[JURIST] Chile's Senate on Wednesday passed reforms to the country's constitution [text] put in place by former dictator Augusto Pinochet [Wikipedia profile] that reduce the presidential term to four years from six and limit military build-up. Sen. Sergio Fernandez, who worked as a co-author to the 25-year-old Constitution, called the changes "an important step that will allow for . . . modernization." Under the new reforms all senators will now be elected, cutting out 10 appointed senate seats, and the possibility of the military exerting influence over court appointments has been eliminated. Reuters has more.