Court of cassation for civil, criminal and labour matters, sitting in specialised chambers. It also investigates and tries members of Congress, and acts as a disciplinary and appellate body in defined constitutional roles. Its 1985 seizure by the M-19, in which twelve justices died, remains a defining event in Colombian legal history.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- supreme
- Court type
- Supreme court of cassation
- Jurisdiction
- National
- Seat
- Bogotá
- Established
- 1886
- Composition
- Twenty-three magistrates in civil, criminal and labour chambers, serving eight-year terms.
- Appointment
- Co-opted by the Court itself from lists prepared by the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura.
- Languages
- Spanish
Where an appeal goes next
Constitutional questions may reach the Constitutional Court through tutela against judicial decisions.
Decisions worth knowing
- STC 4360 de 20182018
Recognised the Colombian Amazon as a subject of rights and ordered deforestation action plans.
Found something out of date on Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.