The limits of the constitutional amending power in Chilean constitutional law

Abstract

The Chilean Constitution puts under the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction the review of cons­titutional amendments. The notion of an unconstitutional constitutional amendment appeals to the existence of legal limits to the constitutional amending power. This article discards several alternatives of interpretation of the constitutional amendment’s limits and favors, instead, a formal, restrictive reading of such limits as the only ones compatible with the principles of democracy and popular sovereignty. This restrictive interpretation has enormous significance for understanding the amending power in times of constitutional change.