Magistrada LUCY JEANNETTE BERMÚDEZ BERMÚDEZ Magistrada CARLOS ENRIQUE MORENO RUBIO Magistrado

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Monroy Hernandez v. Molano Granados

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the election of a municipal elected official should be nullified and/or her candidacy deemed ineligible on charges of nepotism due to her father holding a government position, which exercised administrative authority, within twelve months of her election even if there is no proof that he used or abused his position to further her candidacy.

Alleged Acts: The plaintiff alleges that the respondent, Karen Lucia Molano Granados, benefited from nepotism and abuse of public power because her father had served as the rector for the Rural Educational Institution of the South in the twelve months before her election as Councilor of Tunja. The plaintiff alleges that the rector position is one with administrative authority, which violates Article 43 of Law 136 of 1994, which prohibits family ties between political and administrative/government officials.

Procedural history: The plaintiff filed a case with the Administrative Court of Boyacá, which ruled that the defendant’s election should be nullified. The defendant appealed to the Council of State.

Summary: The respondent ran for a councilor seat in Tunja municipal elections and was elected. The plaintiff then initiated an action to nullify the respondent’s election, arguing that the respondent’s father exercised administrative authority as rector of the Rural Educational Institution of the South, located in Tunja, in the twelve months before the election. The plaintiff alleged that this action violates the prohibition on familial ties between political officials and administrators under Article 43 of Law 136 of 1994. After the Administrative Court of Boyacá ruled to nullify the election, the respondent appealed, claiming that the Court could not objectively determine whether the respondent’s father was exercising administrative authority. However, when applying an objective standard, the Council of State found that the rector position did exercise administrative authority. The Council of State cited an earlier judgment and Article 10 of Law 715 of 21 December 2001 to show jurisprudence that states that rectors can perform functions such managing personnel, hiring staff, distributing academic assignments, evaluating teachers, and administering the Educational Services Fund. The plaintiff does not have to prove that the rector used his powers to benefit his daughter (respondent), but only that the rector had the assigned powers in the first place.

Conclusion: The Council of State nullified the election of the respondent, Karen Lucia Molano Granados.

Legal Issue(s)

Applicable Law(s): Article 43 of Law 136 of 1994 (modified by Article 40, Paragraph 4 of Law 617 of 2000); Article 190 of Law 136 of 1994; Article 10 of Law 715 of 21 December 2001

Language of Decision

Geolocation

Latitude: 4.696650468084253

Longitude: -74.08323272904165