Civil consequences of necessity under the Chilean law

Abstract

This article aims to determine whether necessity has consequences under civil law in Chile in the absence of an explicit norm. We have summarized the opinions of Chilean criminal and civil doctrine on this matter, concluding that these views contradict one other. In our opinion, necessity is a cause of justifi-cation that excludes both criminal and civil liability. However, considering tho-se legal systems that have expressly regulated the matter in question, as well as the opinion of Chilean civil doctrine, we assert that the reparation of the damages by means of the so-called compensations for sacrifice is acceptable.