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Criminal Due Process in Colombia

NCJ Number
159088
Journal
Derecho Penal y Criminologia Volume: 13 Issue: 45 Dated: (September/December 1991) Pages: 81-96
Author(s)
A S Sanchez
Date Published
1991
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article discusses due process under the revised Colombian Constitution in comparison to the Napoleonic system used in European countries.
Abstract
The new Constitution reflects European law and thus the due process system has been changed to reflect this reform. Inquisitive and accusative due process systems are reviewed as a prelude to study of the new Article 29 of the Colombian Constitution. The new laws are based on immediacy and an impartial jury. However, in Colombia, immediacy is not possible because proof continues to be subjugated and secret. A contradiction has been implemented in the new Colombian legal system in which discriminatory situations are established that denying the equality of all participants and processes. It is suggested that due process has been violated under the new laws.