ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DES HAUTES JURIDICTIONS ADMINISTRATIVES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SUPREME ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTIONS Presentation form Name of the Court: Council of State Name of the President/Chief Justice: German Alberto Bula Escobar Address: Palacio de Justicia. Calle 12 No. 7-65 Bogota D.C., Colombia. Phone number : 350-67-00 (+ 571) Fax: (+ ) Website: www.consejodeestado.gov.co E-mail: presidencia@consejoestado.ramajudicial.gov.co 1. NATIONAL JUDICIAL ORGANISATION 1.1. General presentation of the judicial organisation and position of the administrative jurisdictional order The judicial organization of Colombia comprises: 1. Ordinary jurisdiction, which includes civil (commonly called "ordinary jurisdiction"), agrarian, family, criminal and labor jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Justice, which presides over it, the Superior Tribunals of the Judicial District, the Judicial Circuit Judges and the Municipal Judges integrate the ordinary jurisdiction. 2. The administrative contentious jurisdiction includes Council of State, which chairs it, Administrative Tribunals and Judicial Circuit Administrative Judges. 3. The constitutional jurisdiction is integrated by the Constitutional Court. 4. The Office of the Attorney General. The Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, Delegated Prosecutors and other officials determined by law and regulations makes it up. 5. The Superior Council of the Judiciary. Association internationale des hautes juridictions administratives (A.I.H.J.A.) / International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (I.A.S.A.J.) Conseil d’Etat – Place du Palais Royal – 75100 Paris cedex 01 – France Téléphone / Phone : (+33) 1 40 20 80 11 – Télécopie / Fax. : (+33) 1 40 20 81 34 Courriel / Email : aihja@conseil-etat.fr – Site internet / Website : www.aihja.org / www.iasaj.org Banque / Bank : HSBC FR PALAIS ROYAL – 3 place André Malraux – 75001 Paris IBAN : FR76 3005 6000 4500 4554 1130 225 – BIC : CCFRFRPP
This order is not hierarchical, so that the three High Courts: the Supreme Court of Justice, the Council of State and the Constitutional Court are in the same constitutional and legal level in the structure of the Judicial Power. In addition, the Constitution provides for the creation of other special jurisdictions, such as that of Indigenous Peoples and Peace Judges. The Congress exercises certain judicial functions. Exceptionally, law may attribute jurisdictional functions in specific matters to certain administrative authorities, but in no case to investigate and prosecute crimes. In certain cases, individuals may be temporarily invested with jurisdictional functions, such as conciliators and arbitrators. 1.2. Key dates in the evolution of the administrative jurisdictional order and the control of administrative acts Simon Bolivar, the "Liberator", created on October 30, 1817 the "Provisional Council of the State", which would be in charge of preparing the decrees and regulations of the Government and giving its advisory opinion on some issues. This Council of State was suppressed in 1843 to reappear in the Constitution of 1886, which gave it the character of "supreme advisory body of the Government in matters of administration". It also received decision-making capacity in contentious administrative matters, "if the law establishes this jurisdiction ». Eliminated again in 1905, the Council of State was re-established in 1914. In addition to the advisory functions, the Council was the administrative contentious jurisdiction´s supreme court. Act 130 of 1913, Act 167 of 1941 and Decree-Act No. 1 of 1984 were, in that order, the first, the second and the third Administrative Contentious Code in the country. Act 50 of 1967 created the Council of State´s Advisory and Civil Service Chamber. 1991´s Political Constitution instituted the Social Rule of Law and established a strong protection of inhabitants and citizens´ fundamental rights and guarantees. Therefore, it gave great importance to the administrative contentious jurisdiction in our country, mainly by reaffirming the functions of the Council of State and Administrative Tribunals, and by creating the Administrative Judges. The current Code of Administrative Procedure and Contentious Administrative Law, Act 1437 of 2011, harmonized the jurisdiction with the principles and rules of 1991´s Constitution and its reforms. It renewed the jurisdiction's procedures, mainly through the introduction of the method of verbal hearings, the use of electronic media and the establishment of legal actions to extraordinarily review a decision and unify the case law. It began to govern on July 2, 2012. 2
