The Pinochet Cases in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The activities of the regime of General, then President, Pinochet after his military coup in Chile in September 1973 are politically, legally and, one might almost say, popularly, one of the landmarks in the development of the international regime of human rights. Pinochet, then Commander of the Armed Forces, led a coup against President Allende, which resulted in a Military Junta seizing power on 11 September 1973. Pinochet became President of Chile in 1974 and remained in that position until 11 March 1990, when democracy was restored. He continued on as Commander of the Armed Forces until March 1998, when he was made Senator for Life.The legal significance of the reaction to events following the coup lies in the response of the United Nations to the excesses of the Pinochet government. The condemnation of Chile by the General Assembly for its policy of gross violations of human rights was the first occasion on which the Assembly had taken this step without invoking either a threat to the peace or a consideration of self-determination.