**10. Constitutional status of the covenants**

The current Political Constitution contains a series of norms related to human rights that give a different normative context to their validity. Indeed, Article 5, paragraph 2 of the current Constitution recognizes that "It is the duty of the organs of the State to respect and promote those rights guaranteed by this Constitution, as well as by the International Treaties ratified by Chile, which are in force". In this way, the human rights recognized in the international treaties ratified by Chile are incorporated into the constitutional sphere, thus giving content to the sentence of the aforementioned paragraph 2 of Article 5, which states: "The exercise of sovereignty recognizes as a limitation the respect for the essential rights that emanate from human nature".

The foregoing is reaffirmed by the provisions of Article 19 No. 26, which establishes the certainty that the legal precepts that by mandate of the Constitution regulate or complement the guarantees that it establishes or that limit them in the cases authorized by it, may not affect the rights in their essence, nor impose conditions, taxes or requirements that impede their free exercise". Thus, the fundamental bases of the Constitution recognize the human rights enumerated in the Constitution itself, as well as those established in international treaties ratified by Chile and in force, and therefore no legal or constitutional norm may affect them in their essence.

The legal solution in case of confrontation between two constitutional norms is given by the fundamental bases of the Constitution itself, that is to say, the

*Perspective Chapter: Principles of Higher Education DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109968*

constitutional norms that recognize human rights are necessarily preeminent, since these norms constitute the declared foundation of the Constitution, the basis of institutionality. In other words, constitutional norms that disregard human rights enshrined in the Constitution will be a dead letter.

Thus, the constitutional rank of the human rights included in the treaties in force is evident from the constitutional texts cited. Moreover, this character is reaffirmed by the certainty that the legal precepts that - by mandate of the Constitution regulate or complement the guarantees that it establishes or that limit them in the cases in which it authorizes it, may not affect the rights in their essence, nor impose conditions, taxes or requirements that prevent their free exercise as provided in Article 19 No. 26. Under these conditions, norms that conflict with or disregard in their essence the human rights "guaranteed by this Constitution, as well as by the international treaties ratified by Chile, which are in force", shall be null and void and unenforceable.
