Colombia-Law and Society Activities Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives
Law and society activities took off in the 1980s and have experienced a boom since the 1990s. They involve numerous university research centers, think tanks and NGOs, and cover such topics as the administration of justice, the legal profession, law and political violence, human rights, and legal pluralism.
Read MoreControl over Judicial Rulings
In Colombia, there is a vigorous debate on the constitutional control of court rulings. This article studies the development of that debate, by presenting the arguments of critics and offering counter-arguments in favor of constitutional control. The article studies the history and evolution of such control, focusing on the Constitutional Court and describing what is required for constitutional control to proceed against court rulings. In order to answer critics, and to avoid being trapped in discussions about procedure, one must face the fundamental problem of this debate: Should there be a mechanism to protect people from court rulings that violate their Constitutional rights? The article argues that constitutional control protects rights in a material sense and protects a single, authorized interpretation of the Constitution, which favors people’s confidence in the law.
Read MoreAlternative Law Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives (David Clark,ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2006)
School of legal thought and action that advances the use of law for social transformation. Originated in continental Europe and Latin America in the 1970s, it established itself as one of the leading theoretical and practical loci of criticism of legal positivism in those regions. Given its focus on the links among law, politics, and social context, it has spurred a wide range of scholarly studies and public debates inspired by a sociolegal approach.
Read MoreReviews of our nameless war. Transformations of conflict in Colombia
The book collects recent works of the Institute of Political Studies and International Relations (IEPRI) about the changes of armed conflict in Colombia since the 1990s.
Read MoreEmpowered Participatory Governance: An Unexpected Colombian Venture in Public Sociology
It reviews the exchange the participatory democracy between the National University of Colombia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Read MoreThe tragedy of the farce
César Rodríguez criticizes antiabortion groups and the Constitutional Court for not knowing that its actions are massive violations of women’s rights, which has been revealed by recent statistics on sexual violence.
Read MoreTransitional 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.
Read MoreComparative 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.
Read MoreJustices of the Peace and Informal justice: a conceptual approximation of their potential and their limitations
This article analyzes the reasons for the boom in informal justice in recent years within Colombia and Latin America. It shows the democratic potential of informal justice because of their participatory character that favors peace and democracy. It also examines their antidemocratic risks because they channel social demands. The article proposes to surpass an ingenuous and total acceptance of these justices and to design strategies that that deliberately fortify their democratic potential and minimize the risk. The article finishes by showing the important role that informal justice can have in the judicial system.
Read MoreThe Crossroads of Justice
This article gives a general overview of the situation of Colombian justice. It combines paradoxical characteristics since there is a doubtless prominence but also profound deficiencies. It explains the existence of problems with Colombian justice and why it is found at a crossroads, where reforms could be approved that strengthen democratic transformations or on the contrary could strengthen authoritarian regime.
Read More