Administrative morality in Colombia

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes a cause of action created by the Colombian constitutional reform of 1991: administrative morality. This cause of action was created with the purpose of facilitating citizen engagement in governmental administration by allowing ordinary people to file a lawsuit to challenge governmental corruption. This constitutional reform fostered high hopes of law-inspired social change. The Constitution of 1991 did not define administrative morality and there has been no study of its meaning or effect. This dissertation addresses two questions: what is administrative morality? And what has been the impact of this cause of action on governmental administration? Drawing on governmental and legislative documents, court cases, journalistic articles, and interviews with key actors, the dissertation demonstrates that administrative morality has only partially met its framers' aspirations. The Colombian legislature adopted enabling legislation that provided a financial incentive to file lawsuits on administrative morality but then revised the law to reduce this incentive. The Colombian Council of State (the supreme court for administrative matters) has generally ruled against plaintiffs and with governmental defendants. Key agencies of public administration have developed no common interpretation of administrative morality and do not provide policy guidance, training, or oversight in order to comply with the norm. Media coverage initially fostered hope that the new norm would bring significant reforms, but as time passed the media have become less hopeful. Still, the dissertation also suggests that administrative morality has encouraged people to develop higher expectations of governmental performance.