Through Law 2452 of 2025, the Congress of the Republic enacted the new Labor and Social Security Procedural Code in Colombia (hereinafter, the “LSSPC”), which was scheduled to enter into force one year after its publication. Accordingly, it will become effective on April 6, 2026.
This new LSSPC introduces significant developments in procedural matters. Below are some of the main changes:
- Autonomy of Labor Procedural Law: There is a clear effort to reduce the relationship between the new LSSPC and the General Procedural Code (hereinafter, the “G.P.C.”), as significant changes limit the application of the latter to exceptional circumstances only, as supplementary legislation. However, certain provisions remain applicable, such as those concerning extrajudicial evidence.
- Burden of Proof: Unlike the G.P.C., the new LSSPC establishes, as a legal duty of the judge—either ex officio or at the request of a party—the obligation to allocate the burden of proof when ordering evidence at any stage prior to rendering judgment. For this purpose, the judge must require proof of the relevant facts from the party that is in the best position to provide such evidence.
- Decree for ex officio evidence: Previously, the decree for ex officio evidence was a power the Judge had to order it taking as soon as he deemed it pertinent. Now, it is not a power but a duty, as stated in the text of Article 312 of the new LSSPC Code of Labor Procedure and Social Security).
Doctrinal opinions on the changes in evidentiary matters recommend that companies be rigorous in obtaining and preserving evidentiary evidence, given that the burden of proof may be shifted to them in many lawsuits, since the worker is generally not able to provide certain types of evidence.
- Right to Appeal (Double Instance): Except in labor summary proceedings, all labor cases will be subject to a two-instance system. This means that all judicial decisions may be appealed, allowing a higher court to review first-instance rulings as a procedural safeguard for the parties.
- Powers of the Judge in Second Instance: One of the main innovations of the LSSPC is that second-instance judges are granted the authority to rule ultra petita and extra petita. This allows them to decide beyond what was requested or on issues not originally raised, provided that certain requirements are met—namely, that the matter involves minimum and non-waivable rights and that the conditions set forth before the first-instance judge, as described in Article 6 of the LSSPC, have been satisfied.
- Modification of Jurisdictional Amounts: With the creation of municipal labor courts (a new feature of the LSSPC), the jurisdictional thresholds have been modified. These courts will now hear, at first instance, cases whose value does not exceed forty (40) current legal monthly minimum wages. Previously, the threshold was set at twenty (20) minimum wages.
- Other Relevant Procedural Aspects: Additional noteworthy changes include the incorporation of Law 2213 of 2022 regarding the implementation of ICTs, the obligation to indicate digital channels or a physical address for service of process in the claim (under penalty of rejection), and the introduction of unnamed precautionary measures.
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