On July 15, 2024, the Supreme Court, in case No. 238.417-2023, titled "Sociedad Alejandros Limitada with Ilustre Municipalidad de Cauquenes," upheld a cassation appeal filed by the claimant, Sociedad Alejandros Limitada, against the September 25, 2023, ruling of the Talca Court of Appeals, which declared the claim of illegality filed by the aforementioned Society against Exempt Decree No. 5386 of December 14, 2022, of the Municipality of Cauquenes, which revoked a public tender that had originally been awarded to the claimant, as untimely.
According to the Talca Court of Appeals in its ruling, the claim of illegality was filed out of time, given that the deadline contemplated in letter d) of article 151 of Law No. 18.695 is of a procedural nature and must be calculated in accordance with the civil procedural regulations, i.e., considering Sundays and holidays as non-business days. Consequently, the Municipality of Cauquenes' plea of expiration was upheld, making it unnecessary to rule on the merits of the matter before the Appellate Court.
However, the Supreme Court, upon hearing the cassation appeal filed by the claimant against said ruling, indicated that the fifteen-day period provided for the filing of the illegality claim before the respective Court of Appeals originates from an administrative procedure, so the rule contained in article 25 of Law No. 19.880 must be applied to calculate this period, considering not only Sundays and holidays as non-business days but also Saturdays.
In this regard, the Supreme Court emphasized that the administrative nature of this procedure necessarily determines the application of Law No. 19.880, as we are dealing with a regulation that comprehensively governs the bases of such procedures, as prescribed by its article 1. In line with this, it noted that the rule contained in article 66 of the Civil Procedure Code, which was erroneously considered by the Talca Court of Appeals to rule on the matter, is only applicable for calculating the deadlines in judicial procedures. Indeed, it indicated that, as evidenced by the literal tenor of article 66, this rule specifically applies to the deadlines established in the Civil Procedure Code, making it unreasonable to extend its application to the period provided for in letter d) of article 151 of Law No. 18.695.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court upheld the cassation appeal filed by the claimant, invalidated the September 23, 2024, ruling of the Talca Court of Appeals, and issued a replacement ruling rejecting the plea of expiration filed by the Municipality of Cauquenes, declaring that the claim of illegality filed by Sociedad Alejandros Limitada was submitted within the deadline.
