185. Furthermore, the Court notes that, according to the Chilean legal doctrine forwarded
by the State, the complaint appeal is defined as “the procedural juridical act directly
presented by a party before a higher Court and against the judge or judges who issued a
ruling in a given proceeding containing a serious fault or abuse, and requesting a prompt
remedy to the wrongdoing that prompted the filing of their appeal through its correction,
annulment, or invalidation, without detriment to the application of the appropriate
disciplinary sanctions, according to that Court, regarding the judge or judges against whom
the appeal was filed.”208 Said remedy is filed “directly before a Court of higher rank than the
one that issued the ruling with the serious fault or abuse, so that it may be considered and
resolved by that court.” It is not filed against a ruling, but against the judge or judges that
issued the ruling with a serious fault or abuse, so that it may be modified, corrected, or left
without effect. The appeal has not been “created to correct simple errors of interpretation,
but judicial faults or abuses that fall within the scope of the disciplinary jurisdiction of the
higher court. Therefore, it does not constitute an instance for the revision of all matters de
facto and de iure, but it only allows the superior court to examine if a serious fault or abuse
was committed. The higher court is empowered to revoke, correct, or invalidate the
ruling209. The fault or abuse committed by a judge may stem from the formal breach of the
law, an erroneous interpretation of the law, or a faulty assessment of the background of the
proceedings210.
186. In considering whether or not, in this case, the guarantees of judicial independence
were ignored by accepting the remedy of complaint, the Court recalls that one of the main
objectives of the separation of public powers is to guarantee the independence of judges,
for the purpose of preventing the judicial system and its members from being subject to
wrongful restrictions in the exercise of their role by bodies foreign to the Judicial Power or
even by senior judges that carry out review or appeal duties.211 Moreover, the guarantee of
judicial independence includes guarantees against external pressures212, and therefore the
State must abstain from undue interference with the Judiciary or its members, that is, in
relation to a specific judge, and must prevent such intrusions and investigate and sanction
those who commit them.213
208
Cf. Mario Mosquera Ruíz, Cristián Maturana Miquel, Los Recursos Procesales, 2010, Juridical Editorial of
Chile, Santiago, Chile, page 383, as documentary evidence enclosed by the State with the brief on final arguments
(record on merits, volume XII, page 5945).
209
Cf. Mario Mosquera Ruíz and Cristián Maturana Miquel, Los Recursos Procesales, pages 383 and 384,
supra note ¡Error! Marcador no definido., pages 5945 and 5946.
210
Cf. Mario Mosquera Ruíz, Cristián Maturana Miquel, Los Recursos Procesales, page 387, supra note
¡Error! Marcador no definido., volume XII, page 5949.
211
Cf. Case of Apitz Barbera et al. (“First Court of Administrative Disputes”) v. Venezuela, para. 55 and Case
of Reverón Trujillo v. Venezuela, para. 67.
212
Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court v. Peru, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 31,
2001. Series C No. 71, para. 75, and Case of Reverón Trujillo, supra note ¡Error! Marcador no definido., para.
80. See also ECHR. Case of Campbell and Fell v. the United Kingdom, (No. 7819/77; 7878/77), Judgment of June
28, 1984, para. 78, and Case of Langborger v. Sweden, (No. 11179/84), Judgment of June 22, 1989, para. 32. See
also Principles 2, 3, and 4 of the Basic Principles of the United National regarding the Independence of the
Judiciary, adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders, held in Milan on August 26-September 6, 1985, and confirmed by the General Assembly in resolutions
40/32 of November 29 1985 and 40/146 of December 13, 1985.
213
Cf. Case of Reverón Trujillo supra note ¡Error! Marcador no definido., para. 146.
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