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Substantive Status of Non-Conviction-Based Gains Confiscation under Law No. 21.595 on Economic Crimes: Compatibility with Fundamental Guarantees

Authors

  • Patricio Alejandro Pérez Riquelme Investigador independiente
No. 43 (2025): Segundo semestre
https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-4735.2025.80883
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Abstract

This study offers a dogmatic-systematic examination of the gains-confiscation regime introduced by Law No. 21 595. After reconstructing its historical evolution—from the accessory model codified in the 1874 Criminal Code to the 2023 reforms—it delineates the current rules, with particular attention to non-conviction-based confiscation and the safeguards afforded to bona fide third parties. Against this backdrop, the article traces the legal nature of the institution: because it dispenses with a finding of culpability and seeks the full restitution of the gross benefit, confiscation is characterised as a corrective patrimonial consequence of unjust enrichment, external to the ius puniendi. The analysis then tests its compatibility with the principles of legality, presumption of innocence, due process, proportionality, property rights and non bis in idem, demonstrating that the procedural design—prosecution-side burden of proof, full adversarial debate and strict judicial control—prevents punitive spill-over effects. The study closes with interpretative criteria that strengthen legal certainty and optimise the articulation of confiscation with civil restitution actions.

Keywords:

gains confiscation, ius puniendi, legal nature, fundamental guarantees, unjust enrichment.
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How to Cite
Pérez Riquelme, P. A. (2025). Substantive Status of Non-Conviction-Based Gains Confiscation under Law No. 21.595 on Economic Crimes: Compatibility with Fundamental Guarantees. Revista De Estudios De La Justicia, (43). https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-4735.2025.80883
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Revista de Estudios de la Justicia
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Universidad de Chile
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