Justice After Pinochet: Cases in Chile Post-1998

This chapter reviews Chile’s transitional justice journey, drawing from research by the Diego Portales University’s Transitional Justice Observatory, founded by Professor Cath Collins, with early encouragement from Professor Alan Angell. It examines how Chilean courts have responded to demands from victims’ relatives and survivors for accountability for state terror crimes since the dictatorship. Dividing the post-dictatorship period into three stages, with Pinochet’s 1998 arrest as a turning point, shows how judicial impunity gave way to debates on criminal sanctions and the gradual judicialisation of transitional justice. Recent civil claims and court appeals regarding reparations, memory, and denialism reflect this trend. The chapter explores how pursuing justice through Chile’s courts aligns with broader political trends, echoing Professor Angell’s dedication to ‘democracy after Pinochet’.