The Colombian Constitutional Court Has Ruled That Law 1382 Of 2010 is Unconstitutional

On May 11 of 2011, the president of the Colombian Constitutional Court announced that Law 1382 of 2010 (amendment of the mining code) is unconstitutional because the prior consultation process with indigenous and/or afrodescendant communities was not observed in order for it to be properly enacted. As he expressed, the effects of this decision will become effective two years from now. Meanwhile, Congress has the obligation to discuss and enact a new law fulfilling the requisite of the prior consultation process.

The decision of the Constitutional Court follows the same rationale that was applied with respect to the Forest Law and the Rural Development Statute, which were also considered unconstitutional for not observing the prior consultation process.

The Constitutional Court has not yet released its written decision.

For further information, please contact:

    Ana María López:    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it