1.3. Criteria of competence of the administrative jurisdiction The criteria of competence of the administrative jurisdiction are two: i) a public entity that participates in an act, contract or fact, and ii) the submission of the act, contract o fact to administrative law. Article 104 of the Code of Administrative Procedure and Contentious Administrative Law sets, in a general and abbreviated manner, such criteria of competence of our administrative jurisdiction, in the following terms: "The Administrative Contentious Jurisdiction is established to know, in addition to the provisions of the Political Constitution and special laws, disputes and litigations arising from acts, contracts, facts, omissions and operations, subject to administrative law, in which public entities are involved, or individuals when they exercise administrative function ». The same article mentions several cases in which the jurisdiction is competent. In other words, the contentious administrative jurisdiction knows, in general terms, the controversies in which a public entity is involved, whether at the national, departmental, district or municipal level. The contentious administrative jurisdiction is also competent to decide complaints against administrative acts and claims for damages caused by public entities´ contractual activity or their actions or omissions. This jurisdiction also knows about electoral disputes and actions of loss of investiture of congressmen, departmental deputies and municipal councilors. In addition, it is competent to resolve: i) "tutela" action, created for the protection of people´s fundamental rights, ii) popular and group actions, whose purpose is to protect collective rights and interests, or a specific group of people, and ii) "habeas corpus" petitions. 2. ORGANISATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTIONAL ORDER 2.1. Key founding texts There are several constitutional and legal statutes that underlie and support administrative jurisdiction´s organization, operation, procedures and innovations. The most relevant are: First of all, 1991´s Political Constitution and its numerous reforms. Statutory Law for the Justice Administration, Act 270 of 1996, and its reforms. Code of Administrative Procedure and Contentious Administrative Law, Act 1437 of 2011. Other laws, such as Act 472 of 1998 on popular and group actions, and Act 1755 of 2015 on the right to petition, etc. 3
Reports and selections of case law from the Council of State, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Justice. Advisory opinions of the Council of State´s Advisory and Civil Service Chamber, which publishes its memories annually. Memories of forums, seminars, colloquia and meetings where the administrative jurisdiction participates. Works of foreign and national authors. 2.2. Organisation and competence of the administrative jurisdiction 2.2.1. General organisation of the administrative jurisdictional order Is administrative justice rendered by specialized courts or by specialized chambers set within jurisdictions with a general competence? Does the administrative jurisdiction include several levels of jurisdiction (first instance, appeal, cassation)? Are there specialized administrative courts? The contentious administrative jurisdiction is the specialized jurisdiction that runs the administrative justice in Colombia. The jurisdiction is made up by: - A Council of State. -Administrative tribunals in the departments. - Administrative judges in the departments, capital cities and other country´s relevant cities. The contentious administrative jurisdiction comprises several levels, as follows: - Administrative judges know about some matters, when acting as sole or only instance. As first instance, they hear about nullity actions of administrative acts issued by district or municipal authorities. Likewise, they know about other contentious actions against authorities, when they have a moderate value. - Administrative Courts are also competent to solve, as a single instance, certain matters. As first instance, they decide contentious actions against national, departmental, district and municipal authorities, taking into consideration the matter and values indicated by the Code. Finally, they act as second instance, when solving appeals against administrative judges´ decisions. - The Council of State knows, as a single instance, certain matters concerning national authorities. As a second instance, it knows decisions issued in first instance by administrative tribunals. In addition, it is competent to decide extraordinary appeals and unification of jurisprudence´s actions. The Council of State has also the faculty to unify the case law on the occasion of actions of its knowledge or administrative tribunals, by its own initiative or by request of one of the parties or the Public Ministry, for legal, economic or social reasons, or when there is a need to unify the case law on a specific topic. 4
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