoted important changes through the ministry. He has launched the Youth Social Reintegration Service, as well as led the project to reinforce the powers of the Prison Service and the initiative to ensure that numerous procedures no longer require notarization. 

The minister explains that the ministry has also developed an infrastructure plan that includes construction of a new headquarters for the Legal Medical Service, in addition to completing construction on La Laguna Prison in Talca, the largest in South America. 

- What is your assessment of your work to date and what are the main challenges for 2023? 

Our work has been intense and challenging since day one, starting with the processing of a set of very important legal texts. 

We are addressing a bill – currently in its first stage in the Chamber – that reinforces the powers of the Chilean Prison Service in the fight against organized crime. We are also making the institution more able to intervene in criminal investigations and to contribute when criminal gangs are able to continue having a bearing on crimes committed outside of prisons. 

We are doing this in parallel with a set of measures that include signing an agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Chilean Prison Service to optimize the exchange of information in order to improve the criminal prosecution of organized crime gangs. We are also carrying out a pilot project with the Interior Undersecretary’s Office and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to appoint a preferential prosecutor for ten criminal groups identified in penitentiary establishments throughout the country. 

Another important aspect has been the purchase of security materials for the Prison Service and carrying out repairs in prisons through budget reallocations. 

We have also been periodically carrying out operations, which in the last six months of 2022 allowed us to seize 5,291 bladed weapons, as well as 17 kilos of illegal substances and 2,781 cell phones. 

We are ensuring that numerous procedures no longer require notarization. To do this, we have reactivated a bill that supresses or modifies the intervention of notaries in certain procedures, actions and proceedings. This is about reducing the procedures that must be carried out before or by a notary. It eliminates the requirement in various legal texts that public deeds or signatures must be authorized before a notary, in cases in which it has been decided that it is not essential for the proper fulfilment of said procedures. 

This initiative is directly linked to improving access to justice and the productivity agenda, by facilitating procedures for entrepreneurs. 

The bill to systematize economic crimes and attacks against the environment is quite advanced; it modifies various legal texts that classify crimes against the socioeconomic order and adjusts the penalties applicable to them all. 

Substantively, the project makes two major advances: firstly, it establishes the category of “economic crime”; and then it creates or updates the regulation of crimes in this area. 

We are also actively participating in processing a bill that establishes anti-discrimination measures. The initiative aims to strengthen the prevention of discrimination, and better promote and guarantee the principle of equality, making the action of arbitrary non-discrimination enshrined in the law more effective. 

We have presented amendments regarding improving anti-discrimination legal action; and we have also worked on a proposal to respond to the demand given in parliamentary discussion about having an adequate institutional framework to comply with the law. 

This has been done in coordination with civil society groups that advocate for anti-discrimination, with a special focus on groups who have been historically discriminated against: LGBTIQA+, the disabled, religious and others. 

- What is being worked on regarding infrastructure projects? 

We have a set of infrastructure projects under development, which have experienced some difficulties as a result of the pandemic. Notwithstanding, there are two gigantic works that have been making important progress: one of them is the new headquarters of the Legal Medical Service – located next to the Justice Center – which is under construction. Legal Medical is a vital institution for criminal justice and, as we all know, is linked to the whole of society through their expertise in identifying deceased persons and the reasons for their end. 

In Talca, construction is also being completed on La Laguna Prison, which is the largest in South America. More than 63,000 square meters for more than 2,300 people, focused on work and social reintegration. 

- How do you rate the current relations with the Judiciary? 

One of our essential tasks is the relationship with the Judiciary. I must say that our links are optimal. We will maintain constant dialogue, since there are various issues that we will have to address together. We are already doing this with the Permanent Commission of the Criminal Justice System. 

There is also a series of appointments in process, including those corresponding to vacancies that will open up during the year on the Supreme Court. 

And we have to be attentive to the reform of the Judiciary, which will surely emerge in the debate on the new Constitution. Everything indicates that this will be the most far-reaching change that will be proposed to the country, and it is linked to the scope of judicial work and the appointment system. Its implementation will be a task that will correspond to our ministry, so we express our willingness to contribute to the debate from now on. 

- This year began with important news, such as the launch of the new Youth Social Reintegration Service. Why is it so important? 

Law No. 21.527, published at the beginning of the year, enjoys broad and transversal support, as it is conceived as a necessary state policy to address crimes committed by adolescents. It also contributes to better access to specialized justice and the guarantee of their rights. 

