Roberto Dávila

Roberto Dávila Díaz (3 November 1928 – 27 January 2000) was a Chilean lawyer and judge who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile and as president of the Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999. He also served as a member of the Election Certification Court.

Early life

Dávila was born in Santiago on 3 November 1928, the son of Roberto Dávila Budge and María Rosa Gabriela Díaz Herrera. He studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer in 1954.

Judicial career

Early in his legal career, Dávila served as a military prosecutor in Valdivia and Valparaíso for three years. In 1959, he was appointed secretary of the legal office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army.

In 1967, Dávila became an acting court reporter at the Court of Appeals of Santiago and was appointed to the position on a permanent basis in 1969. In 1976, he became a court reporter at the Supreme Court of Chile.

Dávila subsequently became a justice of the Supreme Court. An official historical report by the Chilean judiciary records his tenure on the court as extending from 1989 to 1999. In 1995, he served as president of the court's Criminal Chamber.

Dávila also served as a member of the Election Certification Court. Official records of the tribunal list him as a member during its 1991–1995 and 1995–1999 terms.

President of the Supreme Court

Dávila was elected president of the Supreme Court on 5 January 1998, succeeding Servando Jordán López. He served as president throughout 1998 and 1999.

During his presidency, the Supreme Court adopted measures concerning the organization and operation of the court following constitutional reforms to its composition. In January 1998, a plenary session presided over by Dávila established rules governing precedence among newly appointed Supreme Court justices who came from outside the career judiciary.

The court also introduced measures intended to improve the processing of pending cases. In 1998, under Dávila's presidency, it established arrangements for a summer chamber to hear urgent cases and address the court's workload.

Dávila was succeeded as president by Hernán Álvarez García in 2000.

Death

Dávila died unexpectedly on 27 January 2000 at the age of 71. His death left a vacancy on the Supreme Court, which was subsequently filled by Jorge Medina Cuevas.