Foundation convenes first public webinar on the rules of procedure of the Chilean Constitutional Convention

The webinar brought together representatives of prominent Chilean think tanks and universities to discuss the internal structure of the Convention

On 28 May 2021, the Max Planck Foundation convened the first webinar in a three-part public webinar series focusing on details of the rules of procedure of the Chilean Constitutional Convention. The event was attended by representatives from Horizontal and Rumbo Colectivo – key think tanks working on this topic – and academics from the Universidad Autónoma, Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile.

The webinar specifically examined proposals for the internal structure of the Convention including details such as power-sharing in the presidency of the Convention, the inclusion of thematic committees and the extension of the parity principle to the membership of such committees. The discussion was convened in the form of a debate. To open the topic, José Manuel Astorga Lanas from Horizontal and Javiera Ascencio from Rumbo Colectivo presented the internal arrangements for the Constitutional Convention which their respective institutions have publicly advanced. Following this, Professor Ana Maria Garcia (U. de Chile), Professor Andrés Sotomayor (U. Católica) and Professor Andrés Delgado (U. Autónoma) responded to these proposals, highlighting which aspects they supported and why and proposing alternative ideas where they deemed this necessary.

The webinars in this series are aimed at advancing the public debate around the procedural arrangements of the Convention. To this end, the public was invited to ask all participants questions. These sparked lively discussions on issues including the oath which members of the Convention will be made to take, the manner in which the multitude of independent members of the Convention may group together, and the types of special committees which might be formed.

The webinar was moderated by Professor Rüdiger Wolfrum, scientific expert at the Foundation. It formed part of the project entitled “Supporting Chile’s Constitution Making Process”, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. The two following webinars in this series will address the process through which a constitutional draft may be conceived (4 June 2021), and public participation (15/16 June 2021) respectively.