Posts Tagged ‘Gustavo Petro’
The Displaced Persons’ “Tutela” Writ
While eveyone discusses the “tutela” writs of Mayor Petro’s case, the 10th anniversary of perhaps the most important tutela decision of the Colombian Constitutional Court has been forgotten: the T-025 of 2004. Since then, then, this decisions has been protecting the rights of five million colombians that are victims of forced displacement.
Read MoreDemocracy without Participation?
It is foolish, the result of an elitist and antiquated view, to think of social protests as a deficiency. On the contrary, it is the best sign that the excluded sector feels they have a voice to participate politically and express their disagreements.
Read MoreSabotaging Institutions
Inspector General Ordóñez has managed to achieve his ultimate objective: he has discredited the Constitution of 1991 and created a suitable environment for a constitutional reform.
Read MorePetro’s Options and the Inter-American System of Human Rights
The mayor has three possible lifesavers. One is political and highly unlikely – that the President will not execute the order. Another is legal and unpredictable – the outcome of the numerous “tutela” writs presented before the courts. And the other one is international – appealing to the Inter-American System. Will this last one work for him?
Read MoreMore on Petro’s Removal from Office
There is an crucial legal issue in Petro’s removal from office that has hardly been discussed. It is the following issue: Even if you accept that the Inspector General has the power to remove a mayor, it would have to be done through a rigorous and demanding process, that was not carried out in Petro’s case.
Read MoreProtections in Criminal Procedure and Removal from Office
The debate over the implications of Article 23 of the American Convention in Petro’s case has come down to a single question. Does the Inspector General have the legal power to remove a democratically elected public official from office? Nonetheless, Article 23 also has other important implications.
Read MoreThe Law as a Form of Politics
Carl Von Clausewitz once said that war is the continuation of politics through other means. Many Colombians think that something similar happened with the law here; that is, the the legal debates are a continuations of politics by other means. At least that appears to be the opinion of the 73 percent of residents of Bogota who believe the removal of their mayor Petro from office was unjust.
Read MoreUnqualified to Disqualify?
This is about a key decision in defining the powers of the Inspector General’s Office regarding political rights. In the debate about the removal from office of Bogota’s mayor and his disqualification from holding elected office imposed by the Inspector General, the decision but the Inter-American Court in a similar case in Venezuela has been mentioned a lot.
Read MoreRevoking the Removal from Office
Unless a “tutela” writ or an interim measure by the Inter-American Commission overturn the effects of his decision, the Inspector General is likely to affirm Mayor Petro’s removal from office.
Read MorePetro’s International Option
Since the day mayor Gustavo Petro´s legal team learned of the Inspector General’s Office’s decision to remove him from office and ban him from holding public office for 15 years, the team began to look North. They set their eyes on Washington, where the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is located.
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