Ninety percent of court cases in Colombia were suspended after judges and court workers went on strike to protest for better wages and a bigger budget to be allotted to the judicial branch.
Luis Fernando, president of the judicial branch syndicate, Asonal, said that, “
The result has been a halt in 90% of the country’s judicial hearings. According to newspaper El Espectador, Fernando also claimed that judges would only attend to the most urgent hearings.
The indefinite halt of hearings in all judicial offices in Colombia was decided by a vote.
The Colombian government earlier attempted to reform the judicial branch, but stumbled upon fierce criticism by judicial workers and human rights groups who said the bill would not solve the ongoing problems in the country’s clogged justice system. President Juan Manuel Santos was ultimately forced to reject the bill after congress altered the proposal and the final draft would grant excessive judicial benefits to members of Congress.