PRIVATE PLAINTIFFS CHALLENGE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF DCA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000291 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/17 TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV MCAP PTER PHUM CO SUBJECT: PRIVATE PLAINTIFFS CHALLENGE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF DCA CLASSIFIED BY: Mark Wells, Political Counselor, Department of State, Political Section; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) On February 12, officials from the Colombian Ministry of Defense (MOD) informed us that private plaintiffs filed two separate petitions with the Constitutional Court dated November 12, 2009, challenging the constitutionality of the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA). The plaintiffs were unknown to the Embassy; MOD officials said that they suspected NGOs were behind the petitions. ¶2. (C) The petitions argue that, under the Constitution, the DCA should have been approved by the Colombian Congress and the Constitutional Court, as it creates new obligations and exceeds the scope of prior international agreements. The plaintiffs cited several articles of the Constitution in the petitions, including Article 150, section 16 (which grants Congress the power to approve treaties); Article 173, section 4 (which grants the Senate the power to permit the transit of foreign troops); and Article 240, section 10 (which grants the Constitutional Court the power to review international treaties, and which further provides that any citizen may challenge the constitutionality of such treaties). ¶3. (C) MOD officials stressed that the DCA is not a treaty but instead a "simplified agreement" -- which the Colombian executive branch had full authority to negotiate and sign. The officials indicated that in the past, the Constitutional Court has refused to accept petitions challenging simplified agreements, and the MOD expects the Court to uphold this precedence in these cases. However, should the Constitutional Court accept the cases for review, the officials told us that they are prepared to reject the petitioners' allegations point-by-point. MOD officials indicated that they will be meeting internally soon to analyze these cases. BROWNFIELD =======================CABLE ENDS============================