La procuraduría general de la nación frente a las sanciones administrativas de los servidores públicos elegidos por elección popular: análisis sobre la destitución e inhabilidad

Abstract

The present research aims to analyze the consequences imposed on the Colombian State in the judgment of the case Gustavo Petro vs. Colombia, issued on July 8, 2020, by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in which the Court found the State responsible for violating Mr. Petro’s political rights. These rights were affected as a result of the disciplinary sanction of removal from office as Mayor of Bogotá, D.C., and disqualification for a period of fifteen years from holding public office, imposed by the Office of the Inspector General of the Nation (Procuraduría General de la Nación). In this regard, it is particularly relevant to assess the effects of the conclusions reached by the Inter-American Court, as the rules that empower the oversight body to impose such sanctions on democratically elected officials have a practical effect of disqualifying them from exercising their political rights. Consequently, this constitutes a violation of Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights, as removal and general disqualification may only be imposed by a criminal judicial authority through a final conviction, independently of the violation of the principle of jurisdictionality, the guarantee of impartiality, the presumption of innocence, and the right to defense.