Resumo

VELANDIA MONTES, Rafael; GOMEZ JARAMILLO, Alejandro  e  SOLARTE CUNCANCHON, Ana María. Discovery in Colombia: Right to truth and justice for victims in criminal trial?. Bol. Mex. Der. Comp. [online]. 2022, vol.55, n.164, pp.269-287.  Epub 14-Jun-2024. ISSN 2448-4873.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484873e.2022.164.18125.

Colombia's new criminal procedural regime, established by Law 906 of 2004, has meant a profound transformation of Colombian legal culture since it went from an inquisitorial system to an adversarial one. Thus, discovery was introduced as an element of due process and by which the accuser must reveal all the evidence he intends to use in trial. However, discovery has particularities related to who and how must be done. This paper examines what is discovery and its characteristics. It also studies the role of victims in discovery and their relationship to the right to truth and justice. The conclusion is that discovery is an element of due process and can only be exercised by the parties. Therefore, the victim must act only through the accuser, because his direct participation would cause an imbalance in criminal proceedings.

Palavras-chave : Discovery; right to truth and justice; Criminal trial; Victims’ rights; Adversarial system.