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Archives / ResearchThird follow-up report to Auto 092 of 2008
The Corporation Casa de la Mujer, the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES), the Corporation Sisma Women, the Colombian Women's Initiative Partnership for Peace (IMP), the Women's Pacific Route, the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society - Dejusticia, the Working Group on Women and Armed Conflict, the Colombian Commission of Jurists, the Lawyers Collective José Alvear Restrepo, and the League of Displaced Women, meeting in follow-up committee to the order issued to the Attorney General and the invitation to the Inspector General's Office regarding the annex of the Auto 092, 2008 of the Constitutional Court, together with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, ONIC, present the third monitoring report which intends to demonstrate that the entities in charged of effectively implementing the Auto 092 have not done so, reason why the Court's intervention in the matter is requested.
The electoral organization in Colombia
One of the key elements to advance towards the consolidation of Colombian democracy is the existence of electoral authorities endowed with the sufficient capacity, transparency, and impartiality to ensure the legality of electoral processes. This document discusses the main weaknesses of the Colombian electoral authorities to review the legality of electoral processes, and presents some ideas for overcoming them.
Prohibition equals regression
Colombia has recently made an amendment to the Constitution which bans the carrying and use of personal doses of narcotics. This report shows the changes involved in this reform and assesses the main implications, at least, at policy level
Comments on the official response to the Decision T-496 of 2008
This document presents some comments to the official response presented by the Ministry of Interior and Justice and the Attorney General's Office to the case T-496 of 2008, which amended the Decree 3570 of 2007 that established the program of Victim and Witness Protection of Law 975 of 2005. In particular, it identifies the reasons why the Case' Monitoring Committee believes the answer does not fully and integrally comply the orders issued by the Constitutional Court.
Recommended document: a comprehensive plan for the protection of victims and witnesses from serious human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law (differential gender approach).
This document presents proposals from civil society organizations to facilitate the implementation of the Sentence T-496/08 of the Constitutional Court.
Justice In and Out of the Courtroom: the search for a sucessful dynamic
The historical case study explores the search for justice amidst armed conflict and authoritative regimes. The author discusses the need for laws to protect the individual as well as the collective rights in order to arrive at justice. Comparing countries transitioning from war to peace and from dictatorship to democracy, the investigation evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of various mechanisms to support the search for the truth and prosecute those responsible.
Uses and Abuses of Transitional Justice in Colombia
Although the term has yet to be clearly defined, the concept of “transitional justice” has become increasingly popular in recent years. Using the case study of the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and paramilitary groups, the authors explore the implications and limitations of the rhetoric of transitional justice. The study focuses on the relations of politics, law and the protection of human rights in times of significant national transition. Ultimately, the authors question the utility of the concept for Colombia given the unequal distribution of power between victims and perpetrators.
The National Plan for Development and Reparations
A proposal for a national program on administrative reparations for victims of crimes against humanity in the setting of armed conflict.
Is the Free Trade Agreement Constitutional?
The article offers and analysis of the impacts of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Colombia. By exploring various aspects of the treaty, the examination questions whether the FTA threatens to harm certain constitutional norms particularly in relation to health rights, the jurisdictional and regulatory capacity of the State.
The Legal Challenges of Kidnapping
The practice of kidnapping is a tragic Latin American phenomenon. Following the leads of the Nazi’s use of abducting opposition to the violent regime, the custom has spread throughout the continent and is employed by rebel groups and peoples in power alike. In addition to causing extreme distress for the victim and their relatives, forced disappearance poses a complex web of judicial challenges. The article explores this web, calling for a reformation of law in order to protect the rights of victims, to ensure throughout investigation and to prevent the practice of this atrocious crime in the future.
Forced Displacement and Transitional Justice in Colombia
The objective of this study is to examine and analysis the Colombian government’s response to the need for transitional justice addressing the phenomenon of forced displacement due to guerrilla warfare. At the time of publication, the author concludes that current public policies are not sufficient to address the demands of this phenomenon, do not build upon past experience with this matter, nor do they protect the rights of the displaced peoples. Results of the study emphasize that current policy is not only inadequate, but actually ignores the necessity for transitional justice for displaced populations. Using research findings, the article concludes with recommendations for ways in which international cooperation and civil society can contribute to the attainment transitional justice on this issue.
The Judicial Protection of Rights and The Constitution
This article is offered in defense of the progresses that the Constitution of 1991 made regarding judicial protection of human rights.
Suggestions for The National Development Plan
This document is the product of collaborative research regarding The National Development Plan of Colombia. Specifically, it calls for further development of the section on the National Program for Administrative Reparations for the victims of criminal atrocities in the context of armed conflict.
Guaranteeing Access to Free Primary Education
This document addresses the complex and controversial topic of universal access to primary education in the district of Bogotá, Colombia. Rather than attempting to review the multitude of issues and divergent perspectives regarding this issue, the author focuses primarily on the duty of the judicial system of Colombia to takes the appropriate steps to guarantee access to free primary education.
