La interpretación constitucional y sus métodos en el sistema jurídico norteamericano, una interacción entre lo político y lo jurídico: Teorías y casos de estudio

Abstract

Seeking to provide a contribution to the study of the methods of interpretation that apply in the constitutional systems from which we have imported and transplanted institutions to the world of civil law in Latin America, this article seeks to provide, in presence of the scarce literature in Spanish about this topic, an introductory study of the methods of constitutional interpretation in the American legal system, especially originalism, non-originalism and living constitutionalism: developing their relationship with the notions of case-law and precedent, explaining the different legal and political implications of such methods, its historical foundations, its legal nature, their specific procedures, and their impact in the rulings and the activity of the Supreme Court. The paper first presents a theoretical description of the methods from the perspective of the American constitutional theory, and then develops its practical application through the case of District of Columbia vs. Heller Supreme Court of the United States. © 2018, Universidad de Talca.