Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request Colombia (Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial)

A Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial Colombia is the formal written request submitted to an authorized conciliation center (centro de conciliacion), a notario publico with conciliation authorization, a Defensor del Pueblo office, or a Personero Municipal to initiate a pre-litigation conciliation proceeding before filing a judicial demand (demanda) in Colombian courts. The solicitud triggers the mandatory alternative dispute resolution process required by Ley 640 de 2001 as a procedural prerequisite (requisito de procedibilidad) for most civil, commercial, family, and administrative claims in Colombia.

The constitutional and statutory basis for the conciliation requirement in Colombia is established in Constitucion Politica Article 116, which empowers the legislature to invest individuals with the capacity to temporarily perform the functions of administration of justice in the capacity of conciliadores, arbitros, and amigables componedores. This constitutional authorization was operationalized through Ley 270 de 1996 (Estatutaria de la Administracion de Justicia) and Ley 640 de 2001, which created the current framework of mandatory pre-litigation conciliation applicable to the most common categories of civil and commercial disputes.

Ley 640 de 2001 Article 19 defines conciliation as a mechanism of alternative dispute resolution in which two or more parties try to reach an agreement before a neutral third party (conciliador) with legal authority to propose solutions and certify the agreement reached. The conciliador — whether a center-appointed professional conciliador, a notario, a Defensor del Pueblo, or a Personero — supports communication between the parties but does not have the power to impose a decision, unlike an arbitrator. The resulting conciliation agreement (acta de conciliacion) has the legal force of a final judicial judgment (cosa juzgada) and constitutes an enforceable title (titulo ejecutivo) for the obligations it establishes, under Ley 640 de 2001 Article 28.

Ley 1285 de 2009 (which modified Ley 270 de 1996) made the conciliation requirement applicable to virtually all civil, commercial, and family matters, establishing in its Article 6 that no civil or commercial demanda may be admitted by a Colombian court unless the claimant demonstrates having exhausted the pre-litigation conciliation attempt or establishes that the attempt was frustrated through no fault of the claimant. Decreto 1829 de 2013 regulates the operation of conciliation centers, the qualifications of conciliadores, and the procedures for conducting conciliation proceedings under Ley 640 de 2001.

The Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho supervises the conciliation system and maintains a national registry of authorized conciliation centers, conciliadores, and notarios with conciliation authorization. As of 2025, Colombia has over 1,200 authorized conciliation centers operating throughout the country, including the Centro de Arbitraje y Conciliacion (CAC) of the Camara de Comercio de Bogota, which is one of the largest and most active conciliation centers in Latin America.

The legal framework governing the Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request Colombia (Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial) in Colombia draws on several key statutes and regulatory bodies. Under the Constitucion Politica de 1991, Colombian administrative law governs government procedures. The DIAN administers tax declarations (RUT, IVA, Renta, Retencion). The Codigo de Procedimiento Administrativo (CPACA, Ley 1437 de 2011) governs administrative proceedings. The Accion de Tutela (art. 86) protects fundamental rights through the Corte Constitucional. The Defensoria del Pueblo assists citizens. Parties executing a Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request Colombia (Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial) in Colombia should confirm the document reflects current law, including any amendments enacted since the original drafting date. The Ley 640 de 2001 (Conciliacion); Ley 1285 de 2009 (Reforma Estatutaria de Administracion de Justicia); Decreto 1829 de 2013 (Centros de Conciliacion); Ley 446 de 1998 (Mecanismos Alternativos de Solucion de Conflictos); CGP (Ley 1564 de 2012) art. 35; Constitucion Politica art. 116 sets the foundational requirements.

A Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial Colombia is needed as a mandatory procedural prerequisite before filing most types of civil, commercial, family, and administrative judicial claims in Colombia, under Ley 640 de 2001 Article 35 and Ley 1285 de 2009 Article 6.

The conciliation prerequisite applies to: civil contract disputes (incumplimiento contractual, resolucion de contratos, daños y perjuicios); commercial disputes between merchants or involving commercial transactions; family law matters including child support modification, custody disputes, alimony claims, and separation proceedings; labor disputes between employers and workers where no prior labor conciliation has been conducted before the Inspector de Trabajo; real property disputes between neighbors or co-owners; insurance disputes; and consumer disputes against commercial entities. In administrative law matters, CPACA (Ley 1437 de 2011) Article 161 establishes a separate conciliation requirement for reparacion directa claims (state liability for damages) before the Procuraduria or Ministerio Publico.

The solicitud is also appropriate — beyond legal obligation — whenever two parties in a dispute prefer to attempt an informal, confidential, and cost-effective resolution before incurring the expense and time of full judicial proceedings. Even when conciliation is not legally required, parties may voluntarily seek a conciliador's assistance. Voluntary conciliation is particularly useful in commercial relationships the parties wish to preserve — ongoing supplier relationships, long-term service contracts, and family business disputes where the commercial or personal relationship has value beyond the immediate dispute.

