The pension reform, one of the main legislative bets of the government of President Gustavo Petro, faces a new obstacle in the Constitutional Court. Judge Jorge Enrique Ibáñez, author of the constitutionality presentation, proposed declaring the norm unenforceable considering that the procedural defect that led to its return to Congress was not corrected.
The 83-page document maintains that during the extraordinary sessions of the House of Representatives, held on June 27 and 28, The procedural defect that had been previously identified by the high court was not corrected. This defect was the reason why the Court returned the law to Congress on June 17, in order for a new debate to be held that met the constitutional requirements.
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Ibáñez’s presentation, which is still a draft, was confirmed by sources from the high court to El Tiempo. It argues that Congress did not comply with the Court’s order, since in the aforementioned sessions no substantial discussion of the articles of the reform was carried out.but it was decided to once again accept the text approved by the Senate, without modifications or sufficient deliberation.
This statement adds to the criticisms that had already been made about the legality of the legislative procedure. In particular, The validity of the quorum with which the agenda was approved in the session of June 28 has been questioned, a key point to determine if the session was valid and, therefore, whether the approval of the reform was legitimate.
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Ibáñez’s presentation will be submitted for discussion in the Plenary Chamber of the Constitutional Court, where the other magistrates must decide whether or not to accept his proposal to declare the norm unenforceable. Meanwhile, the judicial process continues its course, and It is expected that in the coming days the recusal order against Judge Héctor Carvajal will be issuedwho has been indicated by the plaintiff Paloma Valencia as being prevented from participating in the case, due to previous contracts with Colpensiones related to the same rule.
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The final decision of the Court will be decisive for the future of the pension reform, which has been one of the flags of the current government. If it is declared unenforceable, Congress would have to restart the legislative process from scratch, which would represent a significant setback for the Executive.
For now, the country remains waiting for the final ruling of the high court, while the debate on the legality of the legislative process and the viability of the reform continues to generate controversy in the different political and social sectors.
VALENTINA DELGADILLO ABELLO
Portfolio Journalist