Is it Possible to Prevent Regression? A focus on Colombian constitutional jurisprudence
As established by international protocols and conventions regarding social rights, the State must uphold the responsibility to maintain vigilant protection against the degeneration of social rights. The main objective of this article is to discuss the role of the Colombian government to ensure that as new levels of rights are achieved, that they are maintained, and furthermore, they must not allow for backward movement.
Judicial Presentations on Prisons
This document is an elaboration on an oral presentation presented by the authors on November 11, 2005 at “Academic Days about Colombian Prisons” summoned by the Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations, the National University of Colombia, and the European Union.
The End of the Law of Justice and Peace? The law of 975 to 2006 after the Failure of the Constitutional Court
The research laid forth in this book addresses the practical implications of The Law 975 of 2006 on the process of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and paramilitary groups. Due to the fact that the sentence from the Constitutional Court, which is responsible for the revisions of the law, was announced after this book was at the press, the book reflects partial look since the complete text of the ruling is still not known. Recognizing this constraint, the investigation is based on press releases, journals and analysis from Non-Governmental Organizations.
What to Do with the Guardianship against Sentences?
Guardianship against Sentences is at the center of the current legal and political debate, not only because it worsens the collisions between the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, since the first one has the opportunity to revise the Supreme Court rulings, but also because of the Judicial Reform proposed by the government. Those in favor of the abolishment of the guardianship against sentences propose the implementation of and extraordinary resort against the arbitrary rulings.
The Judicial Protection of Social Rights by the Colombian Constitutional Court: Cases and Debates
An important question with which theorists of law and democracy are grappling is whether the Colombian Constitutional Courts should be reasonable for enforcing social rights. This article addresses the discussion of who should be the protector of social and welfare rights, exploring multiple perspectives on this complex issue.
Reflection on the Risks of Colombian Anti-terrorist Approaches: A theoretical framework
The article offers an interpretation of the production and application of anti-terrorist approaches in Colombia. The objectives of the research are to provide an basic overview of the approaches but will not attempt to offer a systematic analysis of all antiterrorist measures implemented by Colombia during the past several years. Specific attention is paid to national security policies and an interpretation of risks imbedded in antiterrorist measures is offered.
Comparative Study of Transitional Justice
The article offers a comparative study of the process of transitional justice as adopted by various countries. By exploring the unique contexts, dilemmas, and pardoning systems, the study examines the methods of applying transitional justice. Finally, the author advocates for Colombia to embrace transitional model founded on responsible pardoning and democratic legitimacy.
Transitional and Restorative Justice: Complements and Tensions
The study explores the benefits and drawbacks of applying the framework of restorative justice as the dominant paradigm in order to address problems presented by transitional justice in Colombia. The investigation is timely as the idea that transitional processes should be founded on restorative justice is becoming increasingly popular. By exploring the original concepts of the two branches of justice, the author analyzes several complementary characteristics between the two and also analyzes the important tensions that exist between them. The findings highlights limitations that exist in the restorative justice approach as when applied to a transitional time. Ultimately, the author concludes that the processes of transitional justice, especially those in Colombia, should contain punishment for those responsible for serious human rights violations, and therefore, only they should only contemplate using restorative justice in limited situations.
Dimensions of Transitional Justice in Colombia: building bridges among the legal, the political, and the psychosocial
In this article, the authors defend a thesis that a consideration of the fluid dialogue between legal, political, and psychosocial dimensions of society is of fundamental importance to the topic of transitional justice. Although there are no psychosocial experts on transitional justice, the authors contend there is a considerable dissociation among the discussed dimensions that is problematic for exploration and practical implementations of transitional justice in Colombia.
Toward a Democratic Conception of Reconciliation
This research focuses on the significance of the word reconciliation. It questions what implications it has in contexts of armed conflict, generalized violence, violations of human rights and impunity from the countryside to the cities of Colombia. Facing the difficult realities of reconciliation, the authors explore what is needed to have durable peace rise from a time of profound interpersonal conflict characterized by denial of the other, aggressive behavior and violence.
Evaluation of the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General's Office
Making the rule of law a reality and attaining peace in Colombia demands a judicial system that effectively punishes serious violations of human rights committed by all actors in society, including state officials. Therefore, the independence and efficiency of the Attorney General's investigations of human rights violations must be subjected to rigorous empirical analysis and constant public debates. In this document, DJS contributes to that effort through a critical study of how the Attorney General’s Human Rights Unit (UDH) has operated over the last few years. In order to do that, the text combines tools of empirical qualitative analysis (case studies) with a follow-up and measurement of the UDH’s performance, which contributes to reducing the impunity of human rights violations in Colombia. (Note: This document is written in Spanish.) 1-25 of 26 Page 1 of 2 | Next |
