The Faculty of Law of the University of Chile is one of the five original faculties that formed the founding body of the University of Chile and has historically been the most influential law school in the country. Also known as Derecho UChile or the Law School, it has produced seventeen Presidents of Chile, as well as numerous , members of parliament, judges, and prominent figures in Chilean history, including the naval hero Arturo Prat.
Founded in 1842, it operated in various buildings in Santiago before moving in 1938 to its current Art Deco-style building, inaugurated during the presidency of Arturo Alessandri Palma and designed by architect Juan MartÃÂnez Gutiérrez. Located in the commune of Providencia at the intersection of PÃÂo Nono and Santa MarÃÂa avenues, the Faculty houses undergraduate, graduate, and research programs in law. In 2007, the Presidents' Building, designed by Humberto Eliash and Moreno Marsino Arquitectos, was inaugurated, containing classrooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, gymnasium, and parking.
Before the founding of the University of Chile, legal studies in Chile were conducted at the Royal University of San Felipe, established by royal decree in 1738 under King Philip V of Spain. Classes began in 1758, replicating the curricula of major colonial universities such as San Marcos in Lima and the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. One of its faculties was that of Sacred Canons and Laws, centered on the ius commune, i.e., Roman law texts from Justinian I's Corpus Juris Civilis compilation and canon law such as the Decretals of Gregory IX. Degrees awarded were bachelor, licentiate, and doctor.
On the initiative of Ambrosio Zerdán and Pontero, in April 1778, the Royal Carolina Academy of Laws and Forensic Practice was established under the Royal Audiencia of Santiago, granting the title of lawyer to law bachelors after forensic practice. However, the in Chile in 1810 led to questioning of colonial institutions, and the Academy was closed four years later.
The educational role of the University of San Felipe declined after the opening of the National Institute on 27 July 1813, which closed during the Spanish reconquest and reopened in 1819. The university, stripped of its "Royal" title, limited itself to granting bachelor degrees, while its curriculum was reformed to include courses on "natural law, law of nations, and political economy" and "patriotic laws, canon law, and forensic practice". Parallel institutions of short duration, such as the Liceo de Chile founded by and the Colegio de Santiago involving Andrés Bello, also offered law courses.
In 1828 the Academy of Laws and Forensic Practice reopened, and in 1832 the National Institute's curriculum was reorganized, reinstating Roman law studies and adding Bello's course on Universal Legislation developed at the Colegio de Santiago.
The University of San Felipe of the Republic of Chile, as renamed in 1829, had been in clear decline since the 1810s and was finally closed in 1839 under President José JoaquÃÂn Prieto to be replaced by the University of Chile. On 19 November 1842, a law drafted by Andrés Bello established this new institution, composed of five faculties, including that of Laws and Political Sciences. The university was academic rather than teaching, awarding degrees to those who passed advanced courses taught mainly at the National Institute.
On 28 June 1843, the first academics were appointed by supreme decree, including Mariano Egaña, drafter of the 1833 Constitution of Chile, who became the first dean on 21 July 1843, serving until his death in 1846. Andrés Bello, first rector, defined the goals of the nascent faculty of laws and political sciences in his famous inauguration speech of the University of Chile in 1843:
Although green had been designated the official color of law students in 1813, thirty years later a regulation established academic attire for deans and secretaries, assigning that color to the Faculty of Laws. In 1874 the faculty was represented in the university escutcheon with a balance held by a sword on a vert (green) background.
In 1847 a new organization for university studies was established, implemented in 1852, dividing the National Institute into secondary and university sections. The latter came directly under the rector and University Council, headed by a university delegate.
In 1850 the Faculty of Laws and Political Sciences moved from the âÂÂCompañÃÂa building (where it had operated since 1819) to the National Institute building on the Alameda. Years later it moved to the Casa Central of the University of Chile, built between 1863 and 1872.
The curriculum was heavily criticized for being practice-oriented at the expense of branches of legal science such as Philosophy of Law and History of Law. Dean Juan Francisco Meneses, who took office in 1846, reinforced prevailing legal positivism with reforms eliminating the chairs of Universal Legislation and Political economy. Critics included Rafael Fernández Concha, José Victorino Lastarria, and rector Andrés Bello himself, as reflected in an 1853 speech:
In 1848 the Public Instruction Council established the order of studies, now with five subjects over four years. When the Academy of Forensic Practice was abolished in 1851, the corresponding two-year course was created.
The 1853 and 1859 curriculum reforms reached consensus, establishing a six-year program with chairs in Roman law, natural law, literature, law of nations, civil law (taught by Enrique Cood), canon law, commercial law, administrative law, political economy (taught by Jean Gustave Courcelle-Seneuil), civil procedure, mining law, criminal procedure and criminal law. In 1863 the program was reduced to five years.
