Judiciary wide suspension of terms and announces new measures- ELESPECTADOR.COM

The measure suspends the terms until May 10. The topics related to control of guarantees, habeas corpus and guardianships will continue.

The Superior Council of the Judiciary extended the suspension of terms of the judicial processes in Colombia from Monday, April 27 to May 10, 2020, due to the emergency caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19). Thus, the judicial hearings scheduled for weeks, under the assumption that the mandatory isolation ended this Sunday, April 26, should not be held as a measure of safety and protection of public health.

(In context: Coronavirus: Judiciary suspends court terms until Friday)

In the statement of the extension it was explained that among the new measures will be the progressive extension of the exceptions according to the capacity of the Judicial Branch. The judiciary noted that it exempts judicial offices that fulfill the function of control of guarantees and criminal knowledge offices that have scheduled hearings with people who are currently imprisoned, ensuring that, in any case, these proceedings can be done virtually.

Likewise, the guardianship and Habeas corpus procedures must continue and may be received virtually, by means of an email that the Judiciary has arranged for these proceedings. However, it warns that the judicial offices will not send the guardianships to the Constitutional Court until the processes continue suspended.

The high court explained that the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice will continue with the procedures for the immediate release of persons deprived of their liberty and that are related to matters of cassation, extradition, special challenge, second instance or cases close to prescribe. All these processes must be carried out electronically taking into account preventive isolation.

(You may be interested: “We need a plan to prioritize the releases”: President of the Judiciary)

All proceedings corresponding to land restitution cases that cannot be done virtually and require the movement of an official must remain suspended. For its part, the adoption processes and protection measures for domestic violence will continue to be carried out virtually.

Since March 15, the terms have been suspended. The Superintendency of Companies, in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus and in response to the recommendations of the National Government, decided to suspend the judicial terms for commercial and insolvency proceedings.

Likewise, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic suspended the procedural terms in the auditing, administrative, sanctioning, disciplinary, fiscal responsibility, coercive jurisdiction, preliminary fiscal investigations, petitions and other administrative actions that the control body processes.

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