TheJudiciary and Policies in Colombia: An Analysis of the Constitutional Court’s Control in Health Issues with theJudgment T-760 of 2008

Abstract

This research aims to describe the process of judicial control exercised by the Constitutional Court in public health policy in Colombia, review its foundations and investigate its immediate effects in this policy. We develop this research from the framework of judicialization of politics,the parameters of qualitative research, the technique of content analysis and instruments like in-depth interview and content sheets. The results show that: i) judicial control raises political-institutional changes and arrangements to reduce the power of governments in formulation and implementation of policies; ii) the intervention of the Court is based on the guarantee of satisfaction of rights in the design, construction, development and evaluation of public policies and the assurance of democracy; and iii) the effects of the Constitutional Court actions are the redefinition of the rules of the game in the dynamics of formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policies.