Early this month the Colombia Constitutional Court declared the law approved last year by which the Pacific Alliance members created a Cooperation Fund unconstitutional.
The Cooperation Fund is the mechanism designed to finance and put in operation all the core cooperation initiates within the Pacific Alliance including: social development, innovation, climate change and environmental action, and SMEs. The Fund is made up from the yearly financial contributions of the members and other contributions by third parties.
The decision was adopted because the Law 1749/2015 did not comply with all the formal procedures required by the Colombian Constitution for its approval by the Congress when it was issued last year.
This means that Colombia will need to start a new process for incorporation of the agreement for a cooperation fund with further delays for the fund to enter into operation which is not foreseen for early 2017.
It is not the first time a situation like this has taken place. If we remember back, the Colombian Constitutional Court declared the law approving the Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance unconstitutional for procedural reasons in 2014.
In the meantime, the Corporation Fund Agreement that was signed in May 2013 is in its final stages of incorporation by the other member states. Peru issued the formal Supreme Decree (N° 073-2015-RE) incorporating the Cooperation Fund Agreement in late 2015, after the congress approval of the agreement. Procedures are also now finished in the Chilean Congress.
sources: www.corteconstitutional.gov.co
www.elperuano.com.pe
www.leychile.cl
Photocredits: Jan Pietruszka/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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