ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the question of how, in the transition from dictatorship to democracy, the independence of the judiciary can be preserved and protected from pressures exerted by political powers. An independent observer, aware of the violations of human rights that were taking place at that moment, could ask himself if those words were merely the product of cynicism or a sign of open political support for the de facto military government. Judicial independence is not an absolute value. It is an instrument for the protection of people's rights and it makes possible government under the rule of law. If judicial independence is understood in this way, then it is a value that must be balanced against judicial accountability; that means there must be some amount of political and popular control over the judiciary. The Chilean experience reveals a paradoxical situation. It is probably the one country in Latin America with a long-standing tradition of judicial independence.
