Amicus Brief in Favour of Brisa Before the Supreme Court of Colombia

The amicus brief argues that the Criminal Chamber’s refusal to extradite Brisa’s aggressor, without considering the international standards that require incorporating the entire body of jurisprudence on sexual crimes against women and girls into its constitutional framework, undermines the principle of Conventionality Compliance Control.

The Colombian Political Constitution has already integrated the control of conventionality, which establishes the preferential application and interpretation of the most favorable international instruments over domestic legislation, in accordance with the principle of favourableness. This means that the norms that are more favorable to the rights of the victims must be applied, so as not to limit the access to justice of women and girls and perpetuate the impunity of aggressors.

The amicus brief draws on relevant jurisprudence from the universal human rights system and specifically from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Of particular importance is the ruling in the case of Brisa de Angulo Losada vs. Bolivia, where the Bolivian State was found guilty of violating the principle of due diligence through institutional violence that subjected Brisa to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, causing her to be revictimized throughout the judicial process.

We would like to thank FUBE for its contributions to the amicus curiae.