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Colombia's political system and how laws are made: what investors need to know

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Colombia is a unitary presidential republic with a bicameral Congress: the President serves one four year term with no reelection, and the current President took office on 7 August 2026 for a term ending 7 August 2030. Only the Government can propose bills on the budget, the national development plan, public borrowing and tax exemptions, every tax bill must start in the Chamber of Representatives, and statutory laws and constitutional amendments need absolute majorities. The Constitutional Court, judicial expropriation with prior compensation and the rule that new taxes on a period apply only from the next period are the main protections an investor relies on.

Key facts

Presidential term (single term, reelection banned)	4 yearsConstitución art. 190 and art. 197, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
End of the current presidential term	2030-08-07 dateConstitución art. 190; swearing in before Congress on 7 August 2026, as of 2026-08-07 · in force
Senate seats in the national and indigenous constituencies (before the runner up seat of art. 112)	102 seatsConstitución art. 171, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Senators' term	4 yearsConstitución art. 132, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Representatives' term	4 yearsConstitución art. 132, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Vote to pass a constitutional amendment in Congress (second of two consecutive periods)	Majority of the members of each chamber ruleConstitución art. 375, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Vote to pass a statutory law	Absolute majority of the members of Congress, within one legislature, with prior Constitutional Court review ruleConstitución art. 153, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline for a chamber to decide a bill declared urgent by the President	30 daysConstitución art. 163, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Time for the Government to object to a bill	6 days (up to 20 articles), 10 days (21 to 50), up to 20 days (more than 50) ruleConstitución art. 166, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Vote to override a Government objection on grounds of convenience	Half plus one of the members of each chamber ruleConstitución art. 167, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Tax bills: where they start and who may propose exemptions	Must start in the Chamber of Representatives; national tax exemptions only on Government initiative ruleConstitución art. 154, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum days of economic, social and ecological emergency per calendar year	90 daysConstitución art. 215, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum duration of extraordinary lawmaking powers delegated to the President	6 monthsConstitución art. 150 Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Expropriation safeguard	Law defining public utility or social interest; court judgment and prior compensation; administrative route only where the law allows, with later court review including the price ruleConstitución art. 58, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The President is Head of State, Head of Government and supreme administrative authority, and is elected for four years by more than half of the votes cast; if no candidate reaches that majority, a runoff between the top two is held three weeks later. Nobody who has held the Presidency under any title may be elected President again, and this ban can only be changed by a referendum of popular initiative or a constituent assembly. Presidential acts, apart from appointing and removing ministers and a few others, have no force unless countersigned by the competent minister or department director, who thereby becomes responsible for them.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 197 as amended by Acto Legislativo 2 de 2015, art. 9), Art. 115, art. 190 and art. 197, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: On 7 August 2026 the Congress in full session swore in the President elected for 2026 to 2030, whose term runs until 7 August 2030, and the Vice President (Senate press office, 7 August 2026: https://senado.gov.co/index.php/el-senado/noticias/7506-como-fue-la-sesion-del-congreso-en-pleno-en-la-que-se-posesiono-abelardo-de-la-espriella).

2. Congress has two chambers. The Senate has one hundred members elected in a single national constituency plus two elected by indigenous communities; the Chamber of Representatives is elected by territorial constituencies (each department and Bogotá elects two members plus one more for every 365,000 inhabitants or fraction above 182,500 beyond the first 365,000) and by special constituencies for ethnic groups and Colombians abroad. Senators and representatives serve four years starting on 20 July after the election. The runner up in the presidential election has a personal right to a Senate seat, and the runner up for Vice President to a seat in the Chamber, in addition to the ordinary seats.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 112 as added by Acto Legislativo 2 de 2015, art. 1; art. 176 as amended by Acto Legislativo 2 de 2015, art. 6), Art. 112, art. 114, art. 132, art. 171 and art. 176, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Congress meets in ordinary sessions in two periods that form one legislature: 20 July to 16 December and 16 February to 20 June. Statutory bills and constitutional amendments may not be processed between 16 February and 15 March, and in an election year the second period runs from 16 March to 20 June. The Government may call extraordinary sessions limited to the matters it submits.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, art. 138 as amended by Acto Legislativo 2 de 2023, art. 1, Art. 138, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Acto Legislativo 2 de 2023 moved the start of the second ordinary period from 16 March to 16 February, except in congressional election years.

