Judicial corruption and systemic criminal policy: analysis of the case law of the supreme court of justice of colombia regarding two emblematic cases: the toga cartel and the hemophilia cartel

Abstract

Judicial corruption is understood as any conduct that a lawyer, judicial official or employee carries out, using their powers, to influence or affect the impartiality of a judicial process or the functions they perform, in order to achieve an illegitimate benefit for themselves or another person. Additionally, it is generally accepted that judicial corruption constitutes a threat to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia (SCJ) in different rulings has judged various cases of judicial corruption, in which judges, prosecutors and lawyers participated in the manipulation of the distribution of processes, received money with the purpose of diverting criminal investigations and issued judicial decisions favorable to private interests, but contrary to the law. This document, based on the examination of these provisions of the Criminal Cassation Chamber and the Special Investigation Chamber of the high court, aims to show the modus operandi of the organizations or individuals who incurred such conduct and analyze the legal discussions that arose from the judgment of the same. This analysis is part of the study of systemic criminal policy, since judicial corruption is a phenomenon that goes beyond the strictly legal, since in order to understand it, it is necessary to take into account its actors, context and forms of mitigation.