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Search For Viewable PDFs Now Popular searches for View Document PDF Open Yahoo REGISTRADURIA NACIONAL DEL ESTADO CIVIL-Supresión de tarjetas electorales en sistema braille que anteriormente suministraba/PRINCIPIO DE LA CONFIANZA LEGITIMA-Vulneración por supresión de la Registraduría de tarjetas electorales en sistema braille Que la Registraduría lleve aproximadamente diez años suministrándole a los invidentes capacitados en braille las tarjetas electorales en alto relieve, constituye una línea de comportamiento que genera confianza sobre esta población, en que dicha medida sería reiterada y continua, o en su defecto, remplazada por otra más garantista. El programa implementado durante casi una década por la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil ciertamente constituyó un progreso en la protección de sus derechos al voto y a la igualdad. Por consiguiente, como quiera que el ejercicio secreto y autónomo del voto que con anterioridad les era garantizado, se vio bruscamente desprotegido con la reciente decisión de la Registraduría de no continuar utilizando tarjetas electorales en alto relieve, la confianza de quienes se beneficiaron con la medida fue vulnerada. Referencia: expediente T-614961 Accionante: Carlos Parra Dussan Demandado: Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil y Consejo Nacional Electoral Magistrado Ponente: Dr. RODRIGO ESCOBAR GIL Bogotá, D. C., once (11) de junio de dos mil tres (2003). La Sala Quinta de Revisión de la Corte Constitucional, integrada por los Magistrados Rodrigo Escobar Gil – presidente -, Marco Gerardo Monroy Cabra y Eduardo Montealegre Lynett, en ejercicio de sus competencias constitucionales y legales, ha pronunciado la siguiente SENTENCIA en el proceso de revisión de los fallos adoptados por el Juzgado Dieciséis (16) Penal del Circuito, en primera instancia, y el Tribunal Superior del Distrito Judicial de Bogotá - Sala Penal -, en segunda instancia, dentro de la acción de tutela instaurada por Carlos Parra Dussan, contra la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil y el Consejo Nacional Electoral. I. ANTECEDENTES 1. La solicitud El actor, invidente que conoce el alfabeto braille, considera vulnerados sus derechos fundamentales a la igualdad, libertad de expresión y participación política, con la decisión de la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil y del Consejo Nacional Electoral de no expedir tarjetones electorales en dicho sistema. Por consiguiente, solicita que se ordene a las entidades demandadas que transcriban al sistema braille los tarjetas electorales para la elección de Presidente y de Congreso, ubicándolos en las mesas de votación donde estén inscritas personas con limitación visual. 2. Hechos 2.1 Manifiesta el demandante que es discapacitado visual, por lo cual no está en condiciones de ejercer su derecho al voto a través de las tarjetas electorales regulares que expide la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil. 2.2 Señala que, a pesar de su limitación, puede leer un texto si se encuentra transcrito al sistema braille.

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Sentencia T-487/03

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the failure of the Registraduría to provide Braille electoral ballots to visually impaired voters violated their fundamental rights to political participation (Article 40 of the Constitution), equality (Article 13), and human dignity (Article 1) — and whether the provision of Braille ballots is a constitutionally mandated necessary consequence of the state's obligation to promote real and effective equality (igualdad real) for persons with disabilities.

Alleged Acts: Carlos Parra Dussan, a visually impaired Colombian citizen, filed an acción de tutela (writ of constitutional protection) against the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil (National Civil Registry), the government entity responsible for administering elections in Colombia. Parra Dussan challenged the absence of Braille electoral ballots, which prevented him and other visually impaired citizens from exercising their right to vote autonomously and in secret. Without Braille ballots, blind voters were forced to rely on a companion to mark their ballot for them, compromising the confidentiality and independence of their vote. The plaintiff argued that this situation violated his fundamental rights to political participation, equality, and human dignity. This was the second time the Constitutional Court addressed the issue of Braille voting — the first being Sentencia T-473/03, which was shortly followed by T-487/03 as a reiteration and reinforcement of the same principles.

Procedural history: Parra Dussan filed the tutela directly against the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil, seeking protection of his fundamental rights to vote autonomously and in secret.

Summary: Sentencia T-487/03 is a landmark Colombian Constitutional Court decision that established Braille electoral ballots as a constitutionally mandated measure to ensure that visually impaired citizens can exercise their fundamental right to vote autonomously and in secret. The Court held that the absence of Braille ballots violated the rights to political participation (Article 40), equality (Article 13), and human dignity (Article 1) of blind voters. The ruling was brought by Carlos Parra Dussan, a blind activist who later became president of the National Institute for the Blind (INCI), and it served as a reiteration and strengthening of the Court's earlier ruling in T-473/03. The decision ordered the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil to implement Braille voting cards and to allow persons with disabilities to be accompanied by a trusted person in the voting booth. This ruling was historically significant because it paved the way for the first use of Braille ballots in a Colombian presidential election, fulfilling a decades-long struggle by disability rights advocates to make the electoral process fully accessible.

Conclusion: The Constitutional Court granted the tutela (granted constitutional protection) and reaffirmed that Braille electoral ballots are a necessary consequence of the constitutional obligation to promote real equality for persons with visual disabilities. The Court ordered the Registraduría to ensure the availability of Braille electoral cards. The Court held that providing Braille ballots is not a mere discretionary accommodation but a constitutional obligation flowing from the state's duty under Article 13 to promote real and effective equality. The Court emphasized that a blind person's ability to understand and use the Braille system directly affects their ability to exercise their vote without undue interference ("sin injerencias extrañas e indebidas a la luz de la Constitución"). The inability to vote without a companion reading the ballot for them compromised both the autonomy and the secrecy of the vote — two essential elements of democratic participation. The Court also reaffirmed the right of persons with disabilities to enter the voting booth accompanied by a trusted person of their choice, as a complementary measure to ensure accessibility.

Legal Issue(s)

Accessibility
Voters' Rights

Applicable Law(s): Colombian Constitution, Acto Legislativo No. 2 of 2003, and Law 361 of 1997.

Region: Americas

Country: Colombia

Language of Decision

Spanish

Court: Constitutional Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Jun 11, 2003

Geolocation

Latitude: 4.599

Longitude: -74.0755

: Geolocation

Link: https://juristeca.com/co/corte-constitucional-de-colombia/sentencias-y-autos/2003/6/sentencia-t-487-03

Primary Documents

Sentencia T48703.pdf
English
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Sentencia T-487/03

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