Extradition Lawyer in Bogota: Corte Suprema de Justicia and the Local Procedure

Which Bogotá institution does what?

Three different tracks are easily confused: airport or police contact, deprivation of liberty, and assessment of the request by the Court. The actual decision-making chain is centralised, even if a person was stopped elsewhere in Colombia. The Penal Chamber has nine magistrates, and its published responsibilities expressly include giving extradition opinions. Its Secretariat manages registrations, notifications, hearing listings, communications and custody of case files. This makes the Secretariat a practical point for a properly authorised lawyer to confirm a case number and procedural stage, not a substitute for obtaining case access through counsel.

The Penal Chamber’s published remit also includes deciding habeas corpus appeals when it is the competent superior; that appellate function must not be confused with the extradition opinion.

The older wording “Ministry of the Interior and Justice” remains visible in the text of Law 906 of 2004. It should not be mistaken for the current institution: the Ministry of Justice and Law publishes a dedicated extraditions group. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acts as the diplomatic channel; it does not issue the Supreme Court's opinion. For the broader sequence, see extradition from Colombia.

What happens after an alert at El Dorado?

Migración Colombia identifies Bogotá's El Dorado as an authorised international air immigration checkpoint. At the airport, write down the precise time and place of the stop, the uniformed service or agency involved, and any document number provided. An immigration interview, an INTERPOL notification, a Colombian capture order and a formally received extradition request are not interchangeable. DIJIN coordinates with INTERPOL, but the extradition capture power described in Article 509 of Law 906 belongs to the Fiscal General de la Nación under the stated statutory conditions.

Ask for the written legal basis of the restraint and whether the individual is being held under an extradition order or some other process. A relative should not infer from an online Red Notice alone that a court has approved extradition. If the person is a foreign national, counsel can also arrange a consular-notification request where applicable and preserve the person's wishes about communication with their consulate. Keep scanned copies of passports, boarding passes, residence documents and contact details secure.

The first 72 hours: a practical action plan, not a court deadline

There is no verified general rule requiring the Supreme Court to hold an extradition hearing within 72 hours of an El Dorado arrest. The following periods are an organisation checklist, not statutory clocks. Colombia's Constitutional Court held in C-243/2009 that a capture specifically for extradition is not subject to the ordinary criminal-case legality hearing before a juez de control de garantías merely because 36 hours have elapsed. If confinement is unlawful, a separate hábeas corpus application remains possible before a competent judicial authority.

Do not confuse this practical checklist with Article 511. Under the ordinary statutory rule, if no formal extradition request has been made within 60 days counted from arrest, the Prosecutor General must order release. A separate 30-day period runs from when the person is placed at the requesting state's disposal and that state fails to transfer them. Applicable treaties may require a different assessment; subsequent detention for the same request can also arise if specified conditions are later met. Counsel should calculate each clock from the original record, not a relative's recollection.

Where is the person held, and can family visit?

INPEC lists Bogotá's COBOG penitentiary complex, commonly called La Picota, at kilometre 5 of the Usme road. The official INPEC listing verifies that the facility exists; it does not establish that every person detained for extradition at El Dorado is transferred there. A person may be held initially elsewhere, and the relevant site can change. Never arrive at a prison assuming the person is there.

Ask the defence lawyer to obtain confirmation from the custodian of the location, registration details and authorised visiting procedure. INPEC site rules and individual classification determine practical access, so a published facility address is not visiting permission. For urgent medication, disability accommodation or interpretation, send a concise written request to the confirmed holding authority and keep delivery proof. A family outside Colombia can appoint a contact person in Bogotá but should share sensitive identity documents only through a trusted secure channel.

When the file reaches the Supreme Court, what changes?

Article 500 of Law 906 creates a 10-day opportunity for the requested person or defence counsel to seek evidence once the Court has received the case and the corresponding procedural notice is given. It then provides a further 10-day evidence-taking period (plus any legally relevant distance allowance), followed by five days for final submissions after the evidence has been taken. These are not periods automatically triggered by the airport arrest. Court notices and any treaty-specific procedure must be read with the actual file. Court staff can provide administrative information, but the defence lawyer must identify the correct procedural act and any applicable service rules.

