The Colombian Supreme Court, 1886-1910: from the court of the regeneration to constitutional court

Abstract

The first part of the article reframes the debate about the origins of the judicial review in Colombia, taking into account the constitutions that established notions about defending the Constitution, the contexts in which these arose, and the institutional design and implications for the exercise of judicial review of the Constitution.
The second section tells the history of the Supreme Court of Colombia since the National Constitution of 1886 to the constitutional amendment of 1910. It explores the political context in which the Court was established to be the guardian of the political-legal regime of the conservative Regeneración, and the experience of the Court in different moments of a trajectory where she started being a Court d´ Cassation to become a constitutional Court. This narrative  shows the weakness of  evolutionist approaches that assume  the creation of the  actio popularis (acción de inconstitucionalidad) as an unavoidable continuation and development of a supposed "constitutional judicial review" established since 1886, and even of those who claim that such a judicial review had started many time ago.
Fecha envío / Submission date:22/03/ 2013Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance date:23/04/2013