Constitutional action (tutela) brought to protect the right to receive disability benefits. Whether, and in which cases, the tutela is the right procedure to obtain disability pension and to protect minimum core obligations; application of the favorability principle when two laws are applicable to one particular situation.
The president of the ISS reported in 2011 that it was overwhelmed with 75,000 claims totaling over 50 million dollars. Claimants alleged irregularities in payments owed and failure to comply with judicial orders to make payments. In January 2012, Colombia’s deputy labor minister announced that the government would not raise the retirement age in the near future to deal with the strained system, despite pressures from some to do so. The ISS has been substituted by Colpensiones (Colombian Administrator of Pensions), a state agency linked to the Ministry of Labor. Colpensiones has inherited a lot of the problems of the former ISS.
This decision is important because it declares that where changes in legislation make application and interpretation of the law unclear, the application that would be more favorable must be applied to ensure fundamental rights are protected.