The codification movement that emerged in Chile from the mid-19th century prompted further changes: in 1856 the Civil Code of Chile, drafted by Bello, was promulgated, forcing the faculty to replace Spanish law studies with the Code, formalized by decree on 20 March the following year. In 1875 the and Mining Codes were enacted, leading to reformulation of the criminal law and mining ordinance chairs. The same occurred with subsequent legal codes.
The Secondary and Higher Education Act of 1879 restored the University of Chile's permanent educational role. By that year the Faculty of Laws had 319 students, nearly 45% of the university's total, a figure that continued to rise: in 1908 it had 466 law students and by 1918 already 821.
Late in the 19th century, the faculty graduated the first women to obtain law degrees under the 1877 : Matilde Throup and Matilde Brandau, in 1892 and 1898 respectively.
Legal studies underwent substantial reform in 1902, shifting from an exegesis approach to a systematic or scientific method. The original chairs of Roman law and canons were reformed: the former shifted from legal to historical focus, while the latter was simply eliminated; some professors argue it was effectively transformed into the General History of Law course. Later, the first seminars emerged: in 1917 the economic sciences seminar, and in 1919 those of public and private law.
The 1920s were marked by the rise of student social movements under the Federation of Students of the University of Chile (FECh, founded 1906), including defense of women's rights promoted by activist Elena Caffarena and movements for working classes such as the , which bequeathed the Legal Clinics to the faculty. The following decade, critical student views were reflected in the literary and political avant-garde magazine Mástil (first issue 1929), featuring contributors such as Oreste Plath and Mariano Latorre, and the Avance university group gathering left-wing sympathizers.
Juvenal Hernández Jaque, professor of social sciences, was elected dean in 1931 but resigned on 2 July 1932, returning quickly in August. He resigned definitively in 1933 upon being elected interim rector to fill the vacancy left by , later confirmed by the university senate.
Conditions at the faculty at the start of Hernández's rectorship were poor; in 1934 Dean began managing a new location for the Law School, selecting land beside the Mapocho River at the current intersection of PÃÂo Nono and Santa MarÃÂa. The buildingâÂÂdesigned by architect Juan MartÃÂnez Gutiérrez, characterized by Art Deco and monumentalist constructions also seen in his other works such as the , Votive Temple of Maipú and of the same universityâÂÂis considered one of Chile's most important architectural works of the first half of the 20th century:
Legal studies were also modified by the 1934 Regulations, expanding seminars to five by adding "commercial and industrial law" and "criminal law and forensic medicine" to the existing three (economic sciences, public law, and private law). That year the Institute of Criminal Sciences began operating.
The was founded in 1945 as a partnership between the faculty and the Library of Congress of Chile. Two years later it gained legal personality through Law No. 8737; that same year (1947) a new regulation was approved that, among other things, introduced enrollment control, gave the program a more practical character, and created three-year short programs for those not seeking the lawyer title.
Juan Gómez Millas, professor of social sciences, was elected rector in 1953, ushering in a period of major advances for the University of Chile, including expansion to other regions through Regional Colleges and establishment of the ValparaÃÂso campus.
This expansion linked the Santiago Law School with its ValparaÃÂso counterpart, dating to 1911 when the Fiscal Law Course was established there. During its administration by the University of Chile, that school had professors such as civilists and , proceduralist , and . In 1972 it officially became the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University of Chile (ValparaÃÂso campus). In addition to these, the faculty oversaw two other programs: Social Work (also taught in both cities) and Political and Administrative Sciences.
Meanwhile, the Santiago Law School faced new challenges under Gómez Millas's rectorship with the creation of institutions such as the (1954), the Centers for Criminological and Documentary Research (1957 and 1958), and the Center for Comparative American Law Studies (1962). The faculty also participated in international seminars, such as the VIII Congress of the International Association of Penal Law in Lisbon in 1961, with professors and , plus assistant Antonio Bascuñán Valdés.
In 1963 Gómez Millas's fruitful rectorship ended, and from 1967 the university reform movement began nationwide. The Faculty of Legal Sciences was not exempt, and in 1968 a plebiscite was held to approve continuation of Professor (who had taken office in 1965) as dean, with faculty, assistants, and eligible students voting; the result favored him.
On 20 October 1971 the faculty building was occupied in response to a University Superior Normative Council decision proposing merger of the Law School with other faculties under the name Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences. The mobilization was supported by professors opposed to Salvador Allende's socialist Popular Unity government.