Exceptions to the conciliation prerequisite under Ley 640 de 2001 and Ley 1285 de 2009 include: proceedings for urgent precautionary measures (medidas cautelares urgentes) where delay would defeat the measure's purpose; habeas corpus and tutela proceedings where constitutional urgency requires immediate judicial action; proceedings involving legally incapacitated parties without proper legal representation; certain regulatory proceedings before the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio or Superintendencia Financiera; and matters declared by statute to be non-conciliable (no conciliables), such as criminal matters, certain public order matters, and matters involving the non-waivable rights of minors.

Parties in Colombia should prepare a Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request Colombia (Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial) proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to arise. Courts interpret agreements based on the written terms rather than oral representations. Under the Constitucion Politica de 1991, Colombian administrative law governs government procedures. The DIAN administers tax declarations (RUT, IVA, Renta, Retencion). The Codigo de Procedimiento Administrativo (CPACA, Ley 1437 de 2011) governs administrative proceedings. The Accion de Tutela (art. 86) protects fundamental rights through the Corte Constitucional. The Defensoria del Pueblo assists citizens. Where the transaction involves regulated activities, prior approval from the relevant authority may be required before execution.

A valid Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial Colombia under Ley 640 de 2001 and Decreto 1829 de 2013 must contain the following essential elements to initiate the conciliation proceeding and, if unsuccessful, obtain the constancia de conciliacion fallida needed to file the subsequent judicial demand.

Identification of the Applicant (Identificacion del Solicitante): Full name, cedula de ciudadania or NIT, domicile, and contact information of the party initiating the conciliation request. The solicitud must identify whether the applicant is a natural person or legal entity and, if a legal entity, the name and authority of the legal representative signing the request.

Identification of the Opposing Party (Identificacion de la Contraparte): Full name, cedula or NIT, and last known domicile of the party the applicant wishes to conciliate with. The conciliation center will use this information to notify the opposing party of the conciliation hearing date and time. If the opposing party's current address is unknown, the applicant must provide the last known address, and the center will attempt notification. Failure to appear by the opposing party after proper notification results in a constancia de inasistencia, which fulfills the procedural prerequisite for filing the judicial demanda.

Description of the Dispute (Descripcion del Conflicto): A clear, concise description of the facts giving rise to the dispute, the legal relationship between the parties (contractual, extracontractual, family), and the claimant's position regarding the appropriate resolution. The description should be sufficiently detailed to allow the conciliador to understand the nature of the conflict and prepare for the conciliation session, but need not be as formally structured as a judicial demanda. The description of the conflict determines the scope of the conciliation proceeding — issues not described in the solicitud are not within the conciliador's mandate.

Specific Claim (Pretension Especifica): A statement of what the applicant seeks to obtain from the conciliation — specific monetary amounts, specific conduct, return of property, modification of obligations, or other specific relief. The claim should be stated in concrete terms to enable the conciliador to propose workable solutions and to establish the framework for the resulting acta de conciliacion if agreement is reached.

Supporting Documentation (Documentacion de Soporte): Copies of relevant documents supporting the applicant's position — contracts, invoices, correspondence, certificates, photographs, and any other evidence that helps establish the factual and legal background of the dispute. Documentary support strengthens the applicant's position in the conciliation and gives the conciliador a basis for understanding the merits of the competing claims.

Conciliation Center Selection (Seleccion del Centro de Conciliacion): The applicant must select the specific authorized conciliation center before which the solicitud is filed. Centers authorized by the Ministerio de Justicia include: university conciliation centers (centros de conciliacion de universidades); bar association conciliation centers (centros de conciliacion de consultorios juridicos); the CAC of the Camara de Comercio de Bogota and other Camaras; notarios publicos with conciliation authorization; and Defensores del Pueblo or Personeros Municipales for low-value civil disputes.

Forms-legal.com provides this Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial Colombia template as a practical guide. While the conciliation process is less formal than litigation, presenting a well-documented solicitud significantly increases the likelihood of a successful conciliation agreement.

Additional compliance elements for a Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request Colombia (Solicitud de Conciliacion Prejudicial) used in Colombia include: Under the Constitucion Politica de 1991, Colombian administrative law governs government procedures. The DIAN administers tax declarations (RUT, IVA, Renta, Retencion). The Codigo de Procedimiento Administrativo (CPACA, Ley 1437 de 2011) governs administrative proceedings. The Accion de Tutela (art. 86) protects fundamental rights through the Corte Constitucional. The Defensoria del Pueblo assists citizens. Forms-legal.com provides this template as a starting point for Colombia-compliant documentation.