4. Bills may start in either chamber, but only the Government may propose or amend the laws on the national development plan, the structure of the national administration, authorisations to contract and borrow, national revenue and spending, the laws on the functions of Banco de la República's Board, and the framework laws on public credit, foreign trade and the exchange regime and public employees' pay, as well as laws granting exemptions from national taxes, contributions or fees. Tax bills must start in the Chamber of Representatives and bills on international relations in the Senate. Under the framework laws (leyes marco) Congress sets general rules and the Government regulates credit, foreign trade and the exchange regime, changes tariffs and regulates financial and securities activity by decree.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 150 Nº 3, 7, 9, 11, 19 and 22; art. 154, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. To become law a bill must be published by Congress, approved in first debate in the competent permanent committee of each chamber (or in joint committees when the rules allow), approved in second debate in each chamber and sanctioned by the Government. At least eight days must pass between the first and second debate and at least fifteen days between approval in one chamber and the start of debate in the other; a bill may not be voted in a session other than one previously announced. A bill that has had a first debate carries over to the next legislature, but no bill may be considered in more than two legislatures.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 160 last paragraph added by Acto Legislativo 1 de 2003, art. 8), Art. 157, art. 160 and art. 162, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The President may ask for urgent treatment of any bill; the chamber must then decide within thirty days, the request may be repeated at every stage, and on insistence the bill takes priority over all other business. If the bill sits in a committee, the committees of both chambers can deliberate jointly for the first debate at the Government's request.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 163, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. The Government may object to a bill within six days if it has up to twenty articles, ten days for twenty one to fifty articles and up to twenty days for more than fifty; otherwise it must sanction and promulgate it. Congress overrides an objection on grounds of convenience with the votes of half plus one of the members of each chamber. If the objection is that the bill is unconstitutional and the chambers insist, the Constitutional Court decides within six days and its ruling binds the President.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 165, art. 166, art. 167 and art. 168, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Statutory laws (fundamental rights, administration of justice, political parties and the opposition, citizen participation, states of exception) need an absolute majority of the members of Congress, must pass within one legislature and are reviewed by the Constitutional Court before they take effect. Constitutional amendments by Congress (actos legislativos) may be proposed by the Government, ten members of Congress, 20 percent of councillors or deputies or 5 percent of the electorate, and must pass in two consecutive ordinary periods: by a majority of those present in the first and a majority of the members of each chamber in the second.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 152, art. 153 and art. 375, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Congress may give the President precise extraordinary powers for up to six months to issue decrees with force of law, but only at the Government's express request and with an absolute majority of the members of each chamber; these powers can never be used to issue codes, statutory or organic laws or to decree taxes. Separately, when events seriously threaten the economic, social or ecological order, the President with the signature of all ministers may declare a state of emergency for periods of up to thirty days, no more than ninety days in a calendar year, and issue decrees with force of law that may temporarily create or change taxes; those tax measures lapse at the end of the following fiscal year unless Congress makes them permanent.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 150 Nº 10 and art. 215, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

10. Treaties need the approval of Congress, but the President may provisionally apply economic and commercial treaties agreed within international organisations that so provide, sending them to Congress as soon as they apply. The Constitutional Court reviews every treaty and its approving law before ratification: the Government sends them within six days of sanction, any citizen may intervene, and treaties found unconstitutional cannot be ratified.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 224 and art. 241 Nº 10, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

11. The Constitutional Court guards the integrity and supremacy of the Constitution. Any citizen may challenge a law or a decree with force of law on substance or procedure, and a constitutional amendment for procedural defects only. After a ruling of any of the high courts, the Attorney General (Procurador) or a minister may open a fiscal impact incident, in which the court decides whether to modulate, modify or defer the effects of its ruling to avoid serious harm to fiscal sustainability, without affecting the essential core of fundamental rights.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 334 as amended by Acto Legislativo 3 de 2011, art. 1), Art. 241 Nº 1, 4 and 5; art. 334, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

12. Economic activity and private initiative are free within the limits of the common good, and no one may require prior permits or requirements not authorised by law; free competition is a right, and the State must prevent abuse of a dominant position. Private property and rights acquired under civil law cannot be disregarded by later laws. Expropriation for public utility or social interest defined by the legislature requires a court judgment and prior compensation; where the law allows administrative expropriation, the price and the act can be challenged afterwards before the administrative courts.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 58 as amended by Acto Legislativo 1 de 1999, art. 1), Art. 58 and art. 333, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

