Faced with the demand for contractual controversy promoted by the Attorney General’s Office in relation to the cooperation agreements with the National Printing Office and the Mint in Portugal, the Colombian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it responded to the Public Ministry.
The communication from the Attorney General’s Office is due to the legal order to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the existence of a legal controversy that will be unleashed in the Contentious Administrative Jurisdiction in two instances: the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca and the Honorable Council of the State, the Chancellery initially stated.
However, it was explained that, to date, the Foreign Ministry “has not been notified of an order admissing any claim by the Honorable Administrative Court of Cundinamarca, the competent judicial authority that will admit or not the means of control invoked by the Attorney General’s Office.“.
Likewise, Minexteriores indicated that the beginning of a contractual contentious process does not mean “the existence of a ruling against the Colombian Foreign Ministry that annuls the agreements that are signed and in force between the Revolving Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the National Printing Press and the Portuguese Mint“.
So far, there is no ruling against the Colombian Foreign Ministry that makes it impossible to continue with the process of producing new passports for Colombia, they added.
On the other hand, they asserted that the existence of a means of control, in this case a lawsuit, does not in any way prevent the projects, plans from continuing in execution and programs related to the issuance of the new passport model by the Foreign Ministry.
Currently, the National Printing Press and the Chancellery are advancing, without setbacks, all the acts that were the subject of an inter-administrative agreement to implement the new passport model.
At the time the claim is notified by the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca, it “will provide the respective defense by the Chancellery through its Legal Division of Instance“, they stated.
“The contentious contractual process announced by the Attorney General’s Office has only just begun. The Chancellery will have all the options to present defensive arguments and demonstrate that the contractual action was carried out in accordance with the Law. We reiterate that this process is just beginning and has two instances: the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca and the Honorable Council of State depending on the case, and in any situation it will have to be resolved by the judges of the Republic, after the evidentiary analysis, the contradiction of the evidence and the presentation by the Chancellery, and all the entities defendants, of the factual and legal elements to declare that the contracting was in accordance with the Law“they added.
Likewise, the Foreign Ministry maintained that it is respectful of the Attorney General’s decision to present the “contractual action in accordance with their functions; However, we will always be attentive to the defense of the interests of the Chancellery before the Contentious Administrative Jurisdiction to demonstrate the legality of the processes carried out.“.
“The Foreign Ministry guarantees its capacity to satisfy the issuance of passports for Colombians. The institution has planned for all contingencies and has been providing the passport service on an ordinary and continuous basis through the Temporary Union Contract for Travel Documents 2026, which is in full force.“they added.
“This news from the Attorney General’s Office represents only the beginning of a contentious process that cannot generate panic in the Colombian population, taking into account that it is a legal controversy that is just beginning and whose decision will be in the hands of the Colombian justice system, prior to the exhaustion of the procedural stages. The Chancellery guarantees the provision of the passport service. There is not, nor will there be, a shortage of passport books and for this reason we give some peace of mind to public opinion, regardless of the judicial actions that are promoted.“, stated the Minexteriores.
