Análisis crítico de las garantías procesales en el derecho disciplinario colombiano: la vulneración por pruebas extemporáneas.

Abstract

This article develops a critical analysis of Colombian disciplinary law, focused on the tension between the search for material truth and the unrestricted respect for procedural guarantees. It begins by recognizing that due process, constitutionally enshrined and developed in Law 1952 of 2019, is not an empty formality but an essential limit to the exercise of the State's sanctioning power. Based on this, it examines how, in practice, some disciplinary authorities decree evidence outside the legal terms, relying on expansive interpretations of principles such as the prevalence of substantive law and the search for truth. However, the study demonstrates that these actions not only contravene the principle of legality but also configure a procedural defect that directly affects the rights of defense, contradiction, and the legal certainty of the disciplined subject. The normative and jurisprudential analysis reveals that the procedural terms in the preliminary inquiry and disciplinary investigation stages are peremptory and constitute a guarantee of legal certainty. Therefore, their disregard cannot be considered a mere irregularity, but rather a substantial violation that activates the exclusionary rule of evidence provided for in Article 29 of the Constitution, rendering evidence obtained in an untimely manner null and void.