Legal discussion: purchase for the house of former President Allende
A legal discussion has arisen over the purchase contract for the house of former President Allende, subscribed by the Allende family with the State. Senator Isabel Allende and the Minister of Defense, Maya Fernández Allende, appear as principals in the deed. However, the Constitution expressly forbids authorities to sign contracts with the State while they are in office (Article 37 bis) and the same for sitting members of Parliament (Article 60), under penalty of being removed from office.
Part of the debate on the matter is about how to render this act ineffective. The solution, for some, is to annul it by means of a deed of rescission. For others, this would amount to a second infraction sanctioned by the Constitution.
Interviewed on the matter by El Mercurio Legal, our associate and professor of Constitutional Law Joaquín Palma Cruzat recalls the difference between a contract and an agreement between parties. In his opinion, a deed of rescission would not be “a contract because it does not seek to create new obligations, but to extinguish previous obligations, in this case, in a contract”.