A PROPOSAL FOR THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF COMPANIES THAT PROVIDE A PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE UNDER LAW NO. 20.393 IN LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY

Abstract

Law 21.595, published on August 17, 2023, introduced numerous amendments to the Chilean model for attributing criminal liability to legal entities. Undoubtedly, the most substantial modification incorporated by this legal instrument to Law 20.393 is the elimination of the reference to the interest or benefit of the legal person as a requisite for the establishment of its criminal liability. Consequently, the scope of applicability of criminal sanctions against companies has been considerably broadened. In this scenario, it becomes relevant to clearly determine the cases in which legal entities are exempt from the enforcement of penalties, particularly the most severe sanction within the legal system, the extinction of the legal entity, as in the case of “companies that provide a public utility service”, a concept whose boundaries this paper seeks to outline.