Superior Court of Bogota sets aside a lower court's limits on Colombian air operations

23 October 2026

The Family Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogota has declared a tutela petition inadmissible and set aside a provisional measure that the 34th Family Court of Bogota had issued. The lower court's measure had added conditions on certain air operations, including weighing less harmful alternatives where minors might be present. The Superior Court held that the petition did not meet the procedural requirements: it did not define the group of minors it sought to protect, it did not identify the areas where they were said to be at risk, and it did not set out what was needed to show a concrete threat, such as planned operations or which authorities held information about minors. The chamber said collective and structural claims belong in the judicial mechanisms built for them. It left intact the duty that air operations follow the Constitution, the law and international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, and the State's duty to protect children from forced recruitment. Under Ley 2590 de 2026, the National Plan for the Prevention of Child Recruitment has a legal deadline of July 2027.