Colombia

Share |
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).
  • Warning: iconv(): Wrong encoding, conversion from "HTML-ENTITIES" to "UTF-8" is not allowed in Twig\Extension\CoreExtension::convertEncoding() (line 1206 of /opt/drupal/vendor/twig/twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php).

Sentencia STC1926-2023

Summary:

Romeo and Salvador, two beloved family dogs that found themselves in the center of a heartbreaking divorce. The divorce resulted in the family judge ordering the foreclosure of the dogs in the divorce proceeding. The plaintiff filed a writ of protection or "Recurso de Tutela" before the Constitutional Court to protect her rights to family unity, free personality development, and health. Furthermore, she argued that the lower court decision had violated not just her rights but her children's rights, who had developed a filial bond with the dogs, as they are sentient beings and not just mere property. The Constitutional Court denied the "Tutela." It affirmed the lower court decision allowing foreclosure upon companion animals, holding that the "tutela" was not the appropriate legal mechanism to protect procedural guarantees. In his dissenting opinion, Magistrate Aroldo Wilson Quiróz stated that the court had missed a valuable opportunity to address the issue of the multispecies families in Colombia. This novel legal concept is supported under Art. 42 of the Constitution, and that it was the responsibility of the court as the body of last instance, to delve into this subject, pointing out the fact that even though animals are considered property, they are also sentient beings in the eyes of the law with rights that limit the right to own them. Like in other family cases, the magistrate suggested that courts should address issues such as custody, visitation rights, and alimony payments when companion animals are involved.

Sentencia C-367, 2006

Summary:

Decision C-367 decides on the unconstitutionality of some of the provisions of the Taurine Regulatory Statute. The Court held the provisions constitutional, but added a limitation to the participation of minors in the practice of bullfighting. With this decision, children under 14 cannot participate in the “cuadrillas.” The term “cuadrillas” is used to describe the group of people that accompany and assist the matador in the bullring throughout the duration of the bullfight. Sentencia C-367 imposes the principle of impartiality on the behavior of Mayors. Mayors have to act in strict accordance to the Law and the Constitution, and must be impartial when it comes to making decisions that affect this activity. According to this principle, “Mayors have the duty to act, recognizing that the purpose of the different procedures is to assure and guarantee the rights of all the people without any level of discrimination.” The Court also reaffirmed that Congress has complete power to legislate on bullfighting on the national level.

Ecuador - Cruelty - Criminal Code Excerpt

Summary:

This excerpt is from the Criminal Code of Ecuador, Chapter 4, crimes against the environment and nature or "Pacha mama." The crimes against animals are outlined in this chapter. More specifically, Section 2, "Crimes of private action against animals that are part of the urban fauna," articles 249-250. Under the current criminal code, causing injury to an animal is punished with confinement in jail for two to six months. If the act involves cruelty or torture, the punishment is six to twelve months of confinement in jail. Sexual conduct with an animal and sexual exploitation of an animal is also punishable. The death of an animal resulting from sexual conduct is considered an aggravating factor punishable with confinement in jail between one to three years. If the animal dies due to circumstances other than sexual behavior on the animal, the punishment is confinement in jail for six months to one year. Finally, If death is the product of cruel acts, confinement will last one to three years. Dog fighting, abandonment of companion animals, and mistreatment are also prohibited.

Derechos de los animales en Colombia: una lectura crítica en perspectiva ambiental

Summary:

Animal rights are commonly understood as an expression of the rights of nature. However, both are in open contradiction, due to the complex interactions of ecosystems and the place of fauna in them, poorly understood by the generators of animal law rules, because in those animal suffering is inherent. The rights of animals in Colombia are not an expression of the rights of nature, on the contrary, they undermine them, and hinder the consolidation of an environmental right aligned with social justice and that puts the survival of ecosystems at the center. The above, because animal law outlaws critical ecological processes, gentrifies environmental law, promotes an artificial binary between fauna and flora, contradicts certain forms of climate action, hinders conservation, stigmatizes cultural diversity, agency class discrimination, prevents the control of invasive species, generates a protection deficit for other kingdoms of life, like the vegetable and the fungi, and promotes a transition from anthropocentrism to a kind of zoocentrism (article in Spanish).

