Chile
Practice Relating to Rule 100. Fair Trial Guarantees
Section E. Necessary rights and means of defence
Chile’s Code of Criminal Procedure (1906), as amended in 2007, states:
Any accused person, irrespective of whether they have been charged, and before the commencement of a criminal trial, may claim the rights accorded to him or her by the laws and those which the tribunal deems necessary for his or her defence.
In particular, he or she may:
1. Designate a lawyer and a representative in court.
In its judgment in the
Pedro Poblete Córdova case in 1998, Chile’s Supreme Court stated that “at all times, the accused persons shall be entitled to fair trial guarantees and a free defence, which shall be no less than what is provided by Article 105
et seq. of the Geneva Convention relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949”.
In its judgment in the
Contreras Sepúlveda case in 2004, Chile’s Supreme Court stated that “at all times, the accused persons shall be entitled to fair trial guarantees and a free defence, which shall be no less than what is provided by Article 105
et seq. of the Geneva Convention relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949”.
In its judgment in the
Víctor Raúl Pinto case in 2007, Chile’s Supreme Court stated that “at all times, the accused shall be entitled to fair trial guarantees and a free defence, which shall be no less than what is provided by Article 105
et seq. of the Geneva Convention relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949”.
In 2006, in its fifth periodic report to the Human Rights Committee, Chile stated: “According to the new Code [of Criminal Procedure], accused persons have the following rights: … to be assisted by a lawyer from the start of the investigation”.

(footnote in original omitted)
Chile also stated:
Right to qualified and free defence: persons charged with offences have the right to assistance from a lawyer from the moment the investigation is initiated. That right notwithstanding, if they prefer to defend themselves in person, the court shall only authorize such action if it does not compromise the effectiveness of the defence, failing which, the court shall appoint qualified counsel, without prejudice to the right of the accused to submit views and claims themselves. If the defendants do not themselves designate lawyers, public criminal defence lawyers are assigned to them. This service is always free and, in exceptional cases, may be extended for part or all of the defence of persons standing trial who have their own means.

[footnote omitted]