The occupation became violent due to intervention by the nationalist paramilitary group Patria y Libertad, including incidents such as the 26 November attack on the car carrying the then Minister of the Interior José Tohá. By late 1971 Velasco retired, and in 1972 Máximo Pacheco Gómez, Christian Democrat militant and former collaborator of Eduardo Frei Montalva's government, assumed office.
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état against Salvador Allende's socialist government marked the beginning of the military dictatorship led by a junta headed by General Augusto Pinochet. The entire university administration was intervened, including persecution of students; emblematic cases include the execution of Patricio Munita in December 1973, and the disappearances of Ismael Chávez and . Late in 1973 a summary investigation led by Miguel Otero Lathrop targeted various professors and students for their political ideas, including then-president of the Law Students' Center ÃÂlvaro Varela, expelled from the university for his membership in the MAPU.
In 1974 Antonio Bascuñán Valdés assumed the deanship and attempted reforms such as departmental structure, flexible curriculum, semester system, credit system, etc., which did not materialize due to a new administration two years later led by Hugo Rosende Subiabre. He implemented repression and dismissed several professors, including Francisco Cumplido and Máximo Pacheco Gómez, as his policy sought to remove both former Popular Unity sympathizers and Christian Democrats from the faculty. Rosende favored counter-reform eliminating social science studies, directing the curriculum toward rigid legal positivism as imposed in 1934, changes reflected in the new name Faculty of Law, which it retains today.
Despite this, the faculty remained a space for debate within rigid limits through lectures on public and international public law and participation in seminars such as the Constitutional Reform Bill. In 1981 Decree Law No. 1 created regional universities from University of Chile and campuses, so the ValparaÃÂso Law School separated from Santiago and became part of the new University of ValparaÃÂso. Rosende's deanship ended in 1983âÂÂsucceeded by âÂÂand the following year he was appointed Minister of Justice under Pinochet. Subsequently, Rafael Eyzaguirre EcheverrÃÂa (1984) and (1986) served as deans.
In 1987 student discontent erupted against appointed university rector José Luis Federici, manifesting in a general joined by law students. Federici responded harshly to students' refusal to return to classes, dismissing Dean Mosquera in early October 1987 and appointing Jorge HübnerâÂÂa known PinochetistâÂÂas acting dean. Students rejected Hübner by evicting and vandalizing his office. On 29 October Pinochet dismissed Federici and appointed rector. Subsequently assumed the deanship.
In 1990 again assumed the deanship and was reelected four years later, but resigned on 1 April 1997, leaving civilist Francisco Merino Scheihing as acting dean. Professor Pablo RodrÃÂguez GrezâÂÂformer leader of nationalist movement Patria y Libertad (which fought against Popular Unity) and collaborator of General PinochetâÂÂwas proposed as new dean. However, a center-left student group led by Students' Center president socialist Claudio Márquez opposed it on 22 April 1997, leading to occupation of the faculty lasting one week; two days into it RodrÃÂguez resigned both his candidacy and from the university. Along with RodrÃÂguez's departure, students demanded comprehensive curriculum reform dating from 1934 and interrupted by Hugo Rosende Subiabre's counter-reform. Along with RodrÃÂguez, several other conservative professors left the University of Chile (, , and ) , most moving to private universities.
After instability in faculty leadership, Antonio Bascuñán Valdés assumed the deanship again in 1998, initiating the process leading to curriculum reform assigned to the Maturana Commission, led by proceduralist . The commission proposed semesterization, written final exams, and curriculum flexibility, including controversial elimination of mandatory Roman law, changes introduced in 2002. That same year a faculty occupation occurred amid a crisis in university-wide Student Welfare services, costing Dean Bascuñán support among faculty and contributing to his narrow defeat by the following year.
On 5 November 2007 the Presidents' Building (nicknamed Nahum Tower) was inaugurated in the north wing, containing undergraduate and graduate classrooms, a cafeteria, and parking. On 29 April 2009 a new student conflict erupted led by the Students' Center (CED), then presided by Gabriel Boric, amid plagiarism accusations against Dean Nahum and demands for reform including regularization of the academic senate, implementation of new university statutes to promote internal democracy, and participatory Institutional Development Plan (PDI) elaboration. That day, after a student referendum supporting the CED petition, a group of students occupied the faculty, lasting six weeks until 's resignation on 17 June. On 9 June penalist Luis Ortiz Quiroga was appointed acting vice-dean, later becoming acting dean.
The following year Nahum ran again for dean, defeating jurist Cecilia Medina in the 10 June election with 58% of votes. In 2012 the faculty inaugurated new premises for the Graduate School and Legal Clinics at 076 Santa MarÃÂa Avenue.
