Diego Almonacid-Almarza

Profile

His research focuses on legal philosophy, with particular emphasis on the instrumentality of law and on how legal norms causally contribute to the achievement of social objectives. He approaches these issues through the concepts of efficacy and through functional, causal, and mechanistic explanations of legal phenomena. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the programme in Philosophy of Law and History of Legal Culture at the Università degli Studi di Genova. His doctoral dissertation, The Efficacy of Legal Norms: An Analysis of the Instrumentality of Law, critically examines the concept of the efficacy of legal norms and its relation to legal instrumentality. He is a licensed attorney in Chile, holds a Master’s degree in Global Rule of Law and Constitutional Democracy from the Università degli Studi di Genova, and earned his law degree from Universidad Austral de Chile. His teaching experience includes work as a Teaching Assistant at Universidad Austral de Chile and as a Lecturer at Universidad de Magallanes.

Research Interests

Theory and philosophy of law; efficacy of legal norms; instrumentality of law; functions of law; functional and mechanistic explanations in legal theory; rule of law; theory of legislation; and philosophy of collective action.

Experience

Education

Publications

Journal Articles

• "Contribuciones de J. Waldron a una teoría descriptiva de la legislación" [Contributions of J. Waldron to a Descriptive Theory of Legislation], Revista Telemática de Filosofía del Derecho, no. 26, 2023, pp. 107-133.
• "Principio de eficacia e imperio de la ley. Observaciones en torno a su relación" [Principle of efficacy and rule of law. Observations about their relationship], Isonomía - Revista de teoría y filosofía del derecho, no. 58, 2023, pp. 1-31 [Scopus].
• "Racionalidad teleológica legislativa y eficacia como éxito. Un panorama de dificultades" [Legislative teleological rationality and effectiveness as success. An overview of difficulties], Revista de Derecho (Valdivia), vol. XXXIV, no. 1, 2021, pp. 9-27 [Scopus].

Book Chapters

• "Una teoría de la legislación con enfoque lógico. Apuntes sobre la legislación-proceso y el legislador en la obra de Eugenio Bulygin" [A theory of legislation with a logical approach. Notes on the legislation-process and the legislator in Eugenio Bulygin's work], in Eugenio Bulygin en la teoría del derecho contemporánea, edited by Giovanni B. Ratti, Julieta Rábanos, and María Cristina Redondo, Marcial Pons, 2022, pp. 407-422.

Short Format

• "Un breve ejercicio meta-legisprudencial" [A Brief Meta-Legisprudential Exercise], in Interfolio. Proceedings of the VIII Interescuelas de Filosofía del Derecho, edited by Ricardo Guibourg, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 18 Sept. 2022.

In Press

• "Rule of Law, Fidelity, and Mediated Efficacy: Addressing the Distance Dilemma in Postema's Theory", Ratio Juris.

Conference Presentations

Conference Organization

Awards and Scholarships

• MAECI 2024/25 Borsa di Studio - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy. Awarded through a competitive selection process to partially fund doctoral studies, recognizing academic excellence and research potential.
• MAECI 2023/24 Borsa di Studio - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy. Awarded through a competitive selection process to partially fund doctoral studies, recognizing academic excellence and research potential.
• Beca Chile for Doctoral Studies Abroad - Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, Chile (2022-2026).
• Scholarship for complete tuition fee exemption - Master in Global Rule of Law, Università degli Studi di Genova (2020). Awarded for being the top-ranked candidate in the merit-based selection process.
• Award for the best cumulative overall grade point average - Universidad Austral de Chile, Faculty of Law.
• Jorge Millas Award for excellence in legal sciences - Universidad Austral de Chile, Faculty of Law.
• Manuel Egidio Ballesteros Award for excellence in procedural law - Universidad Austral de Chile, Faculty of Law.
• Juan Bustos Ramírez Award for excellence in criminal law - Universidad Austral de Chile, Faculty of Law.
• Arturo Alessandri Award for excellence in civil law - Universidad Austral de Chile, Faculty of Law.
• Rector Eduardo Morales Miranda Scholarship - Universidad Austral de Chile (2014-2018). Partial Tuition Scholarship for Undergraduate Studies. Awarded based on academic merit for exceptional performance in the university entrance examination.

Additional Academic Training