Guides
Legal articles
This week’s guide is listed first. These texts are not an opinion of counsel.
This week
The civil action to recover property
Reivindicación is the owner’s action: the owner of a specific thing, who is not in possession, sues the possessor for restitution. Civil Code article 946. The Civil Cassation Chamber has fixed the elements with a constancy that does not admit improvisation.
2026-09-14
The exception of unconstitutionality vis-à-vis rules contrary to international human-rights treaties
Diffuse review, the constitutional block, and prevalence. Article 4 of the Constitution requires that any provision incompatible with the Charter be set aside in the concrete case. The question is whether the ordinary judge or the administrative officer must also set aside a domestic rule when the conflict is with a human-rights treaty ratified by Colombia.
2026-09-28
What the acción de tutela is and what it is for
The acción de tutela is the preferential, summary device by which any person may ask a court for the immediate protection of a fundamental constitutional right that is being violated or threatened. It is not an ordinary lawsuit, it is not a way to collect a commercial debt, and it does not replace an adequate ordinary remedy. Properly used, it is the most effective instrument of Colombia’s 1991 constitutional settlement.
2026-10-05
Provisional measures in the acción de tutela
The tutela’s ten-day clock is not always enough. If the right can be lost while the court reads the file, article 7 of Decree 2591 of 1991 allows the judge, from filing until judgment, to order any conservatory or security measure. It is not a preview of the merits. It is the tool so that the injunction does not arrive when there is nothing left to protect.
2026-10-12
What disciplinary law is and which institutions apply
Disciplinary law is the regime by which the State judges the official conduct of those who perform public functions. It is not criminal law. It is not labor law. It is an autonomous body of law, with its own substantial unlawfulness, culpability, and due process. Its General Code is Law 1952 of 2019, as amended by Law 2094 of 2021.
2026-10-12
Actions before the administrative courts
The actions in Law 1437 of 2011, as amended by Law 2080 of 2021, are the claims by which a person comes before the administrative courts. They are not the “actions” of the former code: the statute unified the procedure and distinguished the object of each claim. Article 238 of the Constitution entrusts that jurisdiction with review of administrative acts, facts, omissions, and operations. Article 90 fixes the State’s patrimonial liability for unlawful harm.
2026-10-26
The administrative act and how to challenge it
An administrative act is the Administration’s unilateral statement of will that creates, modifies, or ends a legal situation. While it stands, it is presumed lawful and is enforceable. Challenging it is not complaining about a letter. It is identifying the act, its defects, the proper action, venue, claims, and the limitation clock.
2026-11-02
Direct reparation against the State
Direct reparation is the action to have an administrative court declare the State’s liability for unlawful harm that is not litigated by annulling an act, but by imputing an action, an omission, or a fact. Constitution article 90 and CPACA article 140 are the title. Without harm, imputation, and causal link, there is no judgment.
2026-11-16
Pre-suit conciliation in civil and commercial law
Law 2220 of 2022 issued the Conciliation Statute and repealed Law 640 of 2001. In civil and commercial matters, out-of-court conciliation is, as a rule, a condition of proceeding for declaratory actions. Without the record, the court may dismiss the claim.
2026-11-23
Out-of-court conciliation in administrative law
In administrative litigation, out-of-court conciliation is, as a rule, held before Administrative Judicial Procurators. Title V of Law 2220 of 2022 adds three principles: protection of public funds and the general interest, protection of certain and indisputable rights, and reinforced protection of legality. Without that stage, when it is required, the court dismisses the claim.
2026-11-30
Contract claims for breach of a promise of sale and of a sale of land
A promise of sale does not transfer title. A sale of land is perfected by public deed and completed by recording. When either is breached, the path is contract liability: performance, termination, and damages. Article 1546 and article 1611 of the Civil Code, read with the Civil Cassation Chamber, keep the case out of the wrong docket.
2026-09-09
They breached a contract in Bogotá
A contract is made to be performed. When the other party does not deliver, pay, or do what was agreed, Colombian law allows you to demand performance, terminate the contract, or claim damages. The path depends on the type of contract and the evidence.
2026-09-09
How to collect a promissory note
Promissory notes, bills of exchange, and other negotiable instruments exist to make collection easier. If the paper is properly completed and due, enforcement is usually the path. If it is incomplete or time-barred, another claim may be required.
2026-09-09
Attorney in Usaquén, Bogotá
The office is at Avenida Calle 127 # 14-54, Office 610 A, Usaquén. I handle civil and commercial matters, tutelas, administrative, real-estate, and disciplinary law. This is a personal practice of more than twenty years, not an anonymous mill.
2026-09-09
How to prepare the first consultation
The first meeting is to see whether there is a case, which path lies, and what is needed. It is not a judgment. If you arrive with the papers in order, you leave with a route. If you arrive with the story only, time is lost.