The terms of the petition right are back to normal

On May 17^th, 2022, the Congress enacted Law 2207 of 2022 to amend Legislative Decree 491 of 2020 (the “Decree”) issued in context of the Sanitary Emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as follows:

1. Article 5 of the Decree has been repealed. Said article modified the terms for attending to petitions -known as petition right – extending them due to the Sanitary Emergency. Consequently, the terms of the petition right return to what was originally established in Article 14 of Law 1437 of 2011 (Administrative and Contentious-Administrative Code):
   • As a general rule, all petitions must be resolved within 15 days of receipt.
   • Petitions for documents and information must be resolved within 10 days of receipt.
   • Petitions for consultation must be resolved within 30 days of receipt.
2. Article 6 of the Decree has been repealed. Said article allowed administrative authorities to suspend the terms of administrative and contentious-administrative procedures based on the circumstances of the service and the Sanitary Emergency. This suspension affected all legal terms, including those established in months or years, and prevented the application of lapse, statute of limitations or finality terms provided for by law.
3. The Law is effective as of the day following its enactment. 

Thus, even though the Sanitary Emergency has not been overcome, as of May 18^th, 2022, the terms of the petition right return to the provisions of the Administrative and Contentious-Administrative Code, and the administrative authorities no longer have the power to suspend the terms of the administrative and contentious-administrative procedures.

Author: Mónica Moreno