More debate over the Colombian military justice bill

Dr. Fernando Borda Castilla

The Colombian military justice bill continues to spark heated debate. Here is a recent op-ed in El Heraldo by Dean Fernando Borda Castilla of the Autonomous University of the Caribbean. While the bill makes clear that certain serious offenses by military offenses must be tried in the civilian courts, it does not do so for so-called "false positives" and provides a year for negotiations between civilian and military authorities to decide which cases belong in the civilian courts and which belong in military courts. Some opponents view the current bill as the practical abolition of military justice. Others point to its effort to render the system independent of command through tenure in office and protected salary.