Mid-2014 Nahum attempted a third consecutive candidacy, but professors and students challenged it before the Junta Electoral Central of the University of Chile, which rejected it by five votes to one initially and four to two on review. Nahum claimed interruption of his term during the 2009 occupation, but arguments were rejected as article 36(5) of the University of Chile Organic Statute prohibits titular professors from running for more than two consecutive terms regardless of interruption. After two rejections Nahum unsuccessfully appealed to the (TER) and Constitutional Court (though TER accepted it, the Constitutional Court ruled for the university), definitively barring his participation and paving the way for Professor 's victory the following year.
Late 2014 a memorial to faculty students and alumni victims of the Pinochet regime was inaugurated. Located in the courtyard, it consists of two figures and a plaque listing 21 names alphabetically: Carlos Berger Guralnik, Julio César Cabezas Gacitúa, Rubén Guillermo Cabezas Pérez, Arnoldo Camú Veloso, Cecilia Gabriela Castro Salvadores, Ismael DarÃÂo Chávez Lobos, Roberto Guzmán Santa Cruz, Orlando Letelier del Solar, Germán Rodolfo Moreno Fuenzalida, Patricio Munita Castillo, Guillermo Pinto Viel, Sócrates Ponce Pacheco, Reinaldo Salvador Poseck Pedreros, , , Carlos Helen Salazar Contreras, Héctor Mario Silva Iriarte, Juan Ramón Soto Cerda, José Tohá González, Fernando Valenzuela Rivero, and Guillermo Vallejos Ferdinand.
In 2015 another occupation occurred due to expulsion of 31 students, resolved immediately, though reintegration of dismissed cleaners remained unresolved. The following year, on 27 April, another conflict erupted over arbitrary expulsions; the student assembly approved occupation with 55.5% of valid votes, ratified at 60.38% on 28 April, 62.25% on 3 May, and 56.38% on 6 May.
The main faculty building was declared a National Monument of Chile in March 2014.
According to University of Chile statutes, the highest authority within the faculty is the deanâÂÂmust be a full professor and serves four years, eligible for one consecutive reelectionâÂÂwhose functions are "to direct it within the university policies determined by the superior organs indicated."
There is also a Faculty Council, which "shall define academic and institutional development policies within the guidelines and strategies issued by the University Senate." It comprises the dean (chair), department/school/institute/center directors, and other appointed academics.
No official list of deans exists. The following, based on Anales de la Facultad and other sources, may have inaccuracies or omissions, especially regarding interim or acting deans.
The faculty offers a flexible curriculum in which students apply for courses and professors, subject to academic programming conditions. Courses are classified as mandatory, optional, elective, and free. The first two grant 6 credits each, the latter two 4 credits. To graduate, a minimum of 340 credits must be completed: 220 for 38 mandatory courses, 24 for 4 optional courses, 66 for electives, 16 for 4 free courses, 16 for 2 thesis workshops, and 16 for 2 legal clinics. The maximum duration is eight years.
To obtain the degree of Licentiate in Legal and Social Sciences, students must complete a degree thesis and pass an oral, solemn licensing examination. This fulfills one requirement of article 535 of the to obtain the title of lawyer. Per article 521 of the same Code, the title is granted in public hearing by the Supreme Court of Chile after six months' professional practice at the .
Mandatory courses include:
The faculty offers various graduate programs, notably its Doctor of Laws program comprising two cyclesâÂÂqualifying and doctoralâÂÂincluding courses, seminars, tutorials, qualifying examination, thesis, and degree examination.
It also offers various master's degrees, diplomas, and training courses, both in Santiago and other Chilean cities.
The Central Library has operated in its current location since 1938 when the school moved from the Casa Central to the PÃÂo Nono building. Facilities were remodeled in 1995, creating a main library with three levels accommodating nearly 300 students, study spaces, computer access, and facilities for visually impaired students.
Access requires the TUI (Smart University Card). Book availability depends on collection type:
Notable theses include those by activist Elena Caffarena Morice and former president Ricardo Lagos Escobar. The historical collection includes Bello's Civil Code Draft (1855) with annotations by .
The Marcial MartÃÂnez Library, located in the Santa MarÃÂa building basement, serves graduate students and holds high-value documents from personal libraries of Marcial MartÃÂnez Cuadros, , BenjamÃÂn Cid, and Máximo Pacheco Gómez, plus the thesis collection.
The University of Chile emphasizes research across disciplines, ranking it first in intellectual output in the country. The Faculty has promoted legal science research and dissemination through permanent initiatives.
