Colombia’s courts, Congress and national government agreed Wednesday to push through the draft of the Justice Reform.
Jusdicial reform has been one of the priorities on the legislative agenda for the government of President Santos. According to the government, it seeks to harmonize the goals and actions of the various public powers.
However, the judicial branch has been highly critical of the reform, fearing it would be stripped of powers.
Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos stressed the importance of the agreement reached by the three branches of government, saying that the move was “an important step that strengthens our democracy.”
“I greatly welcome this step, you all, the whole country, know that I have been a great defender of the need for harmony between the public powers and the need to work together with the same goals,” said the president Wednesday.
The agreement comes after a year of deliberation amongst the government and authorities in which they have discussed and evaluated the content of the reform.
The president of the Supreme Court, Camilo Humberto Tarquino, said of the move, “there has finally been a settlement in support of this project, so that this reform will be able to strengthen justice, and of course, in favor of the citizens that support justice.”