Key Benefits:
1999 ACT 504
(June 25)
Official Journal No 43,618 of 29 June 1999
COLOMBIA CONGRESS
For which some provisions of Decree 2700 of 1991 are repealed and amended, and of the Decree-Laws 2790 of 1990, 2271 of 1991, 2376 of 1991, Law 65 of 1993, Law 333 of 1996 and Law 282 of 1996 and other provisions are dictated.
DECRETA:
ARTICLE 1o. SPECIALIZED CIRCUIT CRIMINAL JUDGES. Pursuant to Article 11 of Law 270 of 1996, Statue of the Administration of Justice, create the Specialised Circuit Judges, who will have jurisdiction to hear about the offences referred to in Article 5or. of this Law and within the territorial scope that the Superior Council of the Judicature points out in accordance with the provisions of article 85, number 6 of the Law 270 of 1996.
ARTICLE 2o. Article 66 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 66. Those who exercise judgment. The administration of justice in criminal matters, during the trial stage, is exercised on a permanent basis by the Criminal Cassation Room of the Supreme Court of Justice, the criminal decision rooms of the superior district courts, the judges Specialized circuit penalties, circuit court judges, promiscuous circuit judges, municipal judges and promiscuous municipal and juvenile judges. The Military Courts and the Senate of the Republic also administer justice. "
ARTICLE 3o. The second indent of Article 67 of Decree 2700 of 1991, will remain as follows:
" Article 67. Those who perform instructional functions. The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation will act through the Attorney General of the Nation, the prosecutors that this delegate for special cases and the fiscal delegates to the Supreme Court of Justice, the Superior District Courts, the criminal judges circuit, circuit penalties, circuit promiscuous, municipal penalties, municipal promiscuous judges and judges of minors. "
ARTICLE 4o. The 1o numerals. and 2o. Article 70 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 70. Jurisdiction of the District Superior Courts. The decision-making courts of the District Superior Courts know:
In the second instance, the appeals and in fact, in the processes that are known in the first instance the circuit judges and the specialized circuit penal judges.
In the first instance, of the processes that are followed by the criminal judges of specialized circuit, circuit penal, promiscuous circuit, municipal, promiscuous municipal, minor, family, to the prosecutors delegates before the courts, the agents of the Public Ministry for offences committed by reason of their duties. "
ARTICLE 5o. Article 71 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 71. Competence of the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit. Specialized circuit criminal judges know, in the first instance of:
1. The crime of torture (Article 4) Decree 2266 of 1991).
2. The crime of aggravated homicide according to article 324 of the Penal Code.
3. Personal injury for terrorist purposes (Articles 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 of Decree 180 of 1988, declared permanent legislation by Article 4). of Decree 2266 of 1991).
4. The crime of kidnapping extortionate or aggravated by virtue of numerals 6, 8 and 12 of article 270 of the Penal Code subrogated by article 3or. of Law 40 of 1993 and the hijacking of aircraft or means of collective transport (Article 4). of Decree 2266 of 1991).
5. Of the offences of manufacture and trafficking of ammunition or explosives (Article 1) Decree 2266 of 1991); manufacture and trafficking of firearms and ammunition for the private use of the armed forces (Article 2o. of Decree 3664 of 1986 declared permanent legislation by Article 1. Decree 2266 of 1991).
6. Of terrorist offences (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); omission of reports on terrorist activities (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); instigation or constraint for the entry of terrorist groups (Article 4 of Decree 2266 of 1991); instigation of terrorism (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); employment or release of dangerous substances or objects (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); corruption of food and medicines for terrorist purposes (article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); administration of resources of terrorist organizations (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); impersonation of authority for terrorist purposes (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); incitement to the commission of military crimes (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991); instruction and training for terrorist purposes (Article 4). Decree 2266 of 1991), promotion in the formation or entry of persons to armed groups or paramilitaries (article 6). Decree 2266 of 1991); instruction or training for activities of armed or paramilitary groups (Article 6o. Decree 2266 of 1991); entry or membership of armed or paramilitary groups (Article 6o. Decree 2266 of 1991); constraining for terrorist purposes (Article 11 Decree 2266 of 1991).
