Area-Litigation
Defending the Colombian Peace Agreement through strategic litigation
Dejusticia’s legal support for the upholding of the peace agreement illustrates the vital role of an organized and alert civil society in ensuring the implementation of policy. This oversight role is among the most important functions of civil society in a democratic system.
Read MoreStrategic Litigation Manual: From Theory to Practice, Lessons from Colombia & Lebanon
The manual presents the theory of strategic litigation with examples of real cases brought by Dejusticia and The Legal Agenda. We encourage readers to continue to add to it with each new case they have the opportunity to work on.
Read MoreCourt rules in favor of social leaders and orders that the right to defend human rights be guaranteed
The decision emphasized that the fundamental rights of human rights defenders are not suspended at any time and that includes states of emergency. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be an excuse for not complying with the orders of this decision.
Read MoreThe Colombian government has failed to fulfill the Supreme Court’s landmark order to protect the Amazon
One year ago, the Colombian Supreme Court declared the Colombian Amazon a subject of rights, ordering the government to take measures to preserve it by curbing deforestation. However, the government has not taken sufficient action; meanwhile, threats to the rainforest continue to grow.
Read MoreThe ICC Venezuela Referral and the Tumultuous Shift in Latin American Politics
With the rise of right-wing presidents in Latin America, measures like the referral can be abused by such governments to advance their political agendas in the region, thereby delegitimizing the crucial cause of seeking justice for victims in Venezuela as a common goal.
Read MoreColombia must obtain resources to guarantee the right to health of Venezuelan migrants: Constitutional Court
The high court protected the right to health of two undocumented Venezuelans and requested the government to advance as “expeditiously and effectively as possible” towards the full realization of migrants’ right to health, regardless of their immigration status. Dejusticia intervened in the case.
Read MoreNot Pretty in Pink: The Undisclosed Fashions of Farmed Salmon
People often choose cuts with bright pink to reddish hues, under the impression that these are fresher, tastier, and of better quality, thus warranting premium prices. The reality, however, is that “color does not affect these characteristics” and, in the case of farmed salmon, this color is actually manufactured.
Read MoreHelp us build the Intergenerational Pact for the Amazon
The government and the 25 children and young people who filed a lawsuit to stop deforestation in the Amazon and tackle climate change must now create a plan to achieve this goal. Everyone can join the effort to protect this ecosystem.
Read MoreJury Finds Former Bolivian President and Defense Minister Responsible for Extrajudicial Killings of Indigenous People
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, ordered security forces in Bolivia to use deadly military force against unarmed civilians to suppress popular protests against government policies. In all, security forces slaughtered 58 citizens and injured more than 400, almost all from indigenous Aymara communities.
Read MoreLitigation, science, and global warming
With the “science of attribution,” the Supreme Court of Justice has in its hands the strongest scientific basis by which to decide the lawsuit brought by 25 young people in the coming days.
Con la “ciencia de la atribución” la Corte Suprema de Justicia tendrá en sus manos las bases científicas más sólidas para decidir la tutela de los 25 jóvenes en los próximos días.
Read MoreThe cost of rights
One dimension that critics of the Constitutional Court often forget is that all rights involve some spending. That is why we must take into account both the costs and the benefits of a judicial decision.
Read MoreExecutive Summary Decision T-543 of 2017
The Constitutional Court held that the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce censored the organization Educar Consumidores, and it cautioned the Superintendency that henceforth it could not exercise prior control over informational
contents.
The Supreme Court rules in favor of peasants
Regarding the legal action that 1,770 peasants filed to be included in the census, the court ordered the Government to define the concept of peasant, to include this population in the census, and to advance public policies that ensure their material equality.
Read MoreWhy we are demanding the Colombian government halt deforestation
We argue that deforestation in the Colombian Amazon is violating our constitutional right to a healthy environment, which in turn threatens our right to life, water, food, and health. We, the future generations, are 25 youth who will have to face the impacts of climate change and deforestation the rest of our lives.
Read MoreThe Inspector General’s Office intervened to support our legal action on climate change
The delegate for environmental issues supports the legal action by 25 young people and claims that the Government does not have a clear policy to stop deforestation, the main cause behind the warming of the country’s average temperatures.
