Recently, a former Superintendent of Industry and Commerce presented to the Council of State a claim for annulment against the decree by which the National Government established a ban on exporting coal to Israel.
This complaint was filed by Andrew Barretoacting director of the law firm De La Espriella Lawyersand was filed on September 5, but has not yet been admitted, since the high court determined that it was not its Section IV but its Section I, which must evaluate by competencies in case the matter is admitted.
(Besides: Minminas challenged decision on gas exploration in the Uchuva 2 well).
The lawsuit claims that the decree “directly violates the Constitution“, “suffers from false motivation“, “ignores the principle of legal reserve“, and would lead to serious prejudices for a significant sector of the national economy by going”against promoting foreign trade and protecting the integrity of the national heritage“. For this reason, a precautionary measure of suspension of the same was requested..
Andres Barreto
“It is evident that the objective is for the State of Israel to comply with the orders issued by the International Court of Justice, so much so that the measure will be in force until said orders are complied with by the aforementioned State, which demonstrates the lack of proportionality and reasonableness of the prohibitive measure that falls on coal exports to said State.“, the lawsuit states.
(Besides: Theories behind the explosions of beepers associated with Hezbollah).
“There is no evidence of a correlation between the ban on coal exports to Israel and the threat to Colombia’s security, nor how this measure affects the protection of the Colombian State. This also means going against the National Development Plan proposed by the current government, which establishes that trade restrictions will only be imposed when national security is threatened.“, the complaint adds.
This action by the former superintendent also warns that The decree ignores the legal reservationwell “Any matter that involves the reduction of income and intervention in the economy related to the exploitation of natural resources must be approved by the Congress of the Republic and not carried out under the unilateral power of the Government.“.
(Further: Tuesday’s debate on the 2025 General Budget was cancelled).
Israel
Humanitarian crisis in Palestine, the reason for the decree
The decree signed by President Gustavo Petro and all his ministersestablishes that the ban on coal exports from Colombia to Israel is due to the “the gravity of the humanitarian situation that has been triggered in Palestine on the occasion of the military operation carried out by Israel after October 7, 2023“.
This standard enables the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism to process recognition of legitimate expectations, as well as consolidated legal situations, for companies that will be affected by the suspension of businesses of this nature.
(Further: Petro will not comply with the CNE’s decision on the investigation for alleged violation of limits).
Palestine
The ban will remain in force, according to the decree, until “the orders for provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the process of implementing the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip are fully complied with“.
(Read also: The Prosecutor’s Office’s guidelines for investigating crimes committed during the 2021 strike).
The rule was issued by the Government following the severance of diplomatic relations with Israelon May 1. According to data from the Mining and Energy Planning Unitwith As of October 2023, coal sales to this Middle Eastern country amounted to 2.45 million tonsrepresenting 650 million pesos in royalties.
PORTFOLIO
*With information from EL TIEMPO – JUSTICE