7. Concert to commit crimes of terrorism, drug trafficking, extortion, extortion, or to form death squads, private justice group or gang of hit men, money laundering or control omission (article 13 of Act 365 of 1997), testafertime (article 6o. Of the Decree 2266 of 1991); extortion in excess of one hundred and fifty (150) monthly minimum wages.
8. Of the crimes mentioned in the article. Article 32 of Law 30 of 1986, when the quantity of plants exceeds eight thousand (8,000) units or that of seeds exceeds ten thousand (10,000) grams.
9. Of the offences referred to in Article 33 of Law 30 of 1986, when the drug or substance exceeds a thousand (1,000) kilos if it is marijuana, one hundred (100) kilos if it is hashish, five (5) kilos if it is metacacualone, cocaine or base substances of the same or equivalent quantities if they are in another state.
10.From the offences described in Article 34 of Law 30 of 1986 in the case of laboratories or when the quantity of drugs stored, transported, sold or used is equal to the quantities referred to in the preceding number.
11.From the offences described in Articles 39 and 43 of Law 30 of 1986 and derived from the cultivation, production, processing, preservation or sale of heroin in quantity equal to or greater than two hundred and fifty (250) grams or of the poppy or its latex.
12. The offence contained in Article 64 of Law 30 of 1986.
13. Fuel theft (article 96 Law 418 of 1997).
14. Laundering of assets (Article 247 A of the Criminal Code) and the illicit enrichment of individuals (Article 10 of Decree 2266 of 1991) when the unjustified increase in assets is derived in one form or another form of the criminal activities refers to this Article, the amount of which is or exceeds 50 (50) monthly minimum legal wages. "
ARTICLE 6o. Article 78 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 78. Territorial division for the purposes of judgment. The national territory is divided, for the purposes of judgment, in districts, circuits and municipalities.
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the entire national territory.
The Superior Judicial District Courts in the district.
The specialized circuit judges, circuit penalties and circuit promiscuous in their respective circuit.
Criminal and promiscuous municipal judges in the respective municipality. "
ARTICLE 8o. Section 2o. Article 89 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 89. Competence for the reason of the connection and the subjective factor. In the case of a connection between punishable acts of jurisdiction of the specialised criminal circuit judge and any other judicial officer, the judgment shall be the case.
ARTICLE 9o. Section 2o. Article 96 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 96. Competition. In the case of processes of jurisdiction of specialised circuit court judges, and of other judges, the specialised circuit judge must accumulate the processes, even if the accusatory decision has been executed subsequently. "
ARTICLE 10. Article 126 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 126. Tax delegates to the Special Circuit Judges. Cnrresponds to the prosecutors delegated to the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit: Investigate, qualify and indict, if there is a place, the crimes whose judgment is attributed in the first instance to the criminal judges of circuit specialized ".
ARTICLE 11. The number 2o. Article 135 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 135. Special Functions of the Public Ministry.
2. Intervene in the actions in which the protection of witnesses is established, ensuring compliance with the law. "
ARTICLE 16. Article 251 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 251. Contradiction. The procedural subjects may request evidence and have them in the investigation, subject to prior instruction and judgment.
ARTICLE 19. Section 1o. Article 324 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 324. Duration of the prior investigation and right of defence. The prior investigation, where known to be known, shall be carried out at a maximum of two (2) months, which shall be expired on the basis of which the decision to open the investigation or the inhibitory resolution shall be issued. '
ARTICLE 20. Article 352 of Decree 2700, 1991, will be as follows:
" Article 352. Who is receiving Indagatoria. The judicial officer shall receive inquiries to whom, by virtue of antecedents and circumstances recorded in the performance, or by having been caught in flagrant fact punishable, consider the author or participate in the criminal offence. "
ARTICLE 21. Section 2o. Article 373 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 373. Catch in public servant flagrancy. After any of the proceedings referred to in the foregoing paragraph, he shall be immediately released and the necessary measures shall be taken to prevent the action of the justice from being avoided. In the case of offences of jurisdiction of specialised circuit court judges, the public servant shall continue to be deprived of liberty, but the judicial officer shall immediately resolve his legal status. '
ARTICLE 22. Section 2o. Article 374 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 374. Deprivation of public servant freedom. However, in the case of offences referred to in Article 71 of this Code, all cases shall be subject to the deprivation of liberty. "
ARTICLE 23. Section 2o. Article 386 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 386. It ended to receive inquiries. When a crime of jurisdiction of the criminal judges of the specialized circuit, happens in a place other than the seat of the chief prosecutor, the prosecutor of the place to which the unit of police to deliver the proceedings, it will have to endorse the investigation and the investigation to the imputed by sending the proceedings immediately to the corresponding Directorate of Fiscalis ".
