CHAPTER IX
Right to reparation for the victims
Article 42. General duty to make reparation. The members of the armed groups who benefit from the provisions of this law are under a duty to make reparation to the victims of said criminal conduct for which they were convicted by judicial verdict.
In addition, when the perpetrator is not identified, but the harm and causal nexus with the activities of the Illegal Armed Group Beneficiary of the provisions of this law are proven, the Court, directly or by referral to the Prosecutorial Unit, shall order reparations, to be paid from the Fund for Reparations.
Article 43. Reparation. The Superior Judicial District Court, on proffering its verdict, shall order reparation for the victims and shall set the pertinent measures.
Article 44. Acts of reparation. The reparation for the victims addressed in this law entails
the duties of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and satisfaction.
To have a right to enjoy the benefit of release on probation, the convicted person must provide to the Fund for the Reparation of Victims the assets, if he or she has any, earmarked for that purpose; satisfactorily undertake the actions of reparation that have been imposed on him or her; collaborate with the National Committee for Reparation and Reconciliation, or sign an agreement with the Superior Judicial District Court that ensures the performance of his or her duties of reparation.
The following are acts of comprehensive reparation:
44.1 Surrendering to the State illegally obtained assets for making reparation to the victims.
44.2 A public statement that reestablishes the dignity of the victim and of the persons closest to him or her.
44.3 Public recognition of having caused harm to the victims, the public statement of repentance, the request for forgiveness directed to the victims, and the promise not to repeat such criminal conduct.
44.4 Effective collaboration in locating persons kidnapped or disappeared and in locating the victims’ remains.
44.5 The search for the disappeared and for the remains of dead persons, and help in identifying them and burying them again, in keeping with family and community traditions.
Article 45. Request for reparation. The victims of the illegal armed groups may obtain reparation by petitioning the Superior Judicial District Court in relation to the facts of which they have knowledge.
No one may receive reparation twice for the same harm.
Article 46. Restitution. Restitution implies undertaking acts that aim to return the victim to the situation prior to the violation of his or her rights. It includes releasing the person if deprived of liberty, return to one’s place of residence, and the return of his or her property, if possible.
Article 47. Rehabilitation. Rehabilitation should include medical and psychological care for the victims or their relatives within the first degree of consanguinity in keeping with the Budget of the Fund for the Reparation of Victims.
The social services provided by the government to the victims, in keeping with the provisions and laws in force, are part of reparation and rehabilitation.
Article 48. Measures of satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The measures of satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition adopted by the various authorities directly involved in the process of national reconciliation should include:
48.1 Verification of the facts and the public and complete dissemination of the judicial truth, to the extent that it will not provoke more unnecessary harm to the victim, witnesses, or other persons, or create a danger to security.
48.2 The search for persons who were disappeared or killed, and assistance in identifying them and burying them anew in keeping with family and community traditions. This task is mainly entrusted to the National Prosecutorial Unit for Justice and Peace.
48.3 The judicial decision that reestablishes the dignity, reputation, and rights of the victim, and those of the victim’s relatives within the first degree of consanguinity.
48.4 The apology, which includes public recognition of the facts and acceptance of responsibilities.
48.5 The application of sanctions to those responsible for the violations, all of which will be entrusted to the judicial organs that are involved in the proceedings addressed in this law.
48.6 The competent chamber of the Superior Judicial District Court may order commemorations, tributes, and acts of recognition of the victims of the illegal armed groups. In addition, the National Commission on Reconciliation and Reparations may recommend to the political or government bodies at the various levels that they adopt such measures.
48.7 Preventing human rights violations.
48.8 Attendance by the persons responsible for violations at training courses on human rights. This measure may be imposed on the convicted persons by the competent chamber of the Superior Judicial District Court.
Article 49. Programs for Collective Reparations. The Government, following the recommendations of the National Commission on Reconciliation and Reparations, should implement an institutional program of collective reparations that includes actions directly aimed at recovering the institutional framework intrinsic to the Social State under the Rule of Law, particularly in the areas hardest hit by the violence; to recover and promote the rights of the citizens negatively affected by the acts of violence, and to recognize and dignify the victims of the violence.
