Protection of Fundamental Rights: Privacy, Honor, and Home

Protection of Fundamental Rights

Trial Balance: Triple Test

Adaptation: Control approval on the measure to determine whether conditions exist to meet the intended purpose.

Necesidad: No other equally effective measure exists to achieve the desired purpose.

Proportionality: Strictly to determine if the limit imposed on the fundamental right is reasonable and proportionate to the aim pursued.

Criteria for Interpretation of Rules

  • Pro Homine (Favor Person): Apply the most favorable standard.
  • Progressivity: Does not support legislative setbacks in the same structure. Human rights cannot be weakened or reduced.
  • Evolutionary Interpretation: Interpret in accordance with current living conditions.
  • Block-Constitutional Rights: Interpretation according to the block of constitutional rights.
  • Feedback Rights: Between national and international levels, applying the most favorable rule.

Bodies Responsible for Ensuring Protection

  • Human Rights Committee
  • American Commission on Human Rights
  • American Court of Human Rights

Privacy and Private Life

Intimacy: Very personal aspects of life, reserved for individuals and their families, outside the knowledge of the state or others.

Private Life: Issues, behaviors, documents, and reports that the owner does not want to be known (Cea Egaña) Art. 19 No. 4.

Exceptions: Consent of the owner / public interest / when acts constitute crimes.

Includes: Family / Sentimental Relationships / Economic Aspects / Health

Relationship with Honor: Violation of privacy does not involve disgrace but offends dignity / Violation of private life affects honor.

Protection of Privacy: Art. 17 Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and Art. 11 of the Covenant of San José de Costa Rica.

Resource Protection and Habeas Data

Right to Image:

  • Positive: The individual’s ability to reproduce, expose, or publish their external image.
  • Negative: Power to prohibit a third party from conducting such operations.

Inviolability of the Home (Art. 19 No. 5)

General rule: Protection applies regardless of the title held on the property.

Exceptions:

  • Search: Act stemming from a competent entity with an injunction or cause.
  • Relief: Violation made by bona fide claim to rescue.
  • Health Inspections: Records made in homes and businesses providing basic services.
  • Blatant Crime: When the criminal is found in the act.

Inviolability of all forms of communication / exceptions / protection mechanisms.

Right to Protection of Honor

Honor is the set of ethical qualities that allow a person to deserve consideration from others.

Scope

  • Owner of the Right: Natural persons / families
  • Range: Living persons / Deceased persons / Seniors / Minors / Chileans / Foreigners

Legal Persons and Honor

Majority opinion: Legal persons do not have honor; their representatives do.

Minority opinion: Affects the name or brand of the legal entity.

Crimes Against Honor

Slander: Allocation of a particular but false crime, prosecutable ex officio.

Defamation: Any expression uttered or performed to dishonor, discredit, or show contempt.

Injury Through Advertising

Libel made by the media with a higher penalty due to wider reach.

Protection Mechanisms

  • Resource protection
  • Judicial decision in case of collision of rights

Habeas Data

Constitutional action for individuals named in a register or database to access and request correction of information causing prejudice. Heard by the civil judge on duty.

Grounds for Habeas Data

  1. Lack of action on requests for information, modification, suspension, cancellation, or deletion.
  2. Refusal to process requests for reasons other than national security or interest.
  3. Withholding an application for national security or interest.
  4. Violation of Articles 17 and 18 of Law 19.628.

General Grievance Procedure

  1. Failure to respond within two working days or denial of information.
  2. Violation of Articles 17 and 18 of Law 19.628: Notification by ballot, five-day response period with proof.
  3. Final decision within three days of the deadline for submissions.

Procedure to Claim (National Security/Interest)

Applies only to public bodies, filed before the Supreme Court.

Residual Procedure

For any other offense covered by the summary procedure.

Penalties

Fines of 1-10 or 10-50 UTM for infractions related to economic, financial, commercial, or banking data.

Fines of 2-50 UTM for lack of timely information or delay in modification. Suspension from office for five to fifteen days for public officials.