FINAL JUSTICE AND PEACE LAW DECREE TRACKS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 009122

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2016
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: FINAL JUSTICE AND PEACE LAW DECREE TRACKS WITH
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT'S DECISION


Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood.
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The final Justice and Peace Law (JPL) implementing
decree, published on September 29, closely tracks the
Constitutional Court decision issued on May 13. Public
comments have generally been positive. The decree
incorporates many of the concerns raised by the Ambassador
with senior GOC officials, including a provision requiring
demobilized paramilitaries to provide a full and truthful
account of their criminal activities. Some demobilized
paramilitary leaders who have not yet turned themselves in to
the GOC announced on October 1 they would not surrender until
the GOC guarantees that they will not be extradited. End
summary.

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POSITIVE CHANGES TO FINAL JPL IMPLEMENTING DECREE
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2. (C) The final Justice and Peace Law (JPL) implementing
decree, published on September 29, is consistent with the
Constitutional Court's JPL decision issued on May 13. The
decree is much simpler than previous drafts (it has 22
articles, versus 44 articles in the latest draft) and, rather
than attempting to reverse elements of Constitutional Court's
ruling, closely tracks the Court's decision as well as Decree
No. 4760 issued by the Colombian government on December 30,

2005.


3. (C) The decree does not contain several provisions sought
by the paramilitaries. It does not classify "sedition" as a
political crime nor does it allow paramilitaries to credit up
to 18 months of the time they spent at San Jose de Ralito or
other concentration zones toward their JPL alternative
sentences. Media and opposition comment on the final JPL
decree has been positive, with opposition Polo Democratico
Senator Gustavo Preto saying he was satisfied with the final
decree since it respected the Constitutional Court ruling.


4. (C) Most concerns the Ambassador raised with senior GOC
officials on the JPL draft decree late in August were
integrated into the final decree. The decree does not create
any legal obstacles to extradition, promotes adequate
reparations, encourages complete disclosure in the version
libre, and no longer includes a provision creating a
rebuttable presumption that any crime committed by a member
of the AUC was done in furtherance of the group's objectives.
The following are some of the points made in the decree:

Extradition
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- The decree does not address extradition nor does it create
any legal obstacles to extradition. The GOC did not include
any reference to "sedition" as a political crime, which would
have given the paras an additional argument to use against
extradition. Earlier drafts had included this provision,
despite the Constitutional Court's ruling against it.

Adequate Reparations
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- Article 9 of the decree requires those subject to the law
to identify and forfeit all their illicit assets. If the
illegal assets were held under a different name, the decree
allows for "principle of opportunity" (prosecutorial
discretion) to be applied (Article 14). This gives front men
and family members an incentive to turn over assets, rather
than conceal them. The possibility of discretion would exist
only for those who acted as fronts and not for paramilitaries
themselves or for persons who had committed violent acts.
When illegal assets are insufficient to pay reparations, the
decree provides that legal assets must be utilized. Further,
the decree allows legal restrictions to be imposed on legal

assets, just as the Constitutional Court had mandated in its
decision. If the person's illicit and licit assets are
insufficient to meet his JPL obligations, the illegal and
legal assets of the members of the paramilitary bloc can be
used (Article 18). The decree also allows victims to
denounce any assets not surrendered (Article 14).

Full and Complete Disclosure
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- The decree obligates paras to confess not only those
crimes in which they directly participated, but also to
testify regarding any crimes committed by the illegal armed
group (Article 9). The final decree goes farther than
earlier drafts and states that if a crime is left out of the
version libre and it is of a "relevant" nature it could
result in the loss of JPL benefits.

Strict Penalties for Commission of New Crimes
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- The decree makes clear that the commission of any new
crime, as long as it was committed intentionally, while
serving the alternative sentence, would automatically result
in the loss of benefits.

No Rebuttable Presumption
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- The final decree does not include a provision in earlier
drafts which had created a rebuttable presumption that all
crimes committed by demobilized persons, including drug
trafficking and illegal personal enrichment, were committed
as part of their membership in the group.

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LESS POSITIVE ON PRISON CONDITIONS
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5. (C) The final decree is unclear on whether demobilized
individuals will have to serve time in regular prisons. It
says the GOC will determine the final location where the
demobilized will serve their sentences (Article 13). This
location must comply with Article 28 of Law 65 of 1993, which
allows the sentence to be served in an institution other than
a regular penitentiary, such as an agricultural colony.


6. (C) The final decree is silent on whether the GOC will
allow paramilitaries to apply up to 18 months of the time
they spent in Santa Fe de Ralito toward their alternative
sentences, but it does credit time spent at La Ceja (Article
11). The decree's silence could mean that it will be up to
the JPL Courts to determine, in light of the Constitutional
Court's decision, whether to grant this 18 month credit or
not. The JPL allowed paramilitaries to count their time
spent at Ralito, but the Constitutional Court revoked this
provision. Still, the Court added that its decision was not
retroactive, leaving room for paramilitaries to argue that it
should still apply to those who demobilized before the Court
ruling.

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PARA LEADERS AT-LARGE REQUEST EXTRADITION DECREE
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7. (C) Twelve demobilized paramilitary leaders that have not
turned themselves, led by Vicente Castano and AKA "Los
Mellizos," announced on October 1 they would not surrender
until the GOC guaranteed they will not be extradited.
Castano has publicly asked for a series of judicial
guarantees, but the GOC has not responded. Twenty-nine
paramilitary leaders have turned themselves in--25 in la Ceja
and four in other secure locations.
WOOD