our authorities or governments, our
local industrialists, financiers or
businesspeopl and our foreign investors
should not be excluded from this.
Validity of economic or financial
analysis of foreign investments
will also depend on the capability
of the respective legal system to
provide certainty and safety to those
entrepreneurial endeavors, especially in
the longer term.
This is the distinctive advice that
we lawyers should always provide to our
clients when assessing the capabilities of
our countries to serve as hosts of foreign
investments.
This approach goes beyond the
detailed descriptions of laws and
regulations available in as many "How
to do business" booklets and reports.
Obviously, we shall never disregard
knowledge and efficient management
of the tax and customs laws, of the
foreign investment statutes, of the
foreign exchange rules and of all other
legal tools that a foreign investor needs
to learn. This knowledge is necessary,
but not enough to achieve a relevant
professional performance.
The valuable analysis that only we
lawyers may primarily provide to our
foreign clients, is the accurate and
honest assessment of the actual abidance
of the law in our local institutions,
governments, courts, entrepreneurs,
etc. This analysis must be based
upon objective parameters leading to
professional conclusions. Lawyers'
concern over these matters is not only
a service for foreign clients, but also
an ethical duty towards our national
communities.
This contribution to the growth of
international private investment is part of
the essence of our professional training
and furthers the prestige and dignity of
the practice of law. I hope these ideas
become another distinctive characteristic
of Primerus lawyers, who share a
commitment to the Six Pillars that mark
the collective aims of this institution.
review in these regards, by the World
Justice Project, while preparing their
2011 Rule of Law Index, released on
June 13, 2011.
I encourage you to visit the website of
the World Justice Project
and criteria of this report are certainly a
solid benchmark in regard to recording
and informing adherence to the Rule of
Law on a worldwide prospective.
There are three new institutions that
are specifically meant to reinforce the
Rule of Law in Chile, in addition to the
traditional courts and governmental
control agencies, which are granted full
legal recognition and operation in Chile.
(Tribunal de Contratación
Pública).
19.886
special court has free rein from all
state dependency and is not part of
the ordinary Chilean courts of justice.
Nevertheless it remains submitted to
the disciplinary authority of the Chilean
Supreme Court.
Its purpose is to reinforce the
guarantees of law abidance and
transparency within the contractual
activity of the state of Chile.
It has authority to learn and resolve
accusations or complaints against illegal
or arbitrary acts or omissions incurred
by state entities throughout tenders and
or related to the rejection or admittance
of State contractors in the respective
Official Registry.
(Consejo para la Transparencia).
to Public Law, created by Law N° 20.285
in 2008. Its purpose is to promote
transparency and grant access to all
citizens to state information, in order to
foster public trust in the state authorities.
the Council is the General Instructions
that it may issue, including requirements
of publicity and accessibility that are
mandatory for all governmental entities.
chilean Bar association
Discipline Rules of the Chilean Bar
Association (Colegio de Abogados de
Chile A.G.) came into effect on August 1,
2011. They regulate the practice of law
in Chile and grant effective means for
complaints of the citizens in this regard.
Essentially, these rules establish
a Secretary Counsel who keeps initial
records of all complaints and supports
claimants with the preparation and
submission of written complaints.
An instructing lawyer who verifies
admissibility thereof, conducts the
investigation and, eventually, raises
the charges against the defendants. At
the top of the system there is a Court
of Ethics, whose members include the
Board of the National Bar Association,
plus 10 to 50 independent lawyers, all
of whom serve their positions pro bono.
This court works and resolves each
complaint through committees of up to
five members each.
Membership in the National Bar
Association of Chile is voluntary.
Precisely for this reason, membership
therein and submission to the
authority of the new Court of Ethics
are an important guideline to confirm
professional trust in Chilean lawyers.
Grupo Vial Abogados is proud that
one of its partners has been elected as
a member of the Court of Ethics of the
National Bar Association of Chile.
www.worldjusticeproject.org