vol. 14 núm. 15 (2012)

This research focuses in studying whether there actually is a concept of tax in Colombia, since the current laws do not employ adequate techniques to give positive norms coherence so that they maintain a certain harmony to constitutionally define taxes. Jurisprudence thus defines and gives an interpretation of this concept that is consistent within our legal framework, since law has defined the concept of tax by means of inconsistent expressions and with many voids, or when the use of said expressions is fragile within the text of the law.

Parafiscality is an important, current topic in the study of Public Finance and Tax Law worldwide. Colombia is no stranger to this situation; it is thus necessary to determine the treatment that this institution has had in our Constitutional Jurisprudence since the Constitution of 1991.

This paper intends to outline the social criteria to be taken into account for the selection of the emplacement for the new site of final disposal of solid waste in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga. We begin with a characterization of the existing reality, which entails the urgent need to carry out the proper selection of a new site for the location of the landfill, hand in hand with the community, in order to improve on the work currently undertaken by diverse actors engaged in such activity.

This article shows a careful jurisprudential analysis of the statements of the State Council, as the highest court of administrative litigation, dealing with the notion, extent, and scope of the application of special damages as the security allocation of state responsibility. The paper expresses how special damages, beyond integrating a security allocation for the strict liability system, are the very base of the system since the elements that integrate them are present in other security allocations for strict liability, which challenges its independence.

The research carried out on child abuse in the district of Ciudad Porfia of Villavicencio, Meta, with a group of underage children from the Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento School, showed the presence of physical and psychological abuse, consisting in pinches, whipping with belts, lassos or other objects, as well as yelling and permanent scolding with strong swearwords among other kinds of abuse. The study showed the confusion that exists among the notions of correction and abuse among fathers with regard to their children. We undertook conscience building training on the psychological consequences of child abuse on the human being, and on the criminal sanctions that this mistreatment implies.

The main characteristic that differentiates social or second-generation rights is that they force the state to provide services like health, education, housing, or social security. As a historical category among fundamental rights, these rights have had an important constitutional development in many legal systems, including the Colombian system. The problem of justice concerning these rights has led the Colombian government to enact a constitutional reform that established the principle of financial sustainability, whose originality has led to many questions on its applicability and constitutionality.

This discussion paper has two purposes: first, to present the individual as the center of the social phenomenon and as an entity of foremost importance, due to his uniqueness; second, and as a consequence of the former, to propose social security as the most important institution for the fostering and protection of the individual, thanks to its origins and actuality.

This paper is the first product of a research project that has as its broader goal to study “The scope and effect of arbitration proceedings since the Constitution of 1991 from jurisprudence and doctrine”. To achieve this goal we have to develop three specific objectives: to know the definition of arbitration and the scope of its competence; to know the grounds for annulment of arbitration decisions; and finally, to present and understand how affirmative action can proceed, opposing the arbiter decision when there are mistakes that he may have made when issuing it.

A pesar de sus peculiaridades con respecto a los sistemas administrativos nacionales, resulta muy difícil cuestionar en nuestros días tanto la existencia de un Derecho Administrativo Global, como su trascendente impacto en los ordenamientos administrativos nacionales. Uno de los ámbitos que mejor refleja en la actualidad el proceso de formación, desarrollo y consolidación de este Derecho Administrativo Global es, sin duda alguna, el de la contratación pública. Hasta tal punto ha llegado esta evolución, que se puede concluir con firmeza que es un sector paradigmático en la consolidación del Derecho Administrativo Global. En efecto, en los últimos años los contratos públicos han sido objeto tanto de importante legislación y acuerdos internacionales —de jurisprudencia de órganos con jurisdicción internacional que han fijado principios generales— como de actuaciones administrativas, entre otras, de solución de controversias entre Estados u otras partes en disputa. En este sentido, se puede destacar el Acuerdo Mundial sobre Contratación Pública de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, la Ley Modelo de Naciones Unidas sobre Compras Públicas de Bienes, Servicios y Obras, las normas en la materia del Banco Mundial y la ocde,4 o el muy desarrollado Derecho de la Unión Europea de la contratación pública, integrado por normas de Derecho originario (Tratado de la Comunidad Europea) y derivado (directivas sobre contratos públicos), y por una jurisprudencia del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea que ha construido unos principios generales que dotan de unidad a todo el sistema administrativo de contratación.

We aimed to ref lect, by means of surveys and interviews, both the conf licts of, and the mechanisms employed by, the displaced communities of Quibdó, as well as their socioeconomic characterization. The results allow us to propose alternative mechanisms for conf lict resolution that may foster a peaceful cohabitation in this depressed zone of the country.