Alfonso López and the last Supreme Court of the conservative hegemony, 1934-1935

Abstract

This paper deals with the strategic behavior of a Supreme Court dominated by an overwhelming majority of conservative justices, which in the very beginning of the new liberal government seemed to be collaborative with the executive branch, on 1934. It rebuilds the judicial review of a tax reform imposed by decree of siege by the liberal government, that the Court declared unconstitutional in 1935, in a decision that increased the perception that the tribunal was influenced by partisan interests. Finally, it provides a joint analysis of the political role of the Court at this juncture of the Colombian political regime. This analysis seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the judicial review of Colombia and the role played by the Supreme Court as constitutional judge, -and therefore an actor of the political regime-, in a historical perspective, in this case during the transition from the Conservative Hegemony to the Second Liberal Republic that was consolidated with the government of the Revolucion en Marcha”.