Following a considerable effort, working alongside Civil Society Organizations and Congress Representative Juanita Goebertus, today we can say: “We made it!”
On 17 May, the Law to restore the response time for Rights to Petition was sanctioned which will come into effect from 18 May. The deadlines will be restored to:
- Right of Petition Issuance of copies: (10) days upon receipt.
- Right to Petition Consultation: (30) days upon receipt.
- Right to Petition of General / Particular Interest: (15) days upon receipt.
- Right to Request Information: (10) days upon receipt.
Context
Ever since the very start of this year, the National Government had refused to return to the response times for public institutions to deliver information following Rights of Petition, when, due to the pandemic, these deadlines had doubled. This delay had done serious damage to democracy and posed a serious threat, because it was not possible to access information about the State in a timely manner.
For this reason, after two years of fulfilling the Legislative Decree 491 of 2020, and taking into account the progressive overcoming of the pandemic, different civil society organizations – including those that make up the Open State Committee, such as the Anti-Corruption Institute – came came together to ask Congress to reject President Iván Duque’s objections to the bill that sought to restore the original deadlines. The objections were rejected in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which allowed the Bill to be filed and sanctioned.