The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ( es, Corte Suprema de Justicia de Colombia) in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

. The Supreme Court of Colombia is the highest authority in regard to the interpretation of administrative law, constitutional law, and the administration of the judiciary. The

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

consists of twenty three judges, elected by the same institution in list conformed by the

Superior Council of the Judiciary Superior Council of Judicature ( es, Consejo Superior de la Judicatura) is Colombian institution part of the judicial branch of Colombia in charge of adopting a yearly report which is presented to the Congress of Colombia with a detailed report on j ...

for individual terms of eight years. The court meets at the Palace of Justice in the Bolívar Square of

History

After the Colombian first declaration of independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on 20 July 1810, a number of independent States like

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...

(1811), Antioquia (1812),

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

(1812) and Cundinamarca (1812) were established. Each State had its own body in charge of the administration of justice. Later, when these States established the ''Provincias Unidas de la Nueva Granada'' (

United Provinces of New Granada The United Provinces of New Granada was a country in South America from 1810 to 1816, a period known in Colombian history as '' la Patria Boba'' ("the Foolish Fatherland"). It was formed from areas of the New Kingdom of Granada, roughly corres ...

), on 23 September 1814, the ''Alto Tribunal de Justicia'' (High Tribunal of Justice) was established. In 1819, the Republic of Colombia (the

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia ( Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to ...

) was born. A Court was created according to the provisions its Constitution of 30 August 1821, named ''Alta Corte de Justicia'' (High Court of Justice). In 1830, the Gran Colombia was dissolved and the

Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the national flag wa ...

was formed. As per the provisions of its Constitution of 29 February 1832, the ''Corte Suprema de Justicia'' (Supreme Court of Justice) was established. On 20 May 1853, it became the ''Corte Suprema de la Nación'' (Supreme Court of the Nation). In 1858, the Grenadine Confederation was founded. On adoption of its Constitution of 22 May 1858, the ''Courte Suprema'' (Supreme Court) became the body in charge of the administration of justice. In 1863, the Grenadine Confederation was replaced by the ''Estados Unidos de Colombia'' (

United States of Colombia United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nations ...

). On adoption of its Constitution of 8 May 1863, the ''Corte Suprema Federal'' (Supreme Federal Court) was established. Finally, after the establishment of the ''República de Colombia'' (

Republic of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Cari ...

) and on adoption of its Constitution of 4 August 1886, the body was renamed as the present, the ''Corte Suprema de Justicia'' (Supreme Court of Justice) on 3 September 1886. Its first President was Rito Antonio Martínez. In 1985 in the Palace of Justice siege, members of the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice, and held the Supreme Court

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

, intending to put

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Belisario Betancur ''on trial''. Hours later, after a military raid, the incident left all the rebels and 11 of the 25 Supreme Court Justices dead.

Current Judges

*President: Luis Antonio Hernández Barbosa *Vice-president: Aroldo Wilson Quiroz Monsalvo

Civil and Agrarian Cassation Chamber

*President: Luis Armando Tolosa Villabona *Hilda González Neira *Aroldo Wilson Quiroz Monsalvo *Francisco Ternera Barrios *Álvaro Fernando García Restrepo *Luis Alonso Rico Puerta *Octavio Augusto Tejeiro Duque

Labor Cassation Chamber

*President: Fernando Castillo Cadena *Jorge Mauricio Burgos *Rigoberto Echeverri Bueno *Clara Cecilia Dueñas Quevedo *Luis Gabriel Miranda Buelvas *Jorge Luis Quiroz *Gerardo Botero Zuluaga

Penal Cassation Chamber

*President: Luis Antonio Hernández Barbosa *Eyder Patiño Cabrera *Luis Guillermo Salazar Otero *Fernando Alberto Castro Caballero *Gustavo Malo Fernández *Patricia Salazar Cuéllar *José Francisco Acuña Vizcaya *José Luis Barceló Camacho * Eugenio Fernández Carlier

References

Colombian Judicial Branch of Power
Margot Hernandez
Colombian Judicial Branch of power; judges

External links

The Supreme Court of Colombia website
{{Authority control Constitutional law

Government buildings in Colombia 1886 establishments in Colombia Courts and tribunals established in 1886