In 2004 the General Research Coordination Unit was established to create information and project management opportunities and train faculty human resources. However, students have recently criticized scarce research opportunities, one reason for the 2009 occupation.
Five specialized centers exist:
The , also known as Editorial Andrés Bello, is a public law corporation founded in 1945 through an agreement between the faculty and the Library of Congress of Chile.
The dean serves as president of the Editorial, while the rest of the Board comprises the Comptroller General of the Republic, a Supreme Court representative, a Council of Rectors representative, the president of the , the director of the Library of Congress, and two presidential appointeesâÂÂone from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and one from the Ministry of Education.
It holds exclusive rights to publish official Chilean codes, as well as doctrinal works and jurisprudence, including the Revista de Derecho y Jurisprudencia y Gaceta de los Tribunales, existing since 1903 on initiative of Eliodoro Yáñez and Luis Claro Solar. It maintains a branch inside the Faculty of Law in the Presidents' Building.
The faculty produces several publications covering various legal fields, including:
Students are represented by the Law Students' Center (CED), affiliated with the Federation of Students of the University of Chile (FECh). It is organized with an executive board and Representatives' Council, both elected annually by universal student suffrage. The board has seven positions: president (representing students before university authorities and leading political direction), vice president, general secretary, welfare secretary, outreach secretary, communications secretary, and finance secretary, plus presidential appointees.
The Council of Representatives (CDR) meets periodically. Its members are elected by universal suffrage in a mixed manner, some by each class year and others transversally. It is an essentially deliberative body where the position of the Student Center is defined on university issues and often on national politics.
There are class-year assemblies, composed of all members of the class year, who elect their representatives (delegates) once a year and meet to organize annual events and deliberate on course problems, the university situation, or eventually national issues.
The highest decision-making body is the General Student Assembly, composed of all enrolled students in the Faculty. It meets only extraordinarily and operates by voting quorum.
Throughout its history, the CED has been led by prominent figures in national politics, including Ricardo Lagos, José Miguel Insulza, Alberto Espina, Andrés Allamand and Jorge Arrate (1962). However, its chronology has been almost a mystery, as a complete list including its entire history has not been achieved. Below is a list of presidents of the Centro de Estudiantes de Derecho since 1983, the year in which the student organization of the University of Chile was reestablished during the military regime, through the self-dissolution of the officialist , the refounding of the FECh and the student centers of each faculty:
In 2010, under the auspices of the Faculty of Law Foundation, the Alumni Center of the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile (CEDU) was created, whose purpose is to bring together all the faculty's alumni.
The Faculty has intense activity throughout the year. In addition to the official faculty activities such as seminars and forums, there are a series of instances promoted by the Student Center (CED) and by students in general. Political activism is one of these forms of student participation, reflected in general elections held both internally in the Faculty and to elect the board of the Student Federation (FECh). On each of these occasions, various political movements campaign within the Faculty, including youth divisions of established political parties as well as independent movements.
Throughout the year there are instances of recreation and celebrations that have become traditional within the Faculty. The first is the welcome week for new students entering the program, known as ëmechonesû. During this ëmechona weekû, generally the first fortnight of March, new students underwent a rite of passage called ëmechoneoû, prepared by second-year students. This practice was eliminated in 2016 for being considered degrading to students. There are also two trips, one organized by the CED and another by the FECh, which used to take place in the resort of Cartagena and are now held at the beach of El Tabo, ValparaÃÂso Region. Another tradition during ëmechona weekû was a clash between freshman students of the Faculty of Law and those of the on the , but it was canceled in 2000 due to incidents that year, including injured students and damage to the Central Building of the Law School, valued at 3.5 million pesos.
Other classic parties are the third-year students' celebration week, known as ëel ombligoû âÂÂreferring to being halfway through the programâÂÂ. In addition, there are traditional parties organized by the Student Center such as the fonda held in the days leading up to the Fiestas Patrias, and the ëSpring Festivalû, a tradition from the 1960s revived in 2004.
The Faculty of Law grants various distinctions to its most outstanding students and alumni, among which the following stand out:
The Faculty of Law of the University of Chile has always been considered one of the best in the country, both for its historical tradition and for the level of its graduates. Although in Chile there are no objective academic studies on law schools, there are publications that attempt to make more subjective rankings based on statistics or public perception. The best known is the annual publication of the magazine Qué Pasa, where the Faculty has disputed first place year after year with its counterpart at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
The newspaper El Mercurio consulted in 2007 which were the best universities to study Law, and 86% named the University of Chile, ranking first in preferences. That same year, a study published by the website Laborum.com revealed that 54% of companies preferred lawyers graduated from the University of Chile, while the following university obtained 29% of preferences.