The Transformative Mandate of the Colombian Constitutional Court: 30 years of Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America

On May 20, 2022, six judges of the Colombian Constitutional Court visited the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law to discuss the Court's transformative mandate with MPIL researchers and celebrate 30 years of Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America.

The judges shared information about their work, challenges and views on the Court's transformative jurisprudence. The Director of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Armin von Bogdandy, recognized the Constitutional Court of Colombia as a pioneer in the region and noted that public law in Latin America, and specifically in Colombia, is more advanced in its transformative vocation than other legal systems in the world.

Several topics were discussed, such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, children's rights and the scope of constitutional jurisprudence. The Colombian Constitutional Court is considered a forerunner, especially in the area of environmental protection and nature conservation, since nature has been considered an independent subject of law, and has been granted constitutional rights.

In addition to the MPIL, the Ministers of the Constitutional Court of Colombia visited their colleagues from the Federal Constitutional Court of Karlsruhe, with the support of the Rule of Law Program of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which generously supported the visit.

The participating panelists were Armin von Bogdandy (Director of the Max Planck Institute), Mariela Morales Antoniazzi (ICCAL Project Coordinator), Diana Fajardo Rivera (Vice President), Paola Andrea Meneses Mosquera (Justice), Gloria Stella Ortiz Delgado (Justice), Natalia Ángel Cabo (Justice), Alejandro Linares Cantillo (Justice) and Antonio José Lizarazo (Justice), René Urueña (Professor of Law, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia), Hartmut Rank (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), Davide Paris, Laura Hering, Silvia Steininger and Florian Kriener.