The error of the judicial operator in Colombia

Abstract

Although we all know that erring is human, in the exercise of the jurisdictional function, judges are often faced with the impediment of correcting the errors that are incurred during a judicial process, due to the impossibility of reversing the procedural actions. The 1991 Constitution of Colombia granted the constitutional judge the power to control the legality of certain judicial decisions; Power that has traditionally been understood to be forbidden to the judge of the case, due to the peremptory nature of the procedural stages. With judicial resources it is sought that it is the same judge of the case, or ad quem, who verifies the adequacy to the legal system of the decision taken and the procedural action taken to reach it. However, in light of the fundamental right to due process, all judges of hearing acquire the duty to guarantee the full exercise of said right, and, by virtue of this duty, in certain circumstances it is possible that the judge of the case even leave a procedural action without effect, even if it is not in the framework of an appeal. Thus, this article is an academic effort to demonstrate that, in Colombia, it is possible that the judge in the case eventually backs down the procedural action, under the strict criteria of due process, although the jurisprudence and majority doctrine rule out this possibility, to the light of the principle of legality and the principle of legal certainty.