13. In peacetime only Congress, departmental assemblies and municipal and district councils may impose taxes, and the law, ordinance or agreement must itself set the taxpayers, taxable events, bases and rates. Laws on taxes whose base is the result of a period (such as income tax) apply only from the period that begins after they take effect. Territorial entities may levy their own taxes within the law, Congress may not grant exemptions from or surcharges on their taxes, and only municipalities may tax real estate.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, Art. 287, art. 294, art. 317 and art. 338, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

14. The territorial entities are departments, districts, municipalities and indigenous territories, with autonomy to govern themselves, exercise their powers, manage their resources, set taxes and share in national revenue. Governors and mayors are elected for four year terms and cannot be reelected for the next term; the governor is also the President's agent for public order and general economic policy.Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991 (art. 303 and art. 314 as amended by Acto Legislativo 2 de 2002), Art. 286, art. 287, art. 303 and art. 314, 1991-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Instrument	Who proposes	Vote needed	Timing or limit	Article
Ordinary law	Members of Congress, the Government, certain courts and control bodies, or citizens (5 percent of the electorate)	Majority in committee and plenary of each chamber	Four debates; 8 days between committee and plenary; 15 days between chambers; no more than two legislatures	Art. 154, 155, 157, 160, 162
Tax law	Anyone with initiative, but national tax exemptions only by the Government	Ordinary majorities	Must start in the Chamber of Representatives; taxes on a period apply from the next period	Art. 154, 338
Budget, development plan, borrowing authorisations, framework laws	Government only	Ordinary majorities	Budget filed in the first ten days of the legislature (see the public finances page)	Art. 150, 154, 346
Statutory law	Ordinary initiative	Absolute majority of the members of Congress	Within one legislature; prior Constitutional Court review	Art. 152, 153
Constitutional amendment by Congress	Government, ten members of Congress, 20 percent of councillors or deputies, or 5 percent of the electorate	Majority of those present in the first period; majority of members in the second	Two consecutive ordinary periods	Art. 375
Decree law under delegated powers	Government request	Absolute majority of the members of each chamber to delegate	Up to six months; never for codes, statutory or organic laws or taxes	Art. 150 Nº 10
Emergency decree	President with all ministers	None in advance; Congress reviews afterwards	30 days per declaration, 90 days per calendar year; temporary taxes lapse after the following fiscal year unless Congress makes them permanent	Art. 215

Who can do what in lawmaking, with the constitutional source. Source: Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, DIAN legal compilation.

Worked example

Timing a tax change. A reform increasing income tax rates that is sanctioned in December 2026 can only govern income tax for the period that starts after it takes effect, that is fiscal year 2027 or later, because income tax is a period tax (Constitución art. 338). A company planning a 2026 dividend or asset sale can therefore price it under the rules in force for 2026.
Reading a bill's odds. A Government bill filed on 20 July, the first day of the legislature, needs committee and plenary approval in both chambers, with at least 8 days between committee and plenary and 15 days between chambers. If it has not had a first debate by 20 June of the following year it does not carry over, and in any case it dies if not passed within two legislatures (Constitución art. 160 and art. 162).

Step by step

Identify the instrument behind any rule that affects you: law, decree law, emergency decree, regulatory decree or resolution. The instrument tells you who can change it and how fast.
For pending bills, check whether they have had a first debate before 20 June, since bills without one lapse at the end of the legislature, and count the legislatures used (maximum two).
For tax bills, start tracking at filing in the Chamber of Representatives and check whether the tax is a period tax, which delays application to the next period.
When a ruling of the Constitutional Court or another high court affects public finances, watch for a fiscal impact incident, which can modulate or defer its effects (Constitución art. 334).
Map the local layer: departmental assemblies and municipal councils set local taxes and land use within the law, so municipal rules can differ across sites.

Common traps

Assuming a tax measure in an emergency decree is permanent. Taxes created or changed under an economic emergency lapse at the end of the following fiscal year unless Congress makes them permanent (Constitución art. 215).
Expecting Congress to grant a tax exemption on its own initiative. National tax exemptions can only be enacted or amended on Government initiative (Constitución art. 154), so a sector lobbying only legislators may get a bill that is void for lack of initiative.
Treating a sanctioned law as final. Any citizen can challenge a law before the Constitutional Court at any time on its substance, so long lived investments should be checked against pending challenges to the rules they rely on (Constitución art. 241 Nº 4).
Overlooking treaty review. Trade and investment treaties are reviewed by the Constitutional Court before ratification and can only be ratified with reservations if parts are found unconstitutional (Constitución art. 241 Nº 10).

Sources

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