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Council of State

The Council of State is the supreme administrative court of Colombia. Its website, which is in Spanish, provides cases, recent administrative acts, a jurisprudence bulletin and news. Publications are available under ‘Comunicaciones’, including reports on electoral / constitutional affairs and books on contentious administrative law, human rights, indigenous rights, environmental law, gender equality, popular and group actions and other topics.

Normativa (Legislation)

Colombian legislation provided by the Presidency's administrative department, DAPRE. Each type of legislation - laws, decrees, directives, and so on - is browseable by year, 2015 onwards; for older instruments, select ‘Normas anteriores’. There is a basic search facility. The page also links to the Diario Oficial (Official Gazette), the SUIN law portal, and information about ‘tutela’ writs. All the content is in Spanish.

Sistema Único de Información Normativa (Unified Legislation Information System)

The main legislation site for Colombia, with the current and previous constitutions, updated codes, and laws from 1864 onwards, as well as court decisions on the validity or constitutionality of legislation. Additional content, available via the home page, includes a browseable collection of codes, constitutions and key statutes (‘Normas Destacadas’) and translations of the Constitution into indigenous languages: Inga, Guambiana, Ikun, Kamentsa, Kubeo, Wayuunaiki and Nasa Yuwe. The site is provided by the Ministry of Justice, in Spanish.

Mercosur Permanent Review Tribunal

Website of the Mercosur Tribunal, the body with responsibility for resolving disputes between member states relating to Mercosur law. Mercosur is the Southern Common Market, a South American trading bloc which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia. The site outlines the structure of the Tribunal and gives profiles of the arbitrators. Regulations relating to the court and to the Mercosur dispute settlement mechanism, including the Treaty of Asunción which established Mercosur, are also provided along with awards and advisory opinions.

Mercosur Parliament

Website of the Mercosur Parliament (PARLASUR), a forum representing the interests of citizens of the MERCOSUR countries. Mercosur is the Southern Common Market, a South American trading bloc which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia. The site gives contact details of the MPs, information on the various commissions and on the work of the Democracy Observatory which aims to strengthen democracy and human rights within Mercosur states. The site can be viewed in Spanish or Portuguese.

Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica

Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (SCIJ) is a website providing Costa Rican legislation, cases and related material. Its ‘PGR Sinalevi’ database contains legislation from 1821 onwards - laws, decrees, regulations, revised codes and other publications – and decisions of the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber. The ‘Poder Judicial’ section of the site has a case database covering the Supreme Court (all chambers), appeal courts, family court and some other courts; the ‘Hacienda’ section has tax rulings and related documents.

Congreso de la Republica

Website of the Congress of the Republic of Peru. The site has information on the role and functions of the Congress, a copy of the Constitution and an outline of the legislative process. There are profiles of MPs and information on the work of the various committees. The site can be viewed in French, German, English and Spanish

Regulations of the Andean Community

This part of the Andean Community (CAN) website gives access to the Community’s laws and decisions. CAN is an international organisation, set up in 1969 by the Cartagena Agreement, that established a free trade area between Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. CAN conventions, treaties and official gazettes can be viewed in full text along with decisions and opinions of the Andean Commission. Minutes of the Andean Presidential Council meetings are also given. The site can be viewed in Spanish only. 

Court of Justice of the Andean Community

Website of the Court of Justice of the Andean Community (ECJCA) which settles disputes between Andean Community member states arising under Andean Community law and ensures the law is applied uniformly. Cases heard by the Court include infringement, action for annulment, labour lawsuits and arbitration claims. Case summaries and profiles of the judges are given on the site which can be viewed in Spanish only.

Constitutional Court of Colombia

The role of the Colombian Constitutional Court is to determine the constitutionality of laws and protect the fundamental rights of the people. The court's website provides a case database, judicial bulletins, collections of cases by topic, statistics, court rules and other information. An official English translation of the Constitution is available via the 'Inglés' (English) menu, together with an English-language introduction to the court and searchable abstracts of key decisions.

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