Article 50. National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation. The National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation is hereby established, made up of the Vice-President of the Republic or his delegate, who shall chair its sessions; the Procurator General or his delegate; the Minister of Interior and Justice or his delegate; the Minister of Finance or his delegate; the Human Rights Ombudsperson, two Representatives of Victims’ Organizations, and the Director of the Social Solidarity Network, which shall serve as the Technical Secretariat.
The President of the Republic shall designate five notables to serve as members of this Commission; of least two of them must be women.
This Commission shall have a duration of eight years.
Article 51. Functions of the National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation. The National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation shall perform the following functions:
51.1 Guaranteeing the victims their participation in proceedings for judicial clarification and the realization of their rights.
51.2 Submitting a public report on the reasons for the rise and development of the illegal armed groups.
51.3 Monitoring and verifying the processes of reincorporation, and the work of the local authorities to ensure the full demobilization of the members of illegal armed groups, and the proper functioning of the institutions in those territories. For those purposes, the National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation may invite the participation of foreign entities and notables.
51.4 Monitoring and periodically evaluating the reparations provided for in this law, and making recommendations to ensure they are made properly.
51.5 Submitting, within two years of the date of the entry into force of this law, to the National Government and the Committees on Peace of the Senate and the House of Representatives, a report on the process of making reparation to the victims of the illegal armed groups.
51.6 Recommending the criteria for reparations addressed by this law, charged to the
Fund for the Reparation of Victims.
51.7 Coordinating the activity of the Regional Commissions for the Restitution of
Assets.
51.8 Carrying out national actions of reconciliation that seek to impede the recurrence of new acts of violence that disturb the national peace.
51.9 Adopting its own rules.
Article 52. Regional commissions for the restitution of assets. The regional commissions shall be responsible for giving impetus to the procedures related to claims over property and possession of goods in the framework of the process established in this law.
Article 53. Composition. The Regional Commissions shall be made up of one (1) representative of the National Commission on Reparation and Reconciliation, who shall chair it; one delegate of the Procurator General’s Judicial Office for Justice and Peace; one (1) delegate of the Office of the Municipal or District Ombudsperson (personería); one (1) delegate of the Human Rights Ombudsperson (Defensoría del Pueblo); and one delegate of the Ministry of Interior and Justice.
The National Government shall have the authority to designate a representative of the religious communities and shall determine the functioning and territorial distribution of the commissions based on the needs of the process.
Article 54. Fund for the Reparation of Victims. The Fund for the Reparation of Victims is hereby created as a special account without juridical personality whose controller of expenditure shall be the Director of the Social Solidarity Network. The resources of the Fund shall be executed in keeping with the rules of private law.
The Fund shall be made up of all the assets or resources that under any guise may be surrendered by the persons or illegal armed groups to which this law refers, resources from the national budget, and donations in cash and in kind, both national and foreign.
The resources administered by this Fund shall be under the oversight of the Office of the Comptroller-General of the Republic.
Paragraph. The assets to which reference is made in Articles 10 and 11 shall be surrendered directly to the Fund for the Reparation of Victims created by this law. The same procedure shall be observed with respect to the assets linked to criminal investigations and forfeiture proceedings in course at the time of the demobilization, as long as the conduct was carried out on occasion of their membership in the illegal armed group and before the entry into force of this law.
The Government shall regulate the functioning of this Fund and, in particular, everything concerning the claims for and surrender of assets with respect to good-faith third party holders.
Article 55. Functions of the Social Solidarity Network. The Social Solidarity Network, through the Fund addressed in this law, shall be in charge, in keeping with the budget allocated to the Fund, of the following functions:
55.1 Liquidating and paying the judicial compensation addressed in this law within the limits authorized in the national budget.
55.2 Administering the Fund for the Reparation of Victims.
55.3 Undertaking other actions for reparation, when appropriate.
55.4 All others indicated in the regulations.
Victims' rights
Reparations to victims - ICC proceedings
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