Chile+Political+System

Political System

toc Sebastián Piñera President of Chile since March 11, 2010    

Current Governing Body of Chile

= = The Chilean State is divided into three clearly differentiated and independent powers:
 *  The Executive, headed by the country’s highest authority, the President of the Republic
 * The Judiciary, within which the highest court is the Supreme Court
 * The Legislature, comprising the House of Deputies and the Senate

Executive Branch

 * Chile has a presidential system of government in which Executive authority is held by the President, who acts as Head of State and Head of Government
 *  The President holds office for six years and cannot be re-elected for a second consecutive term
 * There are 18 ministries
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Chile’s current President is Sebastien Pinera.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Legislative Branch

 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The Legislative Branch is represented by the National Congress, comprising the House of Deputies (120 members) and the Senate (49 members), with legislative and supervisory powers.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Judicial Branch

 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">The Judiciary is independent of the other powers of state. The highest court is the Supreme Court, with 21 members who, each three years, elect their President. In addition, there are Appeals Courts and Civil and Military Courts.
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> A far-reaching reform of Chile’s system of justice was launched in 2000. This reform -the first structural modification of the system since the mid-19th century- aims to increase access to justice and to reduce trial times, as well as strengthening personal and civil liberties.

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