Fernando Atria Lemaitre

Fernando Atria Lemaitre serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Law Sciences at the Faculty of Law, University of Chile. Holding a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh (1999) and law credentials from the University of Chile (1994), he has established himself as a prominent legal scholar with over two decades of teaching experience. His academic appointments include undergraduate instruction in foundational courses like Introduction to Law I & II and Civil Law V, as well as advanced postgraduate offerings including Theory of Law, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, and Legal Argumentation programs.

Professor Atria Lemaitre's educational background reflects both Chilean and international training, with his doctoral studies completed at the University of Edinburgh. His academic journey at the University of Chile spans from 2003 to the present, demonstrating sustained commitment to legal education. His teaching portfolio shows consistent involvement across multiple semesters and academic years, with current teaching responsibilities extending to 2025.

His research interests focus on the theoretical foundations of law, with particular emphasis on constitutional theory, property law systems, and the relationship between political power and legal structures. He examines how normative power emerges from factual situations, analyzes constitutional architecture through innovative metaphors, and investigates the philosophical underpinnings of indigenous rights and legal argumentation. His scholarly approach bridges traditional legal scholarship with contemporary political philosophy.

Professor Atria Lemaitre's recent publications reveal evolving research trajectories, with 2023-2025 works increasingly addressing democratic theory and populism alongside his longstanding interests in constitutional law and property systems. His articles demonstrate methodological diversity, employing rational reconstruction techniques, conceptual analysis, and historical examination of legal concepts.

Among his significant research projects are Constituent Power as Political Magnitude (2024-2028), currently underway with Fondecyt_Anid Regular funding, and Possession and property: the emergence of normativity from facticity (2019-2023), previously funded by FONDECYT Regular. These projects reflect his sustained investigation into fundamental questions about the nature of legal systems.

Professor Atria Lemaitre has supervised numerous graduate students whose thesis topics reflect the breadth of his scholarly interests, including domain reservation in Chilean law, DL N° 2695 jurisprudence, private property concepts, social rights theory, Carl Schmitt's political theology, corporate liability frameworks, and constitutional theory. His mentorship extends across multiple generations of legal scholars in Chile.