Article 500(1) also permits a separate simplified route: with defence counsel and Ministerio Público support the requested person may waive the ordinary procedure, after which the Penal Chamber must issue its opinion within 20 days if legal conditions are met. Never treat an airport stop as consent or waive that procedure before speaking to defence counsel.

The Supreme Court assesses formal documentation, identity, double criminality, equivalence of the foreign charge and relevant treaty requirements; it is not trying the alleged foreign offence. A negative opinion prevents the government from granting extradition on that request, while a favourable opinion leaves the executive to decide. Article 503 provides 15 days for an executive resolution after receipt of the Court's opinion and file. A person should not assume that a favourable court opinion is itself a transfer order, or that every case takes exactly that number of days overall.

How do local counsel handle a challenge?

Start by naming the decision being challenged. For extradition detention, the Prosecutor General is the statutory authority for capture and release; Constitutional Court decision C-243/2009 upheld the special arrest framework and rejected a routine ordinary control-of-guarantees hearing for this type of capture. Constitutional Court order A-401/2018, in a specialised transitional-justice jurisdiction dispute, also distinguishes arrest from the eventual extradition decision. Its exceptional JEP facts do not create a general release right for other detainees.

Hábeas corpus under Law 1095 of 2006 protects against unlawful deprivation or prolongation of liberty; the claim may be presented before a competent judge or tribunal and must be decided within 36 hours. A denial may be challenged within three calendar days following notification, before the appropriate judicial superior. This is a separate route, not an automatic appeal of the Supreme Court's extradition opinion. In a public statement dated 16 June 2026, the Penal Chamber disputed a Bogotá municipal judge’s grant of habeas corpus concerning the translation of an extradition file, announcing a separate constitutional protection claim. That public statement records a live jurisdictional controversy, not a final ruling reversing the judge. It underscores why counsel must inspect the actual documents and the latest procedural orders. Likewise, any administrative reconsideration of a government resolution concerns a different decision maker: a January 2026 Ministry of Justice account confirms such a reconsideration in one real extradition matter, but does not turn it into a universal deadline for every case.

Law 1095, Article 3 also permits a relative or other third party to apply for hábeas corpus on the detained person’s behalf without a power of attorney, while the alleged unlawful restraint continues. The Penal Chamber’s AHP5611-2018 decision, in a specific JEP-related extradition dispute, illustrates a limit: hábeas corpus does not simply replace decisions entrusted by law to the Fiscalía or the extradition authorities when the detention is lawful. Neither ruling decides the merits of an unrelated case.

The specific statutory refusal grounds and post-decision remedies belong in the Colombia remedies guide. Counsel must first check the requesting state and its applicable treaty, domestic case law and later decisions; the European Arrest Warrant is not the procedure used for Colombia, and the 1957 European Convention on Extradition should not be assumed to bind Colombia. No single treaty or reservation can be inferred from an airport arrest alone.

The 16 June 2026 announcement named the Juzgado 77 Penal Municipal con Función de Control de Garantías de Bogotá. Its account of that judge’s decision is not a later binding appellate judgment.

What should a family or foreign lawyer send from day one?

• Exact full name, alternative spellings, nationality, identity-document copies and a safe way to contact the detainee.
• Flight information or the place and time of the Bogotá stop, the arresting agency, and any record or reference number.
• The requesting country, alleged offence and any available foreign warrant or judgment; do not speculate if unknown.
• Copies of all Colombian notices, proof of service and any written custody or transfer order.
• Urgent health and interpreter requirements, dependants' contact details, and signed permission for counsel where obtainable.
• A chronology distinguishing the arrest date, diplomatic request, Court-file receipt and any executive decision.

Hypothetical example: a visitor from Georgia is stopped on arrival at El Dorado after police identify an international alert associated with another country. The family should first determine whether Bogotá authorities issued an Article 509 extradition capture order and where the visitor is being held. Only after finding the formal request, counsel and Court-file stage can the family distinguish an arrest-related liberty question from arguments for the Penal Chamber. The alert itself answers none of those questions.

Our team coordinates cross-border defence with appropriately instructed local counsel; you can send the essential documents for an initial review.