The Tribunal Constitucional (TC), Chile's Constitutional Court, on Thursday upheld the inadmissibility of the challenge filed by opposition senators against the Rules on the Use of Force law, according to BioBioChile. The court found that the challenge came too late, because the law had already been promulgated.
The lawmakers filed the challenge on October 9, 2026. By then, the promulgation decree had already been received by the records office of the Contraloría General de la República, Chile's Comptroller General. With that step, the law was promulgated and, according to the TC, the challenge became untimely.
The senators sought to have the court declare certain passages of the new law unconstitutional. Those passages concern military and national security and the Código de Justicia Militar (Code of Military Justice). The source does not specify which senators signed the challenge or the exact content of the contested provisions.
The opposition filed the challenge within the fifth day after the bill was dispatched. However, the TC held that this deadline and promulgation are two independent limits. Meeting one does not make up for failing to meet the other.
"Observance of the maximum limit of the fifth day does not allow a challenge once promulgation has taken place, since promulgation by itself closes the window", states the ruling cited by BioBioChile.
The court added that it can only review a challenge filed within the window set by the Constitution. If it heard one filed outside that window, it would be assuming a power that the Constitution does not grant it. That would violate Articles 6 and 7, which require State bodies to act within their powers.
The decision has a practical effect. The opposition lost the route of preventive review, which allows a law to be examined before it takes effect. Instead, the Use of Force law stands, including the passages on military justice. The ruling also sets a standard for future challenges: promulgation closes the deadline, even if the five days have not elapsed.
BioBioChile reported that it is still gathering information on the case. So far, neither the Government nor the senators who filed the challenge have commented publicly, according to that source.
