Justice in Action: With ABA support, Colombia drafts a declaration of judicial ethics

For a number of years, the American Bar Affiliation’s Rule of Legislation Initiative carried out applications in Colombia to enhance the capability of judges and courtroom personnel, fight human trafficking instances and public corruption, strengthen judicial apply in rural areas, additional migrant integration and citizen safety, and assist environmental defenders within the Amazon area. These applications have been funded by the US authorities by means of its Division of State.

With the Colombian courts, we strengthened the competencies of judges and prosecutors by means of ABA ROLI-designed judicial education schemes addressing key points, equivalent to prison legislation. For instance, a few of this work was facilitated by means of our four-year program bolstering the capability of the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial Coaching College in addressing Colombia’s prison justice challenges and the wants of a various judicial system.

Throughout this time, ABA ROLI constructed a dynamic and strong accomplice community within the nation, starting from authorities ministries, judicial establishments and native organizations, together with the Superior Council of the Judiciary (Spanish, Consejo Superior de la Judicatura—CSJ).

In June, Colombia formally drafted the nation’s Declaration of Judicial Ethic Rules for the Colombian Judicature, which is able to function the idea for Colombia’s judicial code of conduct. It consists of three distinct components: justification, targets and impression; rules; and suggestions to guarantee and assure its precise implementation. This groundbreaking initiative was led by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, with assist from the Nationwide Judicial Council and the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial Coaching College and was technically led by ABA ROLI.

ABA ROLI’s Mauricio Diaz moderated the ceremony’s closing session alongside the 4 judges who summarized the Declaration of Judicial Ethic Rules for the Colombian Judicature. (Picture courtesy of the ABA Middle for International Packages)

It is going to function a key reference for present and future justice sector operators worldwide. 600 eighty judges from throughout the nation participated within the course of. The declaration had a huge effect on civil society and the media, printed within the following shops: El Tiempo and El Nuevo Siglo.

ABA ROLI’s senior technical adviser in Washington, D.C., Silvana Stanga, with huge worldwide experience of greater than 40 years in judicial training and on the strengthening of judicial establishments, led this endeavor on behalf of ABA ROLI. Her work was primarily based on strategic planning and high quality rules, with a powerful emphasis on judicial values.

Colombia’s Supreme Court docket of Justice invited ABA ROLI and Stanga to steer this initiative since April 2025, significantly for academic and institutional strengthening actions. The president of the Judges Affiliation co-facilitated the occasion. Colombia’s Supreme Court docket of Justice highlighted the high-level working classes from June 26 to 27 earlier than the official ceremony asserting the declaration, that includes Stanga at 0:23.

“I’m happy with the work ABA ROLI may do to assist Colombia’s judiciary on this historic endeavor. The current declaration is step one in a sequence of actions aimed toward strengthening the judiciary in Colombia.” —Silvana Stanga, ABA ROLI senior technical adviser

ABA ROLI’s partnership with the Superior Council of the Judiciary was pivotal for our work within the nation. On this regard, between 2019 and 2023, ABA ROLI assisted the JTS, which is the institutional academic unit of the Nationwide Judicial Council. This was completed as a part of a program aimed toward strengthening the judges’ competencies in organized crime. In 2023 and 2024, we hosted a four-part judicial coaching module in collaboration with the CSJ on combating human trafficking, emphasizing the significance of strengthening the competencies of judicial officers in Colombia.

ABA ROLI’s Silvana Stanga (far proper) sits alongside the presidents of Colombia’s Excessive Courts, together with the chief justice, on the ceremony for the declaration.

In April 2023, ABA ROLI launched its Rural Justice Program to deal with the complicated challenges confronted by the Colombian judicial system in combating organized crime and making certain entry to justice, particularly in distant rural areas, equivalent to Antioquia, Arauca, Chocó, Guajira, Nariño and Norte de Santander. This system was in collaboration with Colombia’s Superior Council of the Judiciary with help from the Federal Judicial Middle. Moreover, this system performed a wants evaluation part, straight partaking with beneficiaries within the focused areas.

Our work in Colombia is one instance world wide the place ABA ROLI made a constructive impression, together with supporting human rights abuse instances in Guatemala, bolstering civil actor networks in Sri Lanka centered on spiritual freedom, and offering pivotal mentorship workshops for legal professionals in Zambia to problem oppressive legal guidelines on basic freedoms.

For the previous 35 years, the ABA’s Middle for International Packages, which incorporates the Rule of Legislation Initiative and the Middle for Human Rights, has carried out over 1,000 initiatives in additional than 100 nations centered on a variety of technical areas, equivalent to entry to justice, authorized training and professionalism, human rights, prison justice, industrial legislation, gender and social inclusion, judicial system strengthening and anti-corruption efforts. This work wouldn’t be attainable with out our devoted employees, companions and funders.

Nevertheless, identical to comparable grant-funded organizations, ABA CGP was affected by the U.S. authorities’s halt on foreign-aid funding and stop-work orders since January 2025. Since then, ABA CGP has closed over 80 applications and 25 discipline places of work and laid off a whole bunch of workers world wide and in Washington, D.C. On this new actuality, ABA CGP is in search of non-USG applications and contracts, the place it might probably proceed supporting communities and establishments world wide. Contemplate donating to ABA CGP’s fundraiser furthering the rule of legislation, entry to justice and human rights for all.

ABA Overseas is a column highlighting the work of the ABA’s Middle for International Packages, which contains the Rule of Legislation Initiative, the Middle for Human Rights and the ABA’s presence on the United Nations.

This column displays the opinions of the creator and never essentially the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Affiliation.