Read MoreFirst Climate Change Lawsuit in Latin America
Twenty-five young Colombians want to defend their environmental heritage, which is why they demand that authorities stop the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and comply with the Paris Agreements.
Read MoreColombian Youth File the First Climate Change Lawsuit in Latin America
25 young people are demanding the government halts deforestation.
Read MoreAfro and indigenous peoples should be consulted about truth-seeking processes
The Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the decree that creates the Truth Commission for the implementation of the Peace Agreement. Dejusticia presented an intervention supporting the constitutionality of the decree, with the condition that the participation of various social sectors in future steps is guaranteed.
Read MoreThe long wait of the JEP to the Constitutional Court and the Congress’ response
In the last six months civil society organizations, such as Dejusticia, have called on both institutions to give way to the rules that consolidate the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.
Read MoreThe long wait of the JEP ahead of the decisions of the Constitutional Court and Congress
In the last six months civil society organizations, such as Dejusticia, have called on both institutions to give free rein to the norms that consolidate the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.
Read MoreCase of indigenous people of Bojayá who could not vote in the plebiscite is about to reach the Court
Through a tutela, a group of Emberá claimed their rights to political participation and equality, because their economic situation and how far they live made it impossible for them to move to endorse the Peace Agreement. Dejusticia, human rights organizations, and indigenous leaders asked the High Court to review the case.
Read MoreThe Constitutional Court has the last word to save the Ciénaga Grande of Santa Marta
The environmental crisis of this ecosystem led fishermen to pursue a legal battle that reached the High Court. In this intervention, we support their demand that environmental authorities take urgent measures to stop the disaster and thus, protect their rights to healthy environment, dignified life and work.
Read MoreTruthful discussions
If we want to overcome the post-truth era and escape the the polarization that threatens us, Colombia needs a solid but informed public debate; a debate with vigor but without lies, falsehoods or unjust attacks like the one I was subjected to last week by the ex Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez.
Read MoreGender focus in rural reform is important but insufficient
The Gender-in-Peace Working Group -GPAZ, a group of which Dejusticia is a member, took part in the Public Hearing convened by the Constitutional Court, within the framework of the informal constitutional review of Decree 902 of 2017 “to facilitate the implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Reform contemplated in the Final Land Agreement, specifically the procedure for access and formalization and the Land Fund.”
Read MoreRural reform decree to resolve historic debt with peasants
Terrible conditions in the countryside and lack of access to land are linked to the armed conflict. Point one of the Peace Agreement, which is under study by the Constitutional Court, addresses these issues. Dejusticia presented an intervention supporting most of its content.
Read MoreThe national government geographically isolated Chocó
We intervened to support a tutela that requires the government to pave the
Quibdó-Medellín and Quibdó-Pereira roads: a promise that has historically been unfulfilled.
Dejusticia intervened regarding the constitutionality of the Search Unit for Missing Persons
The decree meets the formal and material requirements to be declared enforceable. The decree was issued by the president, who is the competent authority and is also aligned with the criteria of connectedness and strict necessity.
Read MoreDecree that created the National Comprehensive Program for Crop Substitution is constitutional
In an intervention before the Constitutional Court, Dejusticia argued that this norm conforms to the Constitution. However, the organization warned that the deadline to determine the beneficiaries should be reconsidered because it could leave out a group of peasants living in poverty.
Read MoreDejusticia intervened before the Constitutional Court against censorship of a health-related commercial
We support the freedom of expression of the NGO Educar Consumidores. They had released a commercial that talked about the content and health effects of sugary drinks, but the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce ordered to suspend its transmission.
Read MoreBojayá, the town we left without a voice or a vote
“The paramilitaries enter, two weeks later, the FARC enters, and kills half the town.” This is how Maxima, a black woman in the Committee for the Rights of the Bojayá Victims, summarizes what happened on May 2, 2002.
Read MoreEqual Marriage Between the Lines
The Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples have a right to civil marriage, but much more can be read between the lines.
Read More