Lessons from the history of courts on the review of constitutional amendments in Colombia

This chapter examines comparative Legal history with a critical perspective, from the time the Public Action of Unconstitutionality (PAU) was established in 1910 the present time. It describes the path to the creation of the PAU, which entrusted the Supreme Court with the responsibility of deciding the petitions of citizens for unconstitutionality of the laws and decrees of the executive. The chapter deals with the review of constitutional amendments by the same Court between 1955 and 1990 and shows the path to decisions that declared unconstitutional two amendments in 1978 and 1981. It reviews the time when the Court in 1990 allowed the enactment of a new Constitution by a constitutional assembly and also deals with decisions of the Constitutional Court under the Constitution of 1991 regarding the political regime between 1992 and the time. The chapter also describes a critical perspective, the history of the role of the Courts on the review of constitutional amendments in Colombia.