El Ciudadano
Original article: Investigación analiza la ausencia del «fraude a la ley» en el Código Civil chileno
Patricio Lazo, a scholar from the School of Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), leads the Fondecyt project titled «Fraud Against the Law in the Thought of Andrés Bello: Reconstruction and Projection.» This initiative aims to address a doctrinal gap in Chilean law through a historical and conceptual exploration of a notion that is widely used yet poorly defined.
The project originated from Lazo’s personal interest in legal interpretation, a line of inquiry he has pursued for several years.
In this context, while researching the concept of «fraud against the law» in Roman law, the question arose that shaped the investigation: Why is this notion not explicitly included in the Chilean Civil Code?
«From that concern, I began to investigate and noticed a situation that is somewhat paradoxical. The Civil Code does not reference fraud against the law, but there are texts by Andrés Bello that indicate he was indeed aware of and engaged with this concept,» explained the Porteno academic.
«The question then is what did Andrés Bello think about fraud against the law? This absence in the Code, contrasted with the existence of other writings, presents a research challenge that has not been sufficiently addressed in Chile,» added Professor Patricio Lazo.
The significance of the study is directly linked to the current use of the concept in various areas of law. According to Lazo, there are specific regulations, particularly in family law and tax law, that rely on the idea of fraud against the law, even though there is no legal definition for the term.
«It is a concept that is not legally defined, so its meaning must be discerned by those interpreting the norm. In that scenario, having a solid reconstruction of Bello’s thought could provide a more grounded notion, less tentative, that could guide both doctrinal development and its application in judicial decisions,» stated the PUCV lecturer.
The research employs a methodology that integrates various sources and legal traditions. To formulate it, the academic reviewed texts by Andrés Bello, Chilean legal doctrine on fraud against the law, and related literature from Roman and medieval law, highlighting the historical and evolutionary nature of the concept.
The research team also includes Professor Claudia Mejías, a specialist in civil law, who will contribute through an analysis of contemporary doctrine and jurisprudence, and from the execution of the Fondecyt project, marking the sixth time Patricio Lazo has served as the principal investigator, further cementing his career.
The study also aims to produce concrete tools for the legal community: «One goal is to provide colleagues and legal practitioners with elements drawn from legal history, particularly from Roman law, that can be used in both theoretical reflection and daily practice, for example, in arguments before courts,» the academic stated.
The Citizen
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