The Court of Appeals of Valparaíso declared inadmissible an appeal for protection presented on August 24 by a group of deputies – headed by the parliamentarian Ana Maria Gazmuri (AH)- against a regulatory amendment of the Lower House, which seeks to apply a mandatory drug test to legislators.
The appeal -presented, in addition to Gazmuri, by the deputies Marisela Santibanez (PC) and IND-FA Marcela Riquelme, Lorraine Fries Y Clara Sagardia– pointed out that the regulatory amendment violates constitutional guarantees, such as the physical and mental integrity of the person, the protection of private life, honor and personal data. He also pointed out the absence of an objective and reasonable constitutional justification to lift those rights.
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However, the court of appeal declared the appeal inadmissible. The ruling indicates that the National Congress “has the autonomy and exclusive power to dictate its own regulations that regulate its organization and internal functioning.” It also considers “the necessary separation of powers.”
“This Court, which does not note in the appeal the existence of facts that may constitute a violation of constitutional guarantees (…) declares the protection appeal filed inadmissible,” it adds to the resolution.
The application of the drug test to a first group of deputies -78 parliamentarians, selected by lottery- began on Monday, August 22. The application period began that day and will end on Tuesday, August 30. The rest of the Lower House must take the test at the end of September.
Specifically, the deputies must go to the Antidoping and Drug Abuse Analysis Laboratory of the University of Chile to undergo a hair test. The results will be known within 10 to 15 days.
Legislators must apply the exam at least twice in their legislative period.
Those whose examination is positive must submit an advance authorization for the lifting of banking secrecy for a period of one year.
