State of emergency over coronavirus in Colombia: Between harmonious collaboration and decentralization

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared Coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Importance, further claiming that it transcends geographical boundaries through person-to-person transmission between infected travelers. President Iván Duque faced this contingency, through 12 presidential decrees that he issued days after of the first case of Coronavirus in Colombia. However, the declaration of a state of emergency and the presidential mandates on public order, came into conflict with previously issued departmental and municipal decrees. To settle this conflict, this article is the product of a qualitative investigation that makes a systemic interpretation of the 12 presidential decrees, in order to verify the compliance with the principle of legality of presidential powers and the legal framework of states of emergency. For this purpose, the method of legal hermeneutics was applied with the documentary analysis technique. This investigation evidenced that the presidential decrees promoted the harmonious collaboration between all levels of government (municipal, departmental and national), and concluded that this presidential power has been essential to face the Coronavirus contingency, in the absence of actions by the legislative and judicial.