Rethinking transitional justice in Colombia: legal architecture, structural tensions and the challenge of its integration as public policy (1991-2024)

Abstract

This article examines the legal evolution and institutional challenges of transitional justice in Colombia from 1991 to 2024, within the broader framework of the State's efforts to build a sustainable peace. Grounded in a theoretical approach that conceives transitional justice as a normative public policy duty, the study critically analyzes the normative fragmentation, weak implementation, and lack of inter-institutional coordination of the transitional justice mechanisms adopted in Colombia. It identifies three key normative phases, describes five structural tensions (centralism, punitive bias, legal dispersion, funding deficits, and socio-economic omission), and proposes a in multilevel governance and territorial inclusion. The article concludes that despite important constitutional and legislative progress, Colombia has yet to consolidate a coherent and sustainable public policy of transitional justice, and its future success depends on broader institutional articulation, social inclusion, and long-term programmatic vision.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52783/rcp.1212