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In this regard, the Constitutional Court of Colombia made a landmark decision regarding the cancellation of the economic emergency decree signed by President Gustavo Petro. The verdict of the highest judicial institution had a huge political and economic impact.
As a result of the verdict, the Constitutional Court has recognized as unconstitutional Legislative Decree 1390 of 22 December 2025, establishing a 30-day State of Economic, Social, and Ecological Emergency throughout the country. Through this, the government sought to transfer extraordinary powers to the Executive Branch to deal with the economic and social crisis in Colombia.
Earlier, as noted, the decree was suspended provisionally in January 2026 by the decision of the Constitutional Court. Nevertheless, the Court finally annulled the decree at the end of March 2026.
Proposed Tax Measures and Economic Goals
It should be remembered that the decree aimed to introduce several measures related to taxes that were supposed to bring approximately 11 trillion Colombian pesos. As a result, the measures involved increased taxation in many areas.
First of all, as indicated earlier, there was an increased VAT on alcoholic beverages from 5% to 19%. In addition, a 15% increase in income tax in the amount of 50% was introduced for financial institutions. Finally, a 19% VAT was applied to luxury items such as yachts and motorcycles with a powerful engine.
Furthermore, the decree provided for the application of 19% VAT to revenue from gambling operations on the Internet.
These decisions were taken in order to quickly increase the amount of collected taxes without waiting for the approval of new legislation.
Court Decision and Constitutional Grounds
The court issued an official statement in relation to the annulment of the decree. According to Magistrate Carlos Camargo Assís, the violation of constitutional principles led to such a verdict.
Thus, according to him, “the decree violated the principles of democracy and separation of powers insofar as the National Government appropriated powers from other branches of government without meeting the constitutional requirements for a state of exception.”
Therefore, the decree ceased to apply to Colombia in a legal sense since it allowed the issuance of norms of legal force by the Executive Branch under extraordinary circumstances, which the Court considered did not arise from the lack of predictability and emergency.
In Relation to Other Legislative Acts
In addition, the Court’s decision had consequences concerning other legislation. Thus, according to the ruling, Decrees 1474 of 2025 and 044 of 2026 “will continue without producing effects until a decision is made on their constitutionality.”
That is, there remains legal uncertainty regarding the implementation of legislation that follows from the invalid decree.
According to the Constitutional Court, the reasons provided by the Government failed to justify the introduction of a state of emergency because of the absence of unpredictability and emergency, which are required under the Constitution.
Tensions Within Institutions and Political Situation
Nevertheless, the verdict revealed serious contradictions in Colombia’s governance. This is clearly expressed in the opinions of the magistrates on the decision. In particular, Magistrate Camargo Assís stated that it was an “affront to the operation of Congress” since such action followed from “the political conflicts arising due to the refusal of legislative initiatives of the government.”
That is, in order to implement its proposals faster, the government tried to go around Congress, which caused serious legal and political complications.
Summing up, the decision of the Constitutional Court of Colombia can be described as a significant step. After invalidating the relevant decree, this judicial institution showed its readiness to defend the constitutional order against illegal encroachments of the executive power.
Source: SBC Noticias
