Jurisdiction limits of Inherent Right Indigenous Governments

Flor María Erazo Leon (unofficial agent of Emiro José Gómez Padilla y Alfonso Enrique Barros Atehortúa) v. La Laguna Indigenous Authority

Date:  05/17/2019

Judge-Rapporteur:  Carlos Libardo Bernal Pulido

Concurrence:  Diana Constanza Fajardo Rivera

Facts.  The plaintiffs trespassed the tribal land and allegedly threatened with a gun the indigenous governor and the treasurer to steal the community´s money.   They were captured by members of the aboriginal group and prosecuted and convicted according to native traditional uses and customs.  The petitioners claimed that the indigenous government does not have jurisdiction over them since they do not belong to that ethnic community. Therefore, the whole process, in their opinion, infringed their fundamental rights to a fair trial.

Issue: Do indigenous authorities have jurisdiction over non-members of their ethnicity?

Ruling and reasoning.  No.  To reach this decision the Court elaborated on the concept of “natural judge”, that imposes that every person has the right to stand trial only before the appropriate judge as established by the Constitution and the law.  In view of the fact that the claimants were not member of this ancestral community or its ethnic group, no jurisdiction can be exercised over them by these authorities.

As a result, the requested protection is GRANTED and the judicial actions carried out by the defendant authorities were left without effect.  The Forum also ordered the native authorities to submit to the Local Prosecutor's Office of Caldono, Cauca, a full copy of the records of all actions taken in the case.