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Expediente T-8.858.560 M.P. Jorge Enrique Ibáñez Najar CORTE CONSTITUCIONAL Sala Cuarta de Revisión Sentencia T-294 de 2023 Expediente: T-8.858.560 Acción de tutela promovida por Claudia Julieta Duque Orrego en contra de la Unidad Nacional de Protección Magistrado sustanciador: Jorge Enrique Ibáñez Najar Bogotá D.C., tres (3) de agosto de dos mil veintitrés (2023) La Sala Cuarta de Revisión de la Corte Constitucional, integrada por los Magistrados Alejandro Linares Cantillo, Antonio José Lizarazo Ocampo y Jorge Enrique Ibáñez Najar, quien la preside, en ejercicio de sus competencias constitucionales y legales, específicamente de las previstas en los artículos 86 y 241.9 de la Constitución Política, y 33 y siguientes del Decreto 2591 de 1991, ha proferido la siguiente SENTENCIA En el proceso de revisión de los fallos de instancia proferidos los días 7 de marzo y 21 de abril de 2022, por el Juzgado Diecinueve Penal del Circuito de Bogotá con Función de Conocimiento y la Sala de Decisión Penal del Tribunal Superior del Distrito de Bogotá, respectivamente, dentro del trámite de tutela promovido por la ciudadana Claudia Julieta Duque Orrego en contra de la Unidad Nacional de Protección. Conforme a lo consagrado en los artículos 86 de la Constitución Política y 33 del Decreto 2591 de 1991, mediante Auto del 30 de agosto de 2022, la Sala de Selección Número Ocho de la Corte Constitucional escogió, para efectos de su revisión, el expediente T-8.858.560 el cual –por reparto– le correspondió al Magistrado Jorge Enrique Ibáñez Najar1. 1 Auto de reparto contenido en el expediente digital T-8.858.560. 4

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Duque v. National Protection Unit (UNP)

Case Law

Country

Colombia

Country Location

Latitude: 3.0016069525797207

Longitude: -73.96890197152884

Country Location (linked Case Law): Colombia

Decision Date: Aug 3, 2023

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Affirmed in Part/Reversed in Part

Case Outcome (Disposition)

Access to Information Granted

Keywords

Data Protection and Retention
Digital Rights
Privacy
Surveillance

Judicial Body: Constitutional Court

Court Name: Constitutional Court of Colombia

Case Number: T-294-23

Case Summary: The Constitutional Court of Colombia held that the National Protection Unit (Unidad Nacional de Protección, or UNP) violated Claudia Duque’s right to habeas data by not delivering information that had been collected through a GPS installed in a bulletproof vehicle it provided for her security, and by refusing to delete her personal data from their records. Duque, a journalist, and human rights defender, benefited from protective measures ordered by both the Constitutional Court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights due to the harassment she suffered. However, she claimed that the armored car the UNP gave her had a GPS that tracked her movements without her consent and put her in danger since the information was used to illegally spy on her. She asked for the removal of the GPS and requested all the information that had been collected on her and its subsequent destruction. The UNP claimed that the GPS was part of the protective measures, refused to delete Duque’s information from its databases, and delivered the collected data partially. Considering her rights had been violated, Duque filed a tutela action. On appeal, the Court considered that the UNP did not violate Duque’s rights by installing a GPS in the bulletproof car, although it ruled that there had been a violation of the right to habeas data, which entails the right to know which personal information is being stored in public databases, to authorize the content’s processing, deletion, or the possibility of adding additional information. The Court ordered the UNP to deliver the requested information in full and to destroy the data that was not strictly necessary to guarantee Duque’s protection, or to comply with the unit’s transparency and accountability obligations.

Case Significance: While the Court, in this case, did not consider that the unconsented collection of Duque’s personal data—from a GPS installed in a bulletproof vehicle that the UNP had provided her—entailed risks to the journalist’s security, it upheld previous standards regarding the protection of journalists and human rights defenders, particularly women. In this sense, it provided valuable considerations about how these risks should be assessed and how protective measures should be determined and applied in specific cases. Furthermore, the Court consolidated a wide understanding of the right to habeas data and to access information—that is, to an extent, protective of the privacy of at-risk journalists and the delicate nature of their investigations.

The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Related Caselaw (self)

Duque v. National Protection Unit (UNP)

Related Law

Constitution of Colombia

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Jul 19, 2024

Primary Documents

Decision (in Spanish)
Spanish
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CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

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Duque v. National Protection Unit (UNP)

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