Legal Mobilization From Above
Colombia's Constitutional Court and Amicus Curiae Participation in LGBT Rights Litigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2002Keywords:
Courts, Amicus curiae, Legal opportunities, Legal mobilization, LGBT rightsAbstract
Although courts are not usually perceived as forums for democratic participation, the existence of legal mechanisms such as amicus curiae briefs has allowed civil society organizations to actively participate in judicial debates. This article examines amicus curiae participation in LGBT rights cases decided by the Colombian Constitutional Court between 1992 and 2022. Based on interviews and a review of norms, rulings, and amicus curiae briefs, I argue that the accessibility of the Court's rules and the presence of justices interested in promoting the participation of non-judicial actors in constitutional debates created legal opportunities that encouraged and shaped amicus curiae participation in LGBT rights litigation. This article contributes to a better understanding of the role that courts can play in legal mobilization and in building a more democratic judicial system.
Downloads
Metrics
Downloads:
14(3)_Jaramillo_OSLS 287
XML_14(3)_Jaramillo_OSLS 7
References
Albarracín, M., 2011. Corte constitucional y movimientos sociales: el reconocimiento judicial de los derechos de las parejas del mismo sexo en Colombia. Sur – Revista Internacional de Derechos Humanos [en línea], 8(14), 7–33. Disponible en: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/r27671.pdf
Almeida, E.M., 2019. Capacidades institucionais dos amici curiae no Supremo Tribunal Federal: Acessibilidade, admissibilidade e influência. Revista Direito e Práxis [en línea], 10(1), 678–707. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2019/39502 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2019/39502
Andersen, E.A., 2005. Out of the Closets and Into the Courts: Legal Opportunity Structure and Gay Rights Litigation [en línea]. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.17550 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.17550
Bazán, V., 2014. Amicus curiae, justicia constitucional y fortalecimiento cualitativo del debate jurisdiccional. Revista Derecho del Estado [en línea], 33, 3–34. Disponible en: https://revistas.uexternado.edu.co/index.php/derest/article/view/3955
Botero, S., 2023. Courts that Matter: Activists, Judges, and the Politics of Rights Enforcement [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009281973 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009281973
Box-Steffensmeier, J.M., Christenson, D.P., y Hitt, M.P., 2013. Quality Over Quantity: Amici Influence and Judicial Decision Making. American Political Science Review [en línea], 107(3), 446–460. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541300021X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541300021X
Caldeira, G.A., y Wright, J.R., 1990. Amici Curiae Before the Supreme Court: Who Participates, When, and How Much? The Journal of Politics, 52(3), 782–806. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2131827
Cano Blandón, L.F., 2014. La narrativa de las políticas públicas en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional colombiana. Papel Político [en línea], 19(2), 435–458. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.PAPO19-2.nppj DOI: https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.PAPO19-2.nppj
Cichowski, R.A., 2016. The European Court of Human Rights, Amicus curiae, and Violence Against Women. Law & Society Review [en línea], 50(4), 890–919. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12236 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12236
Collins, P.M., 2018. The Use of Amicus Briefs. Annual Review of Law and Social Science [en línea], 14(1), 219–237. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-101317-031248 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-101317-031248
Collins, P.M., Corley, P.C., y Hamner, J., 2015. The Influence of Amicus curiae Briefs on U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Content. Law & Society Review [en línea], 49(4), 917–44. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12166 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12166
Collins, P.M., y McCarthy, L.A., 2017. Friends and Interveners: Interest Group Litigation in a Comparative Context. Journal of Law and Courts [en línea], 5(1), 55–80. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1086/690275 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/690275
Côrtes, A., 2020. A participação de organizações da sociedade civil em ações do controle concentrado de constitucionalidade no Brasil. En: M. Rodríguez Machado, ed., Direito e mobilização social. São Paulo: FGV Direito SP, 107–125.
Daum, C.W., 2009. Deciding Under the Influence? The “One-hit Wonders” and Organized-Interest Participation in U.S. Supreme Court Gay Rights Litigation. En: S. Barclay, M. Bernstein y A.M. Marshall, eds., Queer mobilizations. LGBT activists confront the law [en línea]. New York University Press, 76–102. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814739037.003.0008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814739037.003.0008
De Fazio, G., 2012. Legal Opportunity Structure and Social Movement Strategy in Northern Ireland and Southern United States. International Journal of Comparative Sociology [en línea], 53(1), 3–22. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715212439311 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715212439311
García, R.J., 2008. Democratic Theory of Amicus Advocacy. Florida State University Law Review [en línea], 35(2), 315–358. Disponible en: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol35/iss2/3
Gargarella, R., 2021. El derecho como una conversación entre iguales. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI.
