Palace of Justice

In front of you is the seat of Colombia's Supreme Court, Council of State and other high courts. It is the city's third palace of justice, and its history explains why.

1Two palaces destroyed

The first, on Calle 11 at Carrera 6, burned during the Bogotazo of 1948. The second was built here, on the north side of the square. On 6 November 1985, at around eleven in the morning, a commando of the M-19 guerrilla group stormed it and took some 350 people hostage, among them judges, staff and visitors.

The response of the police and the army, with tanks in the square, lasted about 28 hours. A fire whose origin has never been established consumed much of the building and thousands of case files. Around a hundred people died, among them eleven justices, including the president of the Supreme Court, Alfonso Reyes Echandía.

2The disappeared

The most disturbing part came afterwards. Several people, mostly cafeteria workers and some visitors, were filmed or seen leaving the building alive in the custody of the security forces, and never came home. For decades they were considered disappeared. Some remains were identified in 2015 and 2017, sometimes in graves bearing the names of other victims.

In 2014, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Colombian State responsible for enforced disappearances and other violations committed during the recapture.

The ruins stood for several years before they were demolished. The building you see was put up later, on the same site.

3What to look for

• The inscription on the façade, with a phrase attributed to Santander about arms and laws.
• The almost closed façade, defensive in appearance.
• The Casa del Florero, on the eastern corner of the square: many of those rescued were taken there to be identified.