ARTICLE 24. The 3o paragraph. Article 387 of Decree 2700 of 1991 shall be as follows:
" Article 387. Definition of the legal situation. In the case of the offences of jurisdiction of the specialised circuit court judges, the prosecutor shall determine the legal position within the next ten (10) days, if the latter has been received by a registered office of attorney other than his. If the practice of some evidence is necessary and the previous term is insufficient, the term to define the legal status will be twenty (20) days. "
ARTICLE 25. The numeral l of article 397 of Decree 2700 of 1991, shall be as follows:
" Article 397. Of the arrest.
1. For all competition offences of the Specialized Circuit Criminal Judges. "
The number 3o. and the paragraph of Article 415 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall remain as follows:
PARAGRAFO. In the processes known by the specialized criminal circuit judges, to proceed with the provisional freedom, the terms provided for in the number 4. and 5o. of this Article shall be doubled. Failure to comply with the terms set out in this article will be considered to be very serious and will be punishable by removal from office. "
ARTICLE 28. Article 453 of Decree 2700 of 1991 will have a 3o paragraph. of the following tenor:
" Article 453. Address of the Public Hearing. The public hearing shall be held with the security and protection measures deemed necessary by the Judge. The authorities shall take due account of the requests made to them in this regard.
In the event that the judge is required to do so, he must seek the support of the public force at the place of the public hearing. "
ARTICLE 29. The number 5o. Article 147 of Law 65 of 1993 will thus remain:
" Article 147. Permission up to seventy-two (72) hours.
5o. To have discounted seventy per cent (70 per cent) of the penalty imposed, dealing with convictions for the offences of competition from the Specialized Circuit Criminal Judges. '
ARTICLE 30. In paragraph 2o. Article 150 of Law 65 of 1993 will thus remain:
" Item 150. Failure to fulfil obligations. In the case of convicted persons who are accused or convicted of punishable offences committed during the period of imprisonment, they shall not enjoy the benefits of an open establishment.
ARTICLE 31. The paragraph of article 6or. Law 282 of 1996 will thus remain:
" Article 6or. Special powers of the delegated prosecutor.
PARAGRAFO. From the preliminary investigations in progress, the prosecutors will continue to be known to whom the proceedings are based on the date of entry into force of this law, except that the Sectional Director of Fiscalas has contrary.
ARTICLE 32. The judicial officers who came to provide their services to the regional justice and the witnesses linked to protection programs that intervened in processes submitted to their knowledge, they will be given security by the Security Fund of the Judicial Branch and the Public Ministry or the Office of the Protection of Victims, witnesses and officials of the Prosecutor's Office, each of them within the scope of their competence.
The Administrative Board of the Superior Council of the Judiciary and the Attorney General of the Nation, as the case may be, will regulate the custody and preservation of the providences, minutes and other documents that have a reserved character.
ARTICLE 33. In the proceedings for the crimes of jurisdiction of the specialized circuit criminal judges that the validity of this law are found with the execution of the execution and not The competent court shall apply the ordinary procedure provided for in Title I of Book III of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
ARTICLE 34. Section 2o. Article 14 of Law 333 of 1996 will thus remain:
" Article 14. Of the competition. They shall grant from the extinction of the domain the Chief Prosecutors to the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit and the supervisor of the latter in the criminal matters of their jurisdiction and, in other cases, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Specialized Unit, or the to determine the Attorney General of the Nation, as well as the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit or the Criminal Judge of the Circuit who is aware of the action.
