Abstract

CASTANO PENA, Jairo Andrés. Economic Law Analysis and judicial activism: The case of the Colombian Constitutional Court. Rev. Derecho Estado [online]. 2013, n.31, pp.119-160. ISSN 0122-9893.

Abstract This article presents an approach to the phenomena of judicial activism from an economic law perspective. Its purpose is to show that a series of incentives and circumstances exist, which make the decisions of the Colombian Constitutional Court resemble an activist nature. To this end, explanations are firstly given to outline basic judicial activity, particularly regarding the role of constitutional control and the review of the writ for the protection of fundamental rights from the Colombian Constitutional Court. An approximation regarding the concept of judicial activism is then explored, which precedes the production of public politics and the establishment of law as a productin an economic market model, in order to show the reasons why judicial activism exists in Colombia. To conclude, two judicial activism cases of the Constitutional Court are presented, firstly regarding protection of the right to adequate housing -Upac-, and secondly regarding protection of waste pickers. These cases enable a clear understanding of the existence of incentives which spark activist action.

Keywords : Judicial activism; Economic law analysis; constitutional control; Constitutional Court; writ for the protection of fundamental rights; unconstitutional action; ocial economic and cultural rights; public policy; constitutional justice.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )