Towards procedural sustainability

Abstract

This article refers to the impact of Sustainable Development on the Law and the judicial system, starting from the premise that sustainability is a principle that radiates from Procedural Law, with procedure and sustainability being transversal to the other branches of Law, which leads to what has been called "Procedural Sustainability".

After commenting on the basic postulates of Procedural Law and the management that has been given to Sustainable Development Goal No. 16 (Peace, Justice and Institutional Soundness), an absence of the administration of justice in the inclusion of sustainability in Colombia is evident, regarding 3 key fronts: i) judicialization of environmental conflicts; ii) the incorporation of sustainability in the Judicial Branch; and, iii) the transversality in the different specialties; among them, Procedural Law as a cornerstone on which the others are founded for the materialization of the substantial.

Having said the above, it becomes evident that the process itself must be sustainable, in order to provide legal certainty to the parties in the different procedural stages, as well as to ensure that it is carried out in an adequate manner, without neglecting the impacts that the decisions taken may have on the social, environmental and economic aspects. Finally, some opportunities for improvement to be considered in the incorporation of Sustainable Development in the administration of justice are presented.