The Retraction in the acceptance of unilateral liability. The Colombian case based on case law.

Abstract

The jurisprudence of the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice since the dawn of Law 906 of 2004 has revealed serious problems regarding the retraction of unilateral acceptance of responsibility -also known as pure and simple acceptance of responsibility-. This article, which is based on the historiography of current jurisprudence and specialized doctrine, presents a review of the normative and jurisprudential gaps on the subject and concludes on the possibility of retraction. It seeks to determine whether it is possible, in light of the Colombian regulatory context, the feasibility of accepting the retraction in the interregnum that goes from the indictment hearing to the indictment hearing. The dominant thesis of ordinary criminal jurisprudence denies this possibility; we believe that this position is erroneous, as will be seen below.