In the formation of the Republic of Chile, the system of law courts
and legal procedure was patterned after that prevailing in Spain,
and included all of its antique, slow and cumbersome processes. The
Spanish law was modeled after the Roman code, and the custom of the
race to cling tenaciously to precedent, seldom accepting innovation or
change in any practice once established, even to meet the exigencies
of changed conditions, manifested itself in the administration of law
in Spain. So, Chile inherited and adopted the system with all its
crudities, slow processes and impracticable features. The Roman law was
improved and amplified to meet new conditions and requirements, and
Spain made changes in her laws, but Chile continues under the old and
obsolete system copied from the mother country.
The courts, with their respective jurisdiction, are as follows: