The Internationalization of Judicial Review in the Colombian High Courts

Authors

  • Juan Sebastián Villamil Rodriguez Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Madrid, Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31078/consrev511

Keywords:

American Convention on Human Rights, Control of Conventionality, Ius Commune Constitutionale, Block of Constitutionality, Internationalization of the Law

Abstract

The internationalization of adjudication in the Colombian high court refers to the growing importance that the American Convention on Human Rights has gained among the judicial forums of this country, but especially to the phenomenon that occurs when national judiciaries implement and appropriate the doctrine of the control of conventionality. The Convention has claimed a high ground in the Colombian constitutional system due to the appropriation of international law by national courts decisions, and to the process of the internationalization of the law. By consistently applying the control of conventionality doctrine, courts like the State Council have reaffirmed the binding nature and the effectiveness of the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the Colombian legal system. In contrast to a much more regressive posture assumed by the Constitutional Court in recent decisions, the State Council, drawing on the legal contents of international law, has broadened the range of legal sources for rights interpretation in Colombia. By this action, as it will be further stated in this article, the State Council has contributed to a move away from a paradigm of a legalism based solely on the state sovereignty and national constitutionalism, towards one that endorses the pluralist structure of post-national law. Against this background, this article aims to discuss how the relationship of national judiciaries with international law is best understood as reflecting the development of a pluralist legal dynamic, sometimes referred to as jurisprudential dialogue, that involves the broadening of the normative horizon and the internationalization of the sources available for national judges in their reasoning; particularly in the cases that involve human rights violations.

References

Acosta Alvarado, Paola. Diálogo judicial y constitucionalismo multinivel: El caso Interamericano [Judicial dialogue and multilayered constitutionalism: The Inter-American case]. Bogota: Universidad Externado de Colombia, 2015.
Alexy, Robert. A Theory of Constitutional Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Alexy, Robert. “Discourse Theory and Fundamental Rights”. Edited by Agustín José Menéndez and Erik Oddvar Eriksen. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006.
Ambos, Kai. “Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos y Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos: ¿Tribunal tímido vs. Tribunal audaz? [European Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Shy Tribunal v. Audacious Tribunal].” In Diálogo jurisprudencial en derechos humanos: Entre Tribunales Constitucionales y Cortes Internacionales: En memoriam Jorge Carpizo, generador incansable de diálogos [Jurisprudential dialogue on Human Rights: Between constitutional tribunals and international Courts], edited by Ferrer MacGregor. Mexico DF: Tirant lo Blanch, 2013.
Bazan, Victor. “Control de convencionalidad, aperturas dialógicas, e influencias jurisdiccionales reciprocas [Control of Conventionality, open dialogue and mutual jurisprundential influences]”. Revista Europa de Derechos Fundamentales, no. 18 (2012).
Bisariyadi, Bisariyadi. “Referencing International Human Rights Law in Constitutional Adjudication.” Constitutional Review 4, no. 2 (December 2018).
Brewer, Allan. “La interrelación entre los tribunales constitucionales de América Latina y la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, y la cuestión de la inejecutabilidad de sus decisiones en Venezuela [The interdependence between the Constitutional Tribunals of Latin America and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the question of the non-enforceability of its decisions in Venezuela].” In Gaceta Constitucional, Análisis multidisciplinario de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Constitucional, Editorial Gaceta Jurídica. Lima, 2009.
Breyer, Stephen. The Court and the World: American Law and the new global realities. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015.
Bustos Gisbert, Rafael. “XV Proposiciones para una teoría de los diálogos judiciales [XV Proposals for a theory of the judicial dialogue].” Revista Española de Derecho Constitucional, no. 95 (May-August 2012).
Carpio, Marcos. “Bloque de constitucionalidad y proceso de inconstitucionalidad de las leyes [Block of Constitutionality and the process of unconstitutionality of the law].” Revista Iberoamericana de Derecho Procesal Constitucional 4 (July 2005): 79-114.
De Carvalho Ramos, André. “Control of Conventionality and the struggle to achieve a definitive interpretation of human rights: the Brazilian experience.” Revista IIDH, no. 64 (2016).
Eckes, Christina. “The Court of Justice’s participation in judicial discourse: theory and practice.” In The European Court of Justice and external relations law: constitutional challenges, edited by M. Cremona & A. Thies. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2014.
El Control de convencionalidad y las Cortes nacionales: La perspectiva de los jueces mexicanos [The Control of Conventionality and the National Courts: The perspective of the Mexican judges], ed. Paula M. García Villegas (Mexico, Ed Porrua, 2014).
Eskridge Jr, William. “Dynamic Statutory Interpretation”. Paper of Faculty Scholarship Series, 1505 (1987). http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/1505.
Favoreu, Louis. “El Bloque de la Constitucionalidad [The Block of Constitutionality].” Journal of the Center of Constitutional Studies of Madrid, no.5 (Spring 1990): 45-68. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/1049150.pdf.
Ferrer Mac-Gregor, Eduardo and Alfonso Herrera García (eds.). Jurisprudential Dialog on Human Rights between Constitutional Tribunals and International Courts. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanc, 2013.
Gongora Mera, Manuel. “La difusión del bloque de constitucionalidad en la jurisprudencia latinoamericana y su potencial en la construcción del ius constitucionale commune latinoamericano [The difusion of the block of constitutionality in the Latin-American jurisprudence and its potential for the construction of the Latin-American ius constitucionale commune].” Revista Juridica de la Universidad Autónoma de Mexico (2014). http://biblio.juridicas.unam.mx/libros/8/3655/16.pdf.
Granger, Marie-Pierre. “The Preamble(s) of the French constitution: Content, status, uses and amendment.” Acta Juridica Hungarica 52 (2011): 1-18. 10.1556/AJur.52.2011.1.1.
Gutíerrez Ramírez, Luis-Miguel. “Control de constitucionalidad y control de convencionalidad: interacción, confusion y autonomía: Relflexiones desde la experiencia francesa [Control of Constitutionality and Control of Conventionality: Interaction, Confusion and Autonomy. Reflexions from the French experience].” Revista IIDH, no 64 (January 2017).
Habermas, Jürgen. “Does the Constitutionalization of International law Still Have a Chance?” In The Divided West. Cambridge: Polity, 2006.
Habermas, Jürgen. “Europa: en defensa de una política exterior común” [Europe: In defense of a common foreign policy]. In El derecho internacional en la transición hacia un escenario posnacional [The international law in the transition towards a postnational scene]. Buenos Aires: Katz, 2008.
Habermas, Jürgen. “La Constelación Posnacional y el futuro de la democracia” [The postnational constellation and the future of democracy]. In Habermas y la constelación posnacional [The postnational constellation]. Barcelona: Paidos, 2000.
Hartka, Margaret. “The Role of International law in Domestic Courts: Will the Legal Procrastination End?” Maryland Journal of International law, no. 7 (Spring 1990). http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.425.6956&rep=rep1&type=pdf.Il-Won, Kang. “Constitutional Globalization in Korea”. In Global Constitutionalism and Multi-layered Protection of Rights, edited by SNU-Pacific Law Institute, 241-251. Seoul: Constitutional Court of Korea, 2016.
