El derecho fundamental al agua potable en Colombia. análisis jurídico sobre la responsabilidad del estado frente a la violación del derecho al recurso hídrico.

Abstract

Water is a finite natural resource and in its purified form is vital for the existence and subsistence of human beings. The undamental right to drinking water in the Colombian legal system does not correspond to a constitutionally established principle, but it is recognized by various pronouncements in which it is assigned such a category. These decisions are based mainly on international treaties which, if they are exhaustively recognized; constitutional principles such as life and human dignity; and the thesis of the connectedness of fundamental rights according to which they are those that are closely related to rights exclusively recognized by the constitutional text. The right to water as an autonomous fundamental right is an issue that has not yet been resolved in a consolidated way in the legal system of the Colombian State, because there is legislation and jurisprudence, oriented towards different levels that blur or hide the true responsibilities for the violation or violation of this human right; especially for the delegation of responsibilities to the companies that provide residential public services for water and basic sanitation; coupled with a series of connections that affect other rights inherent to the management of the resource from the environmental point of view or of human consumption from the public health point of view and even the ecological damage caused to the environment. An extensive and detailed study was carried out on the legal status of the fundamental right to water in Colombia, based on the concept of the right to water, through international human rights, the commitments of the constitutionality bloc and the prospects for water governance; subsequently, the normative and jurisprudential analysis referred to the DFA is carried out, as well as the main rules, duties and obligations that derive from that right; to conclude with the content analysis on the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the Council of State regarding the damage, title of imputation and responsibility of the State. The investigation found that despite the coexistence of norms, doctrine and jurisprudence to fully protect the Fundamental Right to Water, there is State Responsibility for unlawful damage caused to Colombians, as a generalized failure of the service.