La objeción de inexequibilidad

Zusammenfassung

The subject of this investigation is an institution that is practically unknown in Europe, «la objeción de inexequibilidad». Roughly translated, this means «the objection of inexecutability», but the figure is really only known by this name in Colombia and Panama. In Panama, it has been conserved in its original state since 1904. In Colombia, it has existed since 1886 but changed its name following the new 1991 Constitution. It comprises a preliminary control of the constitutionality of laws that is exclusive to the president of the Republic and the head of the Executive branch of government. They will use this objection when they consider a draft bill approved by the legislative assembly to be unconstitutional (ie, unexecutable). Any such dispute is to be resolved by the Supreme Court of Justice in Panama or the Constitutional Court in Colombia. After establishing the legal nature of the institution, the article sketches a critique of political controls and of special jurisdictions.