Draft bill 213.

Summary.

The draft bill seeks to amend Article 349 and add Article 349-A to the Criminal Code (Código Penal), within the offenses against the Public Administration involving corruption of public servants. Its first article identifies those two changes. One concerns acceptance of an appointment or receipt of remuneration without performing the corresponding service. The other concerns a public servant’s use of their position to favor the appointment of persons with specified family ties, as well as the appointment of a public servant who benefits from that conduct.

The proposed amendment to Article 349 sets a prison term of 1 to 3 years for a public servant who accepts an appointment to public office or receives remuneration from the State without providing the service for which they were designated, absent a justified cause. The provision thus addresses acceptance of the appointment and receipt of remuneration as conduct described in the article, tied to failure to provide the service. It expressly retains the reference to justified cause in defining when the penalty would apply.

The proposed Article 349-A sets a prison term of one to five years for a public servant who, in the exercise of their position, designates, appoints, hires, benefits, or directly or indirectly influences an appointment to public office involving their spouse, consensual union partner, or other relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity. Its wording covers decisions to designate, appoint, or hire, along with other forms of benefit or influence connected with an appointment. The family relationship and the exercise of the public position are elements of the conduct described.

The same article provides a separate penalty for a public servant who benefits from an appointment resulting from the conduct described in the preceding paragraph: imprisonment for one to three years. It also provides for the penalty to increase by up to one third when the positions belong to any of the public service career systems described in the Political Constitution (Constitución Política). The increase is tied to the type of position involved in the appointment and applies to the penalties provided for the conduct under Article 349-A.

Article 4 restates the changes to the Criminal Code: the amendment of Article 349 and the addition of Article 349-A. Article 5 provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation. Its subject matter concerns the Public Administration, public servants, state bodies responsible for appointments and hiring, and the public service career systems mentioned in the Political Constitution. It could also concern people receiving state appointments or remuneration and the relatives covered by the relationships specified for Article 349-A.