Expert Commission

The Expert Commission is a parity body, composed of 24 members, which is in charge of preparing a preliminary draft of the Proposal of New Constitution – within 3 months – and submitting it to the Constitutional Council.

Candidates for the Expert Commission must satisfy the following requirements to be elected as a member:

• be a citizen with the right to vote;
• have a university degree or an academic degree of at least eight semesters, and;
• prove professional, technical and/or academic experience of not less than ten years, either in the public or private sector.

The members of the Expert Commission were designated by the National Congress on January 24^th, with 12 members elected by the Senate and 12 by the Chamber of Deputies. Both elections need the vote of 4/7 of its members in office. As a result, the National Congress approved the following members of the Expert Commission:

1. Juan José Ossa.
2. Catalina Salem.
3. Máximo Pavez.
4. Natalia González.
5. Carlos Frontaura.
6. Paz Anastasiadis.
7. Marcela Peredo.
8. Flavio Quezada.
9. Domingo Lovera.
10. Antonia Rivas.
11. Alexis Cortés.
12. Verónica Undurraga.
13. Hernán Larraín.
14. Bettina Horst.
15. Teodoro Ribera.
16. Jaime Arancibia.
17. Katherine Martorell.
18. Sebastián Soto.
19. Gabriel Osorio.
20. Catalina Lagos.
21. Francisco Soto.
22. Leslie Sánchez.
23. Alejandra Krauss.
24. Magaly Fuenzalida.

It is important to mention that the members of the Expert Commission were designated by the National Congress proportionally to the representation of different political forces existing within the Legislative Branch. Thus, the Commission is composed of 12 members nominated by center-right parties and 12 members proposed by center-left ones, which means that said body is politically balanced, with no majority of any sector.

Moreover, and given the rule that requires the Expert Commission to approve any text by a 3/5 majority of its members in office, it is possible to affirm that the 50/50 composition of the Commission should encourage a broad consensus in order to approve the preliminary draft of the Proposal for a New Constitution.

On 6 March 2023, the Commission was installed, and the following Board of Directors was elected:

• President: Verónica Undurraga (independent in PPD quota).
• Vice-president: Sebastián Soto (independent in EVOPOLI quota).

On the other hand, the Commission established the composition of the working sub-commissions – in charge of preparing initiatives for constitutional proposals -, as follows:

Subcommittee on Jurisdictional Function and Autonomous Bodies.

• Chair: Catalina Salem.
• Members: Leslie Sanchez, Katherina Martorell, Paz Anastasiadis, Domingo Lovera and Hernán Larrain.

Sub-Commission on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights.

• Chair: Alejandra Krauss.
• Members: Bettina Horst, Teodoro Ribera, Alexis Cortés, Jaime Arancibia and Flavio Quezada.

Subcommittee on Political System, Constitutional Reform and Form of State.

• Chairman: Juan José Ossa.
• Members: Natalia González, Antonia Rivas, Sebastián Soto, Gabriel Osorio and Francisco Soto.

Subcommittee on Principles, Civil and Political Rights.

• Chairman: Máximo Pavez: Máximo Pavez.
• Members: Verónica Undurraga, Marcela Peredo, Magaly Fuenzalida, Catalina Lagos and Carlos Frontaura.

On the other hand, on Wednesday 15 March 2023, the table of contents of the preliminary draft was approved, which will have the following structure:

1. Foundations of the constitutional order.
2. Fundamental rights and freedoms, constitutional guarantees and duties.
3. Political representation and participation.
4. National Congress.
5. Government and Administration of the State.
6. Regional and Local Government and Administration.
7. Judicial Power.
8. Constitutional Court.
9. Public Prosecutor’s Office.
10. Electoral Justice and Electoral Service.
11. General Comptroller of the Republic.
12. Central Bank.
13. Environmental Protection, Sustainability and Development.
14. Constitutional Change Procedures.
15. Transitional Rules.