Key Benefits:
1996 ACT 288
(July 5)
Official Journal No. 42,826, 9 July 1996
By means of which instruments are established for damages to victims of human rights violations under the provisions of certain international human rights bodies.
COLOMBIA CONGRESS
DECRETA:
ARTICLE 1o. 103. > The National Government shall pay, upon completion of the process of this Law, the damages caused by violations of human rights that have been declared, or come to declare (sic), in express decisions of the international human rights bodies that are later pointed out.
ARTICLE 2o. 104. > For the purposes of this Law only reconciliations or incidents of damages may be concluded with respect to those cases of human rights violations in relation to with which the following requirements are met:
1. That there be a prior written and express decision of the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in which it is concluded with respect to a specific case that the State The Colombian Government has committed itself to a violation of human rights and it is established that the corresponding damages must be compensated.
2. There is a concept that is favourable to compliance with the decision of the international human rights body proposed by a Committee set up by:
a) The Minister of the Interior;
b) The Minister of Foreign Affairs;
c) The Minister of Justice and Law;
d) The Minister of National Defense.
PARAGRAFO 1o. The Committee will propose a favourable concept for compliance with the decision of the International Human Rights Authority in all cases where the de facto and de jure budgets are met. Political Constitution and applicable international treaties. For this purpose, it shall take into account, among other elements, the evidence collected and the providences placed on the judicial, administrative or disciplinary proceedings and in the action taken before the respective international body.
PARAGRAFO 2o. When the Committee considers that it is not (sic) meeting the budgets referred to in the previous paragraph, it must inform the National Government so that it will present the claim or challenge the resources. the case against the referred decision to the competent international body, if any. In any event, if there is no second instance provided for in the applicable international treaty or the term for challenging the decision has been exhausted, the Committee shall be in favour of compliance with the decision of the international body.
PARAGRAFO 3o. The Committee shall have a period of forty-five (45) days, counted from the official notification of the statement of the international body concerned, to issue the relevant concept.
The term of reference will begin to run from the date on which the present Law will be governed, in respect of the pronouncements of the international human rights bodies that have been proposed prior to that date.
PARAGRAFO 4o. There will be the processing of this Law even if the actions provided for in the internal law have expired for the purpose of obtaining damages for acts of violation of the human rights, provided that the requirements set out in this Article are met.
ARTICLE 3o. 105. > If the Committee issues a favorable concept for compliance with the decision of the international body, the National Government will request the conciliation hearing before the agent of the Public Ministry. to the Administrative Court of Justice which would be competent, in accordance with the internal law, to settle the dispute which is the subject of the conciliation, in a term not exceeding thirty (30) days.
Received the request, the agent of the Public Ministry must quote the interested parties in order to appear before him and present the means of proof that they have to demonstrate their legitimate interest and the value of the damages.
The agent of the Public Prosecutor's Office will be responsible for the transfer of the evidence provided and the claims made by the interested parties to the National Government and will summon the parties to the conciliation hearing.
The Ombudsman will be summoned to the conciliation procedure.
ARTICLE 4. 106. > The public entity to which the public servant responsible for the respective facts has been linked shall proceed to determine in common agreement with the persons who have demonstrated legitimate interest, and based on the means of proof in the performance, the amount of damages.
The reconciliation will deal with the amount of compensation. The assessment of the damage shall apply the criteria of the national case-law in force.
In any case, only compensation for the damage which has been properly tested and which have a chance of being met by the facts covered by the decision of the international body.
ARTICLE 5o. 107. > The reconciliation of this Law may also be brought forward within the administrative litigation process initiated to obtain compensation for the damages arising therefrom. (a) the facts referred to in the decision of the international human rights body, even if the opportunity to make the conciliation was provided for therein.
ARTICLE 6o. 108. > For the purposes of the compensation of the damages to be the subject of the conciliation, they shall be such as evidence, among others, which are in legal proceedings; internal disciplinary measures and, in particular, those assessed by the international body to issue the relevant decision.
ARTICLE 7o. 109. > If agreement is reached, the parties will sign an act stating that it will be stated and will be endorsed by the agent of the Public Ministry. Such minutes shall be sent immediately to the respective Administrative Contentious Tribunal so that the Magistrate to whom it corresponds by division decides whether the conciliation is detrimental to the state's economic interests, or whether it may be vitiated of nullity. In either case, the Magistrate shall give a reasoned order in which he declares it.
ARTICLE 8o. 110. > The approval of the reconciliation will have the scope of a judicially recognized credit and effects of res judicata and, therefore, will end any process that has been initiated against the State by the beneficiaries of the compensation in relation to the facts of the conciliation.
ARTICLE 9o. 111. > In the aspects of the conciliation procedure not provided for in this Law, it will be applied to Law 23 of 1991 and to the other laws and regulations that regulate the conciliation.
ARTICLE 10. 112. > If a providence is produced to declare a settlement agreement as detrimental to the State's property interests or vitiated of nullity, the persons concerned may:
(a) Reformulate to the Knowledge Magistrate the terms of the reconciliation, in such a way as to enable it to be approved;
(b) If the nullity is not absolute, it shall be remedied and subject to the Magistrate's consideration again;
c) Accuse the procedure provided for in the following article.
ARTICLE 11. 113. > If no agreement is reached after the conciliation procedure, the interested parties may refer to the competent Administrative Court of Justice, pending the liquidation of damages. the incidental way, as provided for in Articles 135 and following of the Code of Civil Procedure. The arbitration procedure may be used in the proceedings for such an incident.
The decision on the incident of damages regulation will be adopted by the Court in the terms established in the Administrative Code and will be susceptible to the law.
ARTICLE 12. 114. > Indemnities that are paid or made in accordance with the provisions of this Law, shall give rise to the exercise of the repetition action in the second paragraph of Article
ARTICLE 13. The Minister of Justice shall designate the officials of the National Government who may have access to the administrative, disciplinary and judicial files, including those dealt with by the military criminal jurisdiction, for the purposes of proceedings to be brought before the international human rights bodies and, where appropriate, to verify the identity of those who are to benefit from the compensation This law, as well as the amount of damages that must be the subject of the same.
ARTICLE 14. The privileges assigned to the National Government by this Law must be exercised in such a way as to avoid the phenomenon of double or excessive damages.
ARTICLE 15. The National Government shall transmit a copy of all the action to the respective international human rights body for the purposes provided for in the applicable international instruments.
ARTICLE 16. This Law governs from the date of its enactment.
The President of the Senate of the Republic,
JULIO CESAR GUERRA.
The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
PEDRO PUMAREJO VEGA.
The President of the honorable House of Representatives,
RODRIGO RIVERA SALAZAR.
The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,
DIEGO VIVAS TAFUR.
COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Publish and Fulfill
Dada en Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., a 5 de july de 1996.
ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO.
The Minister of the Interior,
HORACIO SERPA URIBE.
The Foreign Minister,
RODRIGO PARDO GARCIA-PENA.
The Minister of Justice and Law,
CARLOS EDUARDO MEDELLIN BECERRA
