Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I. PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS

A. Describe the receptiveness of your government (including courts) toward enforcement of foreign money judgments.

The enforcement of judgments rendered by foreign courts, including those relating to money obligations, is entrusted in Chile to the ordinary courts established by law. The Executive Branch does not intervene therein by virtue of the principle of separation of powers as established in the political constitution of the Republic of Chile. 

The enforcement of judgments rendered by foreign courts is generally controlled by international conventions or treaties. In absence of a treaty or convention, the principle of reciprocity applies. Absent any of the foregoing, the laws of Chile  as a general principle establish that the decisions of foreign courts shall have in Chile the same validity as if they had been issued by Chilean courts provided that certain requirements are met and that the Supreme Court of Chile approves their enforcement in a special procedure named “exequatur.”

The tendency on the part of the State of Chile has been to give a more ample and liberal application to this general principle. Thus, in 1978 one of the requirements for the enforcement of a foreign judgment, that the decision not be rendered by default of the defendant, was repealed. As from this 1978 amendment, it is sufficient to show that the defendant had notice of the complaint. 

Not only judgments by judiciary courts may be executed but also resolutions or awards issued by arbitrators.   In 1975 Chile approved the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Completed in New York in 1958 by the United Nations, it is commonly known as the New York Convention.