The President of the Constitutional Court, Jorge Enrique Ibáñez, criticized the government for cutting the judiciary’s budget for 2026, and warned of the consequences of a lack of resources in the administration of justice.
The gown was announced in the middle of the first meeting of the superior courts and the fifth meeting of the disciplinary authority, held in Barranquilla.
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“We are moving further and further away from making a judicial bid because we do not have autonomy, and We do not have independence because if we want to create a position in the judiciary, if we need to ask for a resource to create that position, we have to ask for alms from the executive branch of public power.Ibanez stated.
The judge added that “if the executive branch does not want to give us what it owes, as now that it has reduced us by 16 billion pesos, it has reduced us by 6 billion pesos, then they simply prevent us from exercising the judicial function”; He stressed, “The constitution is very good at guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary, but it is on paper. That is why we must one day guarantee real independence on the ground for the judiciary.”
During his intervention in Barranquilla, the president of the court also called on the authorities, including President Gustavo Petro, to respect the constitution. “For this reason, to achieve this, society establishes for itself a political constitution. Therefore, everyone, individuals and authorities, must be subject to the Constitution. No one can make himself the owner of the state“, he stated.
The judge stressed that respect for the Constitution is a guarantee for the existence of a civilized society, highlighting the importance of judicial independence as an essential element of the rule of law.
It should be recalled that at the end of October, the Inter-Institutional Committee of the Judiciary expressed its concern to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit over the second reduction of P695,000 million in the approved budget for 2026, which was added to the first reduction of P4.4 trillion compared to the initial request of P16 trillion.
This amendment affects, among other aspects: Advancing the provisions and creating the necessary positions to implement Law 2452 of 2025 establishing the new Labor and Social Security Procedures Law, as well as the attention of the agricultural and rural judiciary..
In a meeting with the Attorney General of the Minister of Finance, Carlos Emilio Betancourt Galeano; Director General of the National Public Budget, Martha Hernandez Arango; The Counselor of the Minister’s Office, Diego Carrero, and the Inter-Institutional Commission, composed of the Presidents of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the Council of State, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the National Commission for Judicial Discipline, the State Prosecutor and the representative of the officials and employees of the judiciary, explained the effects of the reduction on the entire authority, including the judiciary, the prosecution and even the judiciary. Medicine.
The committee stressed that the budget reduction will directly affect cleaning, security, leasing, insurance, maintenance and public services, as well as the purchase of furniture, machinery, equipment and other goods.He warned that it would also affect the offer of judicial services to implement the new labor law and agricultural jurisdiction.
“This reduction is very sensitive because it jeopardizes the possibility of establishing municipal labor courts, and of strengthening and strengthening the judiciary,” declared Jorge Enrique Vallejo Jaramillo, president of the Inter-Institutional Committee of the Judiciary and the Supreme Council of the Judiciary.