On Fundamental Rights

This article establishes the right to life as an inviolable fundamental right and prohibits the death penalty. Colombia abolished capital punishment in 1910. Unlike the US Constitution, which permits capital punishment, Colombia follows the European and Latin American trend of abolition. The Constitutional Court has broadly interpreted this right to include the right to a dignified life (minimum vital) and has addressed its scope in cases of euthanasia (C-239/1997) and abortion (C-355/2006).