La caducidad en acción de grupo

Abstract

In class actions, did the two year statute of limitations apply (Article 47, Law 472/98) for those who sought to become class members before the presentation of evidence as well as for those filing to be beneficiaries? In the class suit Banco de la República (central bank) V.S. Jaramillo, an Administrative Court, gave a narrow construction of preclusion to Art. 55, instead of the double preclusion stipulated in both articles 47 and 55, not permitting filing to become part in the class of an existing class suit after the statute of limitations had expired. This writing seeks to analyze the actions of the courts in the context of a comparative study of class actions in the Colombian legal system and making a critical analysis of the implications that carry the use of individual civil claims into realm of class litigation. Jurisprudence from the High Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court will be examined and a timeline of how the courts established that segments of Article 55 were unconstitutional and inexecutable (contradictory to the legal system) and how the courts ultimately eliminated part of Article 55 from the legal order which restricted becoming part of the class or even becoming a beneficiary by not tolling the statute of limitations.