Sentencia SU056/18

Summary:

The Constitutional Court held unconstitutional the decision of the administrative tribunal of Cundinamarca that allowed the city of Bogota to carry out a popular consultation intended to ask residents of Bogota whether they agreed to have bullfighting in the city. The court held that the decision to invalidate such a ruling was based on the principles of legal precedent and res jusdicata. The administrative court decision was against authority established in decisions A-025 of 2015, T-296 of 2013, C-889 of 2012, y C-666 of 2010 of the constitutional court, which held that the power to prohibit bullfighting rest in Congress and local governments only have police power. Allowing a mayor to carry out a popular consultation regarding the future of bullfighting is to go against authority established by the Constitutional Court, and it violates the right to due process and the right to be treated equally by the law.

AUTO 1928 de 2022

Summary:

In Colombia, municipalities are not allowed to prohibit bullfighting. It is a power reserved for Congress. Bogota attempted to regulate the practice through ordinance 767 in 2020. Since the city was not allowed to prohibit bullfights, it regulated them by prohibiting the use of sharp objects and killing of the bulls in the ring. In addition, they required that 30% of the publicity of the event be focused on educating the public on the suffering of bulls. It imposed a 20% tax and decreased the number of annual bullfights allowed from 8 to 4. During this time, no bids were sent to use "Plaza Santamaria" (Bogota's bullfighting stadium) because owners and sponsors of this practice did not agree with such requirements. Thus, Plaza Santamaria did not hold any bullfights since 2020. In December 2022, the Constitutional Court ordered the city to refrain from taking any action conducing to the violation of decision T-296 of 2013 and ordered the opening of Plaza Santamaria “to allow bullfights to take place in the usual conditions as an expression of cultural diversity and social pluralism,” effectively ordering the city to do what’s necessary for the comeback of bullfighting to the capital.

Sentencia T-034/13

Summary:

Plaintiff filed a tutela against the homeowner’s association, who changed change the apartment complex rules to prohibit pets from using the elevator. In this decision, the court held that It is not viable for homeowners’ associations to prohibit pets from using the elevators. This is because the right to free development of personality and the right to personal and family intimacy encompass the right to have a pet. Horizontal property rules may not go against current laws or violate the resident’s fundamental rights. However, there can be limitations and parameters to these rights so long as they are established to guarantee respect for the rights of others, a peaceful coexistence, and the regulations are reasonable and proportionate.

Sentencia SU016/20

Summary:

In decision SU016 of 2020, the court confirmed its decision to revoke the habeas corpus granted to Chucho, the Andean bear. After holding a public audience where many experts spoke as to the possibility of granting wild animals the status of legal persons and the right to freedom, the Constitutional Court held that the judge that have granted habeas corpus had incurred in a legal error as animals have not a right to freedom, and the habeas corpus is a legal mechanism available for humans that are illegally and unjustly detained. It is no available to animals. Moreover, the court stated that there were other more adequate mechanism to guarantee the well-being of animals, such as an inquiry for intervention of the environmental authorities, or a popular action. With this decision, the status of animals remains the same. Animals are legally recognized as sentient beings, subject to special legal protection, and humans have the duty to take care of them.

CO - Environment - Ley 1333, 2009

Summary:

Ley 1333, 2009, establishes the fines, sanctions, injunctions, and corresponding procedures for violations of environmental regulations. It establishes provisional dispositions, preventive seizure procedures of flora and fauna, and guidelines on how to proceed when the environmental authority does not have the infrastructure or equipment to keep wildlife individual specimens. It creates information portals for the control of environmental regulations called the Unique Registry of Environmental Wrongdoers (RUIA), and the Wildlife Information Portal (PIFS).

CO - Wildlife - Ley 2111

Summary:

Ley 2111, 2021, is the law for environmental crimes. The focus is to protect the national ecosystems and the nation’s natural patrimony. This law creates new crimes and strengthens existing ones concerning national wildlife by imposing up to 12 years (60-135 months) of prison and monetary fines of 40,000 minimum wages for illegal trafficking. More specifically, with regards to wildlife, the law punishes “those who traffic, acquire, export or trade without authorization from the competent authority or in violation of existing regulations, specimens, products or parts of aquatic, wild fauna or exotic wild species.” The new crimes created under this law are deforestation, its promotion and financing; wildlife trafficking; the financing of the invasion of areas of special ecological importance; and the financing and illegal appropriation of vacant lands belonging to the nation. The sanctions for the crimes of damage to natural resources and ecocide, illegal hunting and fishing, the illegal use of renewable natural resources, and environmental contamination were strengthened.
Share |