The law creates this new specialized service, with a high level of technical and professional expertise among its staff. It will be given the necessary human and material resources to apply a technical and professional model for intervention, with quality standards for each program for executing measures and sanctions. 

The launch of the new National Youth Social Reintegration Service implies a long-winded and coordinated implementation process. This will be done gradually throughout the country, following a one-year period after publication of the law creating it.

This means that in 2024 the service will come into force in northern Chile (Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo regions). The following year it will extend to southern Chile (Maule, Ñuble, Biobío, la Araucanía, Los Ríos, Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes regions). Finally, it will be implemented in the central zone (Valparaíso, O’Higgins and Metropolitan regions). The full implementation of the new service will mean the definitive closure of the National Service for Minors (SENAME). 

This does not mean that we put aside our current concerns for the reintegration of young people. That is why we are working together with SENAME on a transition plan that makes work with adolescents and young people visible, and which places emphasis on certain priority areas, such as reinsertion and prevention of reoccurrence, coordination with general prevention policies, improvements in program management, security inside and outside of prisons, and management of closed and semi-closed centers. 

- There has been an important deployment of the Civil Registry in the field to face the forest-fire emergency. How do you evaluate this work to date and how long do you plan to remain deployed? 

One of the advantages of the Civil Registry and Identification Service is its ability to be deployed outside of its offices to address the different service requirements. In the case of emergencies, as in the case of areas affected by forest fires, the service contributes by providing documents to people who have lost them as a result of the fires. This is very important, because people require documentation to access state benefits and other things. In the Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía regions, around 1,700 identification cards have been provided in this way. Their work in the field, which has been very professional and full of sacrifice, will continue for as long as necessary. 

- Civil Registry has had high user flows for years, and in some specific cases it is difficult to get an appointment. How are you working to improve the service? 

The Civil Registry and Identification Service has experienced permanent high demand, as it is in charge of registering the vital statistics of Chileans and those people who come to the country. This was made more intense by the pandemic, despite the fact that it was one of the public bodies that continued to meet user requirements, to the point that during the period it carried out more than 12 million procedures, as well as over 108 million transactions with other institutions. 

A plan to modernize the service is under development, aimed at improving user services. This in spite of the fact that in 2022 it was recognized by the Civil Service for applying various innovative initiatives in terms of virtual services. 

To deal with the backlog, queue managers have been created and services have been established in various regions on Saturdays. The use of the web platform for renewing identity cards and a mobile app for printing them is also being promoted. It also seems important to highlight the attitude of the heads of the service in taking immediate measures when acts unrelated to official probity have been detected, which have made public access difficult. 

- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the coup. What role will the ministry play in this event and what is being worked on in this regard? 

This commemoration is very important for us, considering that we are the Justice and Human Rights Ministry. We see an opportunity to underline the need for the national community to value respect for human rights as an essential basis for democratic coexistence today and in the future. 

We accept that the memory of democratic breakdown, dictatorial violence and the acknowledgement of its effects continues to be a factor of conflict and tension. For the same reason, the wounds of the past have been impossible to heal. This requires us to make new efforts in terms of truth, justice, memory, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition. 

For us as the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, the issue of the victims of the dictatorship is extremely sensitive and we are doing everything we can to help their families. We agree with them that we must seek the whole truth and full justice. The State must help the victims to achieve justice. 

He have developed a search plan, whose purpose is to make progress in the search for truth and justice regarding the victims of forced disappearance during the dictatorship, through ad hoc measures that range from the collection and systematization of information to providing mechanisms to advance investigations, including the use of new technologies. 

We believe that it is necessary for the State to make a renewed effort to provide the legal and institutional system with adequate human and financial resources to achieve and obtain results in terms of information. Until now, the State of Chile has not been able to compile and systematize this information in a single place. We already have very good reasons for the State to make a definitive decision in the 50 years since the coup on how to deal with this information and how to make progress in current criminal investigations. I think that this is vital and that it is linked to a dialogue with organizations that are operating throughout the country. 

- How are you working to bring Chileans closer and guarantee access to justice? 

All our actions are aimed at bringing Chileans closer to justice. But with regard specifically to information, assistance and legal support, we are working on a bill to create a National Legal Assistance Service. The service will gather the experience of existing legal assistance corporations and take charge of the needs of the present, which includes providing access to defense for the victims of certain crimes.