Replace in Articles 66, 67, 68 numeral 5o, 78, 118, 134, 206, 217, 339 incites 1o. and 3o., 388 point 2o, 399 and 542 point 2o. of Decree 2700 of 1991 the expression "Regional Judge" by "Specialized Circuit Criminal Judge".
ARTICLE 36. Transient. The documents and other effects administered by the National Court, the Office of the Prosecutor General's Office, and the Regional Directorates of Fiscalas, will pass to the Superior Courts of the Judicial District style="text-decoration: line-through; ">competent according to article 35 of this law and to the Sectional addresses of Fiscalas, of the technical investigation and administrative body and financial of the judicial districts where the respective processes are radiating.
ARTICLE 39. Transient. The processes that the entry into force of this law are in the knowledge of the Regional Justice for crimes not foreseen in the article 5or. of this law, will continue to be dealt with before the Criminal Judges of the Circuit competent for the territorial factor.
ARTICLE 40. Transient. The officials and employees who are bound by this law to be bound by the Regional Justice will be integrated into the corresponding positions of the Specialized Circuit Judges and the Chief Prosecutors. Once the law created by the National Superior Court, the officials and employees that the validity of this law is established, will be in effect. They are bound to the National Court and to the Office of the Prosecutor's Office National will be appointed in order to carry out the corresponding charges of the National Superior Court and the Office of the Prosecutor's Office of the National Superior Court, in accordance with the distribution that the Chamber will conduct. Administrative of the Superior Council of the Judicature and the Attorney General of the Nation in accordance with the constitutional and legal provisions in force on the particular.
As the law created by the National High Court, the current Magistrates and employees of the National Court and Prosecutors of the Unit Delegate to the Court, enters into force National and the employees of the same, they will be appointed in a provisional manner before the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Santa Fe de Bogota and before the Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C.
ARTICLE 41. Authorize the National Government to carry out the necessary transfers and budgetary additions in order to comply with the provisions of this law.
ARTICLE 42. Transient. In the processes in which testimonies have been received with an identity reservation, the reservation on the identity of the witness shall be maintained and these tests shall be subject to the general principles of evidentiary assessment laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Except for cases of criminal or disciplinary investigation against the corresponding official, his/her identity reserve will be maintained to those who acted in the competition processes of the Regional Judges. However, from 1o onwards. of July 1999, these processes shall be processed without the official who endorses his knowledge possessing an identity reservation, all without prejudice to the provisions of the article 158 of this Code.
ARTICLE 45. The Attorney General of the Nation will present an annual report to the Congress of the Republic evaluating the due process and respect for the human rights of the accused style="text-decoration: line-through; ">within this special jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 46. In case of violation of due process affecting the freedom of the accused or violation of the terms referred to in that law, the responsible official will incur a serious fault.
ARTICLE 47. Article 124 of the Criminal Procedure Code will remain as follows:
" Article 124. Competence during the instruction. It is up to the Chief Prosecutors to the Superior Court of Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C., or the Superior Court to create the law for the knowledge of the second Instance of the processes for the crimes of jurisdiction of the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit:
1. To know in second instance the decisions made by the fiscal delegates to the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit.
2. Assign the knowledge of the instruction when conflict between the delegated prosecutors to the Specialized Circuit Criminal Judges.
3. Decide on the recusations not accepted by the tax delegates to the Specialised Circuit Judges.
ARTICLE 48. Article 69 of the Criminal Procedure Code will remain so:
" Article 69. Competition during the trial. To the Magistrates of the Criminal Chamber of the Court Superior of Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C., or to the Superior Court that believes the law for the knowledge of the second instance of the processes the crimes of jurisdiction of the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit, it is up to him to know:
1. In the second instance, the appeals and indeed in the processes that are known in the first instance the Criminal Judges of the Specialized Circuit.
2. From the review action against the executed sentences proposed by the Specialised Circuit Bench Judges.
ARTICLE 49. The rules included in this law shall have a maximum validity of eight (8) years. In the middle of this period, the Congress of the Republic will review its functioning and, if it deems it necessary, will make the necessary modifications to it.
ARTICLE 50. Article 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code will have a final paragraph of the following wording:
In no case will the reports of the Judicial Police and the versions provided by informers have an evidentiary value in the process.