Jacobs, Francis G. “Judicial Dialogue and the Cross-Fertilization of Legal Systems: the European Court of Justice.”. Texas International law Journal 38, no. 3 (2013).
Khushal Murkens, Jo Eric. From Empire to Union: conceptions of German Constitutional Law since 1871. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Krisch, Nico. Beyond Constitutionalism: The Pluralist Structure of Postnational Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Moreira Maués, Antonio. “Supra-legality of International Human Rights Treaties and Constitutional Interpretation.” In International Journal on Human Rights, Vol. 10, No. 18 (June 2013). http://sur.conectas.org/en/supra-legalityinternational-human-rights-treaties-constitutional-interpretation/.
Negishi, Yota. “The Pro Homine Principle’s Role in Regulating the Relationship between Conventionality Control and Constitutionality Control.” The European Journal of International Law 28, no. 2 (2017).
Peters, Anne. Constitucionalismo compensatorio: Las funciones y el potencial de las normas y estructuras internacionales [Constitutionalism of compensation: the functions and the potential of the norms and international structures]. Valencia: T. l. Blanch, 2010.
Quinche Ramírez, Manuel Fernando. El control de convencionalidad [The Control of Conventionality]. Bogota: Temis, 2014.
Quinche Ramírez, Manuel Fernando. El precedente judicial y sus reglas [The judicial precedent and its rules]. Bogotá: Doctrina y Ley, 2014.
Quinche Ramírez, Manuel Fernando and Rocio del Pilar Peña Huertas. “La dimensión normativa de la justicia transicional, el sistema Inter-Americano y la negociación con los grupos armados en Colombia [The normative dimension of the transitional justice, the Inter-American System and the negotiation with the Colombian rebel groups].” ACDI – Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional 7 (2014): 113-159. dx.doi.org/10.12804/acdi7.2014.04.
Research Group on Internationalization of Law. “International tribunals: legalization and constitutionalization – implications for national constitutional structures.” Norwegian Research Council, University of Oslo, March 06. https://www.jus.uio.no/english/research/areas/intrel/projects/international-tribunals/documents/ISPprojectdescription_rev.pdf.
Ricoeur, Paul. The Just, trans. D. Pellauer. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2000.
Roa Roa, Jorge Ernesto. “La Aplicación Nacional de la Jursprudencia de la Corte Interamericana sobre Derechos Politicos [The application of the precedentes of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding political rights].” Documentos de Trabajo, Departamento de Derecho Constitucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia, serie 37.
Rodríguez Manzo, Graciela, Juan Carlos Arjona Estévez and Zamir Fajardo Morales, editors. Bloque de Constitucionalidad en Mexico [Block of Constitutionality in Mexico]. Mexico, F.D: Reforma DH, 2013. http://www2.scjn.gob.mx/red/coordinacion/Bloque%20de%20constitucionalidad.pdf.
Sanchez Vallejo, Juliana “Entre la recepcion y la omission de una obligacion internacional: el control de convencionalidad en el Consejo de Estado [Between the reception and the omission of an international obligation: the control of conventionality in the State Council].” Revista Academia & Derecho, no. 11. ISSN 2215-8944.
Suelt-Cock, Vanessa. “El Bloque de Constitucionalidad como mecanismo de interpretación constitucional: Aproximación a los contenidos del bloque en derechos en Colombia [The Block of Constitutionality as a mechanism of constitutional interpretation: Approximation to the contents of the Block in Colombia].” Universitas Law Journal (2016): 301-381. http://revistas.javeriana.edu.co/index.php/vnijuri/article/view/17747.
Teak Kim, Sung. “Adjudicating Violations of International law: Defining the Scope of Jurisdiction under the Alien Tort Statute – Trajano v. Marcos.” Cornell International law Journal 27, no. 2 (Spring 1994): 386-418. http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol27/iss2/5.
Triyana, Heribertus Jaka. “The Role of the Indonesian Constitutional Court for An Effective Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Adjudication.” Constitutional Review 1, no. 1 (May 2015).
Tzanakopoulos, A. “Domestic Courts as the “Natural Judge” of International Law: A Change in Physiognomy”. In Select Proceedings of the European Society of International Law. Edited by J.R. Crawford, S. Nouwen. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2012.
Uprinmy, Rodrigo. “El blouse de constitucionalidad en Colombia: Un análisis jurisprudencial y un ensayo de sistematización doctrinal [The Block of Constitutionality in Colombia: a jurisprudential analysis and trial of doctrinary systematization]. In Compilación de jurisprudencia y doctrina nacional e internacional [Compilation of national and international jurisprudence and doctrine].” Bogotá: Oficina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, 2011.
Von Bogdandy, Armin. “Ius constitutionale commune interamericanum: Una aclaración conceptual [Ius constitutionale commune interamericanum, a conceptual remark].” In Ius Constitutional Commune en América Laina: Rasgos, Potenciales y Desafios [Ius Constitutional Commune in Latin-America, potential and challenges] (Mexico DF, Porrua, 2013), 19.
Von Bogdandy, Armin and Ingo Venzke. Whose Name: A Public Law Theory of International Adjudication. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Von Bogdandy, Armin, Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor, Mariela Morales Antoniazzi and Flavia Piovesan (eds.). Transformative Constitutionalism in Latin America: The Emergence of a New Ius Commune. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Downloads

Published

2019-05-31

How to Cite

Rodriguez, J. S. V. (2019). The Internationalization of Judicial Review in the Colombian High Courts. Constitutional Review, 5(1), 001–038. https://doi.org/10.31078/consrev511

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.