The Constitutional Court of Colombia is asked to declare the unconstitutionality of the Decree 3573, issued on 27.09.2011 that creates the national Authority of Environmental Licenses and establishes other regulations.

The plaintiff claims that the President exceeded the powers conferred by the Congress while creating the National Authority of Environmental Licenses as a special institution, considering that the grant of environmental licenses is a special power of the Ministry of Environment. The President also exceeded his legal faculties while modifying the process to grant the licenses. Finally, the plaintiff claims that the Decree violated indigenous right to be consulted when a legal regulation can affect them.     

The Court does not accept the request. The judgment establishes that the Decree does not exceed the extraordinary and temporal powers that legislator gave to the President in the Enabling Law. In second place, the judgement establishes that this Decree Law does not need to be previously consulted with the indigenous communities because it does not directly impact them. Furthermore, the judgment concludes that the Decree cannot be used in anyway to limit their or restrict indigenous’ fundamental rights.