The Constitutional Court of Colombia is asked to declare the unconstitutionality of articles 19 and 20 of the Law 23/1973 and the complete Law-Decree 2811/1974 Code of Renewable Natural Resources and Protection of the Environment.

Regarding to the Law-Decree 2811/1974, the plaintiffs argue that the Enabling Law, contained in articles 19 and 20 of the Law 23/1973, is imprecise. They also claim that, while issuing the Law-Decree, the Government exceeded its faculties. In second place, they argue that most of the articles of the Code only regulate the access to natural resources but do not effectively protect rights related to health and physical integrity. Finally, they argue that the norms that authorize the concession contract on natural resources transfer the duty to conserve natural resources from the Government to a private entity. 

The Court does not accept to the request and states, in first place, that the Law 23/1973 conferred sufficient and precise faculties to the Government. In second place, the Law-Decree 2811/1974 regulates the equalitarian access to natural resources and does not affect the constitutional principles related to the protection of the environment. Finally, the concession of contract does not imply a transfer of the duty to protect natural resources because governmental authorities are still responsible for the supervision of the concessionaries.