Ley 1407 de 2010

This provision identifies Law 1407 of 2010, which issues the Military Penal Code in Colombia, and shows the start of its general part and scope of application section.

Military courts handle crimes committed by active-duty members of the Public Force when the crimes relate to service, and those courts are made up of active or retired Public Force members.

This article defines service-related crimes as offences committed by active-duty members of the Public Force, in or outside Colombia, when the conduct directly comes from their military or police function.

Ciertos delitos graves no pueden considerarse relacionados con el servicio.

The Public Force is made up only of the Military Forces and the National Police.

Civilians may not be investigated or tried by military criminal justice.

Military criminal law is based on respect for human dignity.

A member of the Fuerza Pública may not be processed, tried, or convicted except under preexisting laws, before the competent judge or tribunal, and with the full procedural forms required by the trial.

In criminal matters, a more permissive or favorable law applies over a stricter or unfavorable one, even if the favorable law is later.

Analogy applies only in permissive matters.

La ley penal militar se aplica a los miembros de la Fuerza Pública, y el funcionario judicial debe darles especial consideración al valorar el delito y sus consecuencias jurídicas.

No se puede imputar más de una vez la misma conducta punible a una persona, salvo lo previsto en los instrumentos internacionales.

Penalties in military criminal law are meant to prevent crime and support social reintegration, and security measures are meant to protect, cure, safeguard, and rehabilitate; both must follow necessity, proportionality, and reasonableness.

Los miembros en servicio activo de la Fuerza Pública solo pueden ser juzgados por jueces y tribunales establecidos en este Código y creados antes del hecho.

If a matter is not expressly regulated in this Code, the rules of the criminal, civil, and procedural codes and other legal orders apply as long as they do not conflict with the nature of this Code; human-rights norms in the Constitution and ratified international treaties and conventions are part of this Code.

A conduct is punishable only if it is typical, unlawful, and culpable; causation alone is not enough.

La ley penal debe definir de forma clara e inequívoca las características básicas del tipo penal.

A typical conduct is punishable only if it harms or effectively endangers the legally protected good, without just cause.

Solo se pueden imponer penas por conductas realizadas con culpabilidad; se elimina la responsabilidad objetiva.

Las normas rectoras de este Código son la base del sistema penal y prevalecen sobre las demás normas para orientar su interpretación.

Los delitos cometidos por los miembros de la Fuerza Pública son los previstos en este Código, en el Código Penal común y en las normas que los adicionen o complementen.

Crimes committed by members of the Public Force may be carried out by action or by omission.

A punishable act is treated as occurring when it is carried out, or when an omitted action should have been done.

This provision says conduct may be intentional, negligent, or preterintentional, and negligent or preterintentional conduct is punishable only when the law expressly says so.

La norma define cuándo una conducta es dolosa: cuando la persona conoce los hechos de la infracción penal y quiere su realización, o cuando prevé la infracción como probable y deja su no producción al azar.

A conduct is negligent when the harmful result comes from breaching the objective duty of care and the person should have foreseen it, or foresaw it but trusted they could avoid it.

A conduct is preterintencional when its foreseeable result goes beyond the agent’s intent.

A member of the Fuerza Pública may be liable for a punishable omission when they had the legal duty and practical ability to prevent a typical result but did not do so.

Attempted commission of an offence is punished with a reduced penalty.

This article says that authors and participants are involved in the commission of a punishable act.

An author is a person who carries out the punishable conduct directly or through another person as an instrument; coauthors act under a common agreement and share the criminal work, and the author is punished as provided for that offense.

El artículo identifica como partícipes al determinador y al cómplice, y fija reducciones o la pena prevista según el tipo de participación.

Si una persona comete varias infracciones penales con una sola o varias acciones u omisiones, se aplica la pena más grave, aumentada hasta otro tanto, con un tope de 60 años de prisión.

No hay responsabilidad penal en los casos listados, como fuerza mayor, consentimiento válido, cumplimiento de un deber legal, orden legítima, ejercicio legítimo de un derecho, defensa necesaria, coacción ajena, miedo insuperable y ciertos errores invencibles.

Define quién es inimputable: la persona que, al cometer la conducta típica y antijurídica, no puede comprender su ilicitud o actuar conforme a esa comprensión por inmadurez sicológica o trastorno mental.

Si el agente preordena su trastorno mental, no se le considerará inimputable.

Los imputables están sujetos a penas principales de prisión y multa.

Este artículo enumera varias penas accesorias que pueden aplicarse cuando no estén establecidas como principales.

Toda pena debe imponerse por sentencia judicial, y el juez debe enviar copia de esa sentencia al Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y a la oficina de personal de la Fuerza correspondiente.

This article sets maximum penalty durations and amounts for several sanctions, including prison, fines, house restriction, and other disqualifications or prohibitions.

Imprisonment means deprivation of personal liberty and must be served in a military or police prison establishment, as provided by law.

A convicted person must pay the fine by judicial deposit, usually through Banco Agrario or another entity designated by the National Government, in an amount set by the judgment.

El Juez Penal Militar de Ejecución de Penas puede dar plazo para pagar la multa o permitir el pago en cuotas, por hasta tres años y con caución.

A convicted person may be allowed to reduce a fine by doing unpaid work chosen by them and done for public forces, public administration, or the community.