COP – USD EXCHANGE RATE 

The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce ("SIC") modified the procedure to apply for the registration of industrial designs

The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce published Resolution 60452 of 2022, by which the instructions for the filing of applications for the registration of industrial designs were modified, according to the international standards of article 107 of Andean Decision 486 of 2000. The document contains: i) modernization of the developed procedures; ii) filing of applications; iii) graphic representation of the design; iv) filing of applications in physical format and by electronic means; and v) graphic representation of user interface and animated designs. 

This regulation modified the provisions of Title X of the Sole Circular (Título X de la Circular Única) regarding the filing of industrial design applications, which must be updated, due to the new forms of filing of designs, this being, graphic user interface designs and/or animated designs that are filed for processing. 

Is there an environmental protection deficit in rules for granting mining titles?

The Council of State (Consejo de Estado) pronounced on a popular action in which it was considered that the evaluation procedure for the proposal and oversight of mining titles had flaws that could cause environmental damage. The action sought to protect collective rights, such as: healthy environment, the existence of ecological balance, the management and rational use of natural resources, the conservation of animal and plant species, the protection of areas of special ecological importance and the defense of public patrimony.

Therefore, the Environment Ministry was ordered to correct the omissions in the mining-environmental ordinance.

Does surrogate motherhood allow maternity leave in its totality to biological father?

Decision T 275 of 2022 was released. In it, the Constitutional Court studied a tutela action filed by a petitioner in his own name and on behalf of his daughter against Sanitas EPS to request the recognition and payment of "paternity leave for a time equivalent to the number of weeks granted to mothers by law", in order to take care of his newborn daughter, since she had been born through the figure of "surrogate gestation" and therefore, he would be the "unique father and head of the family".

The High Court reiterated that the tutela is an appropriate mechanism to recognize the maternity leave, when it is denied and affects the adopter or the newborn, since it may affect the minimum vital in the year following the adoption or birth when there is no income other than the salary.

Total exports for July grew 71.7% and fuel exports increased 148%

The National Administrative Department of Statistics ("DANE"- acronym in Spanish) has published the Technical Bulletin with the results of exports for July of this year. According to the bulletin, total exports were of US $5,913 million FOB, which represents a growth in exports of 71.7% compared to the same month last year. In the January to July period, total exports were USD $34,561 million FOB, 59.8% higher than last year.

Reviewing the data by groups of products, the fuels group was the fastest growing, with a variation of 148.7% and total exports of USD 3,733 million FOB. Exports of agricultural products grew by 17.9%, manufacturing by 10.15% and other sectors by 2.7%.

Most relevant bills filed in 2022-2023 legislature for the environmental sector

For the current legislative period, corresponding to the 2022- 2023, a considerable number of bills and legislative acts have been filed, in both, Senate and House of Representatives. Most of these proposals may have a significant impact in the environmental field. The following are some of the most relevant bills:

• ESCAZÚ AGREEMENT: Bill 251/21 - Senate "Whereby the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean was approbed", adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, on March 4, 2018.

• RIGHTS OF NATURE: Draft Legislative Act 003/22 – House of Representatives "By which articles 79 and 95 of the political constitution of Colombia are modified".

• LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: Bill 008/22 - Senate "Whereby mechanisms are established to stop and prevent the loss of biodiversity in the national territory, and other provisions are dictated".

• ANIMAL WELFARE: Bill 008/22 – House of Representatives "Whereby the national code of animal protection and welfare is issued".

• FOOD WASTE: Bill 013/22 – House of Representatives "Regarding the loss and waste of food and other provisions".

• LABELING REGULATION: Bill 015/22 – House of Representatives "By means of which labeling, advertising and any other form of marketing alluding to qualities, characteristics or environmentally friendly attributes of products are regulated".

• ANIMAL MALTREATMENT: Bill 015/22 - Senate "Whereby mutilations are incorporated as a form of animal maltreatment".

• ANIMAL WELFARE AND PROTECTION CATHEDRA: Bill 016/22 - Senate "Whereby the animal welfare and protection chair is established in all educational institutions in the country”. Jupiter Law. 

• INDUSTRIAL FISHING: Bill 017/22 - Senate "Whereby industrial fishing of cartilaginous fish, and finning are prohibited, and other provisions are dictated." 

• RIGHT TO FOOD: Draft Legislative Act 019/22 – House of representatives "Whereby Articles 45 and 65 of the Political Constitution are amended establishing the fundamental right to food and not to suffer from hunger".

• ENVIRONMENTAL SANCTIONING: Bill 116/22 – House of representatives "Whereby the environmental sanctioning procedure of Law 1333 of 2009 is modified, with the purpose of granting effective tools to prevent and/or sanction violators”.

• FRACKING: Bill 114/22 – Senate “Whereby fracking is prohibited, exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbon fields and reformulation of the energy transition policy is ordered, and other provisions are enacted". 

• REDUCTION OF VEHICULAR EMISSIONS: Bill 107/22 - Senate "Whereby the protection of the rights to health and the enjoyment of a healthy environment is established, generating measures tending to the reduction of polluting vehicle emissions from gasoline and other provisions are enacted".

• WETLAND PROTECTION: Bill 100/22 - Senate "Whereby rules are issued for the conservation of wetlands designated within the list of international importance of the Ramsar convention, and other provisions are dictated".

• MINING ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSE: Bill 098/22 – Senate "Whereby the environmental license for the mining exploration phase is created and other provisions are enacted". 

• EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY: Bill 094/22 – House of Representatives "Whereby the principle of extended producer responsibility is established for containers and packaging of glass, metal, aluminum, paper and cardboard". 

• SPECIAL SOLID WASTE: Bill 086/22 - Senate "Whereby the guidelines for the integral management of special solid waste are established, within the framework of extended producer responsibility".

• AIR QUALITY: Bill 072/22 – House of Representatives "Whereby the air quality standards for life and protection of the atmosphere are established".

• SOLID WASTE: Bill 058/22 - Senate “Whereby the regime of solid waste recovery market is created and regulated, waste recovery is promoted within the framework of the circular economy promotion and other provisions are enacted".