Enrique Correa Labra

Enrique Correa Labra (1906 – 3 January 1993) was a Chilean lawyer, professor and judge who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile from the early 1970s until his death in 1993 and as president of the Supreme Court from 1991 to 1993.

Early life and education

Correa was born in Talca, Chile, the son of Ángel Correa and Hortensia Labra. He studied law at the University of Chile and qualified as a lawyer in 1928.

Correa also pursued an academic career, teaching procedural law at the Valparaíso campus of the University of Chile for approximately fifteen years.

Judicial career

Correa entered the Chilean judiciary on 26 September 1929 as secretary of the court in Chanco. He subsequently served in the same capacity in San Carlos. In 1937, he was appointed a judge in Maullín, and later served as a judge in Osorno and Valdivia.

In 1946, Correa was appointed a justice of the Court of Appeals of Valdivia. He later served on the courts of appeals of Chillán and Valparaíso.

Correa subsequently joined the Supreme Court of Chile. A historical report by the Chilean judiciary records his tenure on the court as beginning in 1972, during the presidency of Salvador Allende.

From 1981 to 1985, Correa also served as a member of the Constitutional Court of Chile.

President of the Supreme Court

Correa was elected president of the Supreme Court in May 1991, succeeding Luis Maldonado Boggiano. He remained president until his death on 3 January 1993.

Following his death, the government of President Patricio Aylwin declared 4 and 5 January 1993 days of official mourning throughout Chile. He was succeeded as president of the Supreme Court by Marcos Aburto.