Extraordinary powers of the president of the republic and judicial review: Expansion of the executive's competences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia

Abstract

This article argues that, in order to protect safety and health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the constitutional and legality courts made judicial review more flexible, allowing the expansion and concentration of regulatory powers under the understanding that these measures would be more efficient in controlling the spread of the virus and saving human lives. To prove this argument, it examines the main rulings of judicial review of constitutionality and legality that strengthened the presidential power in Colombia, at the expense of the authority and legislative configuration, as well as the spaces of democratic deliberation, to find there the Sub-rules that prove the prevalence of efficiency criteria over freedoms and the balance of powers. © 2025 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. All rights reserved.