González Ocantos, E.A., 2016. Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316535509 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316535509
Hilson, C., 2002. New Social Movements: The Role of Legal Opportunity. Journal of European Public Policy [en línea], 9(2), 238–255. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760110120246 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760110120246
Jaramillo Sierra, I.C., y Alfonso Sierra, T., 2008. Mujeres, cortes y medios: La reforma judicial del aborto. Bogotá: Siglo del Hombre/Universidad de los Andes.
Krislov, S., 1963. The Amicus curiae Brief: From Friendship to Advocacy. The Yale Law Journal [en línea], 72(4), 694–721. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.2307/794698 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/794698
Langford, M., Rodríguez Garavito, C., y Rossi, J., eds., 2017. Social Rights Judgments and the Politics of Compliance. Making it Stick [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316673058 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316673058
Lawyers Council for Civil and Economic Rights, 2022. Guía legal para amicus curiae en América Latina [en línea]. Nueva York: Vance Center/New York City Bar/Freshfields. Disponible en: https://www.vancecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Guia-Legal-para-Amicus-Curiae-en-America-Latina.-Lawyers-Council-VC.pdf
Lehoucq, E., 2021. Legal Threats and the Emergence of Legal Mobilization: Conservative Mobilization in Colombia. Law & Social Inquiry [en línea], 46(2), 299–330. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2020.28 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2020.28
Lemaitre, J., 2009. El derecho como conjuro. Fetichismo legal, violencia y movimientos sociales. Bogotá: Siglo del Hombre/Universidad de los Andes.
Malagón, L., 2015. Movimiento LGBT y contra movimiento religioso en Colombia. Revista de Estudos Empíricos em Direito [en línea], 2(1), 162–184. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.19092/reed.v2i1.60 DOI: https://doi.org/10.19092/reed.v2i1.60
Martínez Martínez, A.J., 2020. La figura del amicus curiae: Análisis de su recepción por la Corte Constitucional en sede de revisión de tutela [en línea]. Tesis de maestría. Bogotá: Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Disponible en: https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/bitstream/handle/unal/77615/79985722.2020.pdf?sequence=1
McAdam, D., Tarrow, S.G., y Tilly, C., 2001. Dynamics of Contention [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805431 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805431
McCammon, H.J., y McGrath, A.R., 2015. Litigating Change? Social Movements and the Court System. Sociology Compass [en línea], 9(2), 128–39. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12243 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12243
McCann, M.W., 1994. Rights at Work. Pay Equity Reform and the Politics of Legal Mobilization. Chicago/Londres: The University of Chicago Press.
Noguera Fernández, A., 2011 ¿Democratizando la justicia constitucional? La articulación entre soberanía, justicia constitucional y participación en el viejo y el nuevo constitucionalismo. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [en línea], 1(2), 1–27. Disponible en: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/9
Nosetto, L., 2018. Legitimidad democrática y judicialización de la política: el caso de la argentina contemporánea. Ivs Fvgit [en línea], 21, 145–166. Disponible en: https://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/37/10/08nosetto.pdf
Rodríguez Garavito, C., y Rodríguez Franco, D., 2015. Radical Deprivation on Trial. The Impact of Judicial Activism on Socioeconomic Rights in the Global South [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139940849 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139940849
Romero Tobón, J.F., 2016. Las acciones públicas de inconstitucionalidad en Colombia. Bogotá: Ibáñez.
Uprimny, R., y García, M., 2004. Corte Constitucional y emancipación social en Colombia. En: B. Sousa Santos y M. García Villegas, eds., Emancipación social y violencia en Colombia. Bogotá: Norma, 463–514.
Vanhala, L., 2010. Making Rights a Reality?: Disability Rights Activists and Legal Mobilization [en línea]. Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511976506 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511976506
Wiik, A., 2016. Amicus curiae Before International Courts and Tribunals [en línea]. Baden-Baden: Hart/Nomos. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845275925 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845275925
Wilson, B.M., y Gianella-Malca, C., 2019. Overcoming the Limits of Legal Opportunity Structures: LGBT Rights’ Divergent Paths in Costa Rica and Colombia. Latin American Politics & Society [en línea], 61(2), 138–63. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2018.76 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2018.76
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Juliana Jaramillo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
OSLS strictly respects intellectual property rights and it is our policy that the author retains copyright, and articles are made available under a Creative Commons licence. The Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution No-Derivatives licence is our default licence, further details available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 If this is not acceptable to you, please contact us.
The non-exclusive permission you grant to us includes the rights to disseminate the bibliographic details of the article, including the abstract supplied by you, and to authorise others, including bibliographic databases, indexing and contents alerting services, to copy and communicate these details.
For information on how to share and store your own article at each stage of production from submission to final publication, please read our Self-Archiving and Sharing policy.
The Copyright Notice showing the author and co-authors, and the Creative Commons license will be displayed on the article, and you must agree to this as part of the submission process. Please ensure that all co-authors are properly attributed and that they understand and accept these terms.
