Abstract

PEREIRA BLANCO, Milton José; SALAS, Fernando Luna  and  CUBIDES-CARDENAS, Jaime. Environmental Offenses in Law 1333 of2009: A Critique of Constitutional Court Decision C-219 of 2017 in Colombia. Prolegómenos [online]. 2023, vol.26, n.52, pp.95-115.  Epub Dec 15, 2023. ISSN 0121-182X.  https://doi.org/10.18359/prole.6475.

This article constitutes a primarily legal investigation, of an analytical, documentary, qualitative nature, developed at a theoretical level. It aims to address the normative treatment of environmental offenses in the Colombian environmental regime. Additionally, the scope of the principle of typification of offenses in environmental matters will be analyzed according to constitutional jurisprudence, especially the position adopted by the Constitutional Court of Colombia in Decision C-219 of 2017. The central thesis will argue that Article 5 of Law 1333 of 2009 disregards the principle of legal reserve, as mentioned in the second paragraph of constitutional Article 29. This is because it created an administrative sanctioning type in which punishable actions do not have a legal origin but are based on punishable actions established by the administrative authority in accordance with legal powers. Thus, defining punishable conduct as a component of the principle of legality was delegated to an authority other than the legislator. Furthermore, this norm disregards the principle of typification and legal reserve of offenses, as outlined in the second paragraph of constitutional Article 29. It typifies any action or omission constituting a violation of administrative acts issued by the competent environmental authority without delimiting punishable conduct. This implies that the administrative type lacks certainty, clarity, and determination.

Keywords : Environmental Offenses; Sanctioning Responsibility; Environmental Sanctioning Process; Natural Resources; Environment.

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