T-385/19
There is no penalty for a citizen not carrying his ID
Sebastian Correa Montoya v. Cristian Murillo Garay & others
Date: 08/21/2019
Judge-Rapporteur: José Fernando Reyes Cuartas
Facts. The plaintiff was asked by a police officer his ID at a Medellín Metro station. He did not have it with him and claimed that he had forgotten it at home. He offered to show a scanned picture on his mobile or, after being escorted to his home, show the officer the document.
The officer did not agree and took him into a patrol car to a police station (CAI). A police proceedings was initiated against him which ended in a fine and a corrective pedagogical course. The petitioner was accused of “preventing, hindering, or resisting the identification police procedure”, as per Article 35 of the National Police Code. He refused to sign the written records alleging that the offense did not correlated with what really happened. After he appealed, the sanction was confirmed by the superior inspector.
Issue: Does a person have to carry his/her ID at all times under penalty of a fine and a corrective pedagogical procedure?
Ruling and reasoning. No. The court affirmed that the police due process demands that an offense has to be clearly described in the law to be considered such. The non-portability of the ID, although carrying it is a citizen duty, does not conform any misdemeanor. Besides, he was not previously informed of the procedure that was going to be followed against him, which prevented him of properly exercise his right to defense.
As a result, the Court GRANTED the protection.
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