Open Justice and accountability in Colombia

The ACTUE Colombia transparency and anti-corruption project in Colombia showed its support for the first public hearing on accountability to be held by a legal entity in the country: the Council of State. This is a project managed by FIIAPP and funded by the European Commission aimed at providing guidance to the different justice bodies in the country in the area of transparency.

The Council of State of Colombia held, in Bogotá, a public hearing on submission of accounts for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. During this event, the president of the Council of State, Jorge Octavio Ramírez, and the presidents of the different sections explained to citizens the achievements made in the institutional management and consultative and legal work of this public institution.

This hearing was held in line with the commitments assumed by the Council of State in the Second Action Plan, 2015-2017 of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). This is an initiative that 69 countries have joined and through which governments assume commitments in the area of transparency and improvement of the exchange of public information between administrations and citizens.

As a differentiating element, Colombia presented to the Partnership a new commitment: inclusion of the judicial branch within the accountability objectives known as “Open Justice”.

Along these lines, the president of the Council of State indicated as challenges the disclosure of unification rulings, outreach to regional dialogue through the Transparency Commissions of the Courts, improved transparency in hiring processes and the appointment of the magistrates to the Council of State, and implementation of systems for quality assurance and improvement in the management of court proceedings.