Do the pr inciples of labor law and social security revitalize constitutional case law in Colombia?

Abstract

This article proposes the thesis of laying claim to such principles as the central core of labor and social security law, given its capacity to transcend legislative situations. These principles are identified in the pronouncements of the Constitutional Court. Given that the meaning and scope of the principles contained in the Political Charter are set, the Charter integrates other principles by means of the block of constitutionality, and constructs other principles from the solution to social problems. A chronological review of the case law (1992-2012) makes it possible to identify the principles to which the court turns most frequently when it is a matter of resolving actions of protection or lawsuits of unconstitutionality, as well as the constitutional rules of a subordinate nature which set the conditions for their enactment over time, showing their changes, advances or retreats. The experience of Colombian case law, enriched by that of other countries, could be used by organizations such as the International Labor Organization to move beyond their Charter of Principles and propose norms of a universal nature, principles with the structure of rules and, therefore, with legal force capable of guaranteeing their validity.