5.6. Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP)

5.6. Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP)

The JEP is an independent judicial body created as part of the 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement. Its mission is to investigate, judge, and sanction the most serious crimes committed during the armed conflict873 involving the FARC-EP,⁸⁷⁴ which began in 1964 and officially ended in 2016. The JEP scope deals with former FARC members, state security forces, civil servants, and civilians involved in grave crimes.875 As a temporary institution (2018–2035), the JEP does not address all crimes but focuses on emblematic and representative cases, primarily from the late 1990s to early 2000s. Victims were invited to submit detailed reports, not formal complaints, resulting in a database of over 20 million entries. From this, the JEP launched 11 major 'macro-cases', each potentially involving up to 300 000 victims. These cases cover issues such as kidnappings, territorial conflicts, extrajudicial killings (‘false positives’), child recruitment, crimes against indigenous peoples, and gender-based violence.876 The JEP prioritises those with the highest responsibility and operates through transitional justice principles. Offenders who admit guilt may engage in a dialogical process based on restorative justice, involving direct interaction with victims.877

In the JEP, individuals who are found guilty but accept responsibility do not serve prison sentences. Instead, they receive restorative sanctions aimed at repairing harm to victims. These sanctions last eight years and may include projects such as demining and mine-risk education, environmental restoration efforts, memorial initiatives for Indigenous communities, or building hospitals for survivors of sexual violence.878

FARC-EP guerrillas who signed the 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement and comply fully with the JEP's conditions are also granted protection from extradition. This immunity applies not only to war crimes but also to drug trafficking and other illegal acts linked to the armed conflict.879

Those who deny responsibility are investigated by the JEP's Prosecutor's Office and face prosecution through the 'non-recognition section.' If found guilty in a standard criminal trial, they can receive prison sentences of up to 20 years. Appeals are possible within the JEP system, including its appellate and cassation chambers.880

While JEP's Case 8 involves paramilitary crimes, most paramilitaries are tried under the separate Justice and Peace Tribunals, created in 2005 following a peace deal with the AUC. This earlier transitional justice system has, over 17 years, prosecuted around 35 000 individuals, with investigations led by the Public Prosecutor and cases reviewed by the Supreme Court.881

The JEP continued to work 'despite significant challenges' to deliver justice for victims of the conflict. In the six years of its operation, JEP has charged 158 individuals with war crimes and crimes against humanity, mainly from the FARC-EP and security forces,882 and continues to investigate cases of kidnapping, extrajudicial killings, and child recruitment.883The JEP has yet to convict or sentence any individuals (as of 2024),884 or high level perpetrators,885 raising concerns about impunity.886

Sources report that in September 2023, JEP launched a judicial 'macro-case' on gender-based, sexual and reproductive violence and other crimes committed on the basis of discrimination related to sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity in the Colombia conflict.⁸⁸⁷ The data presented by the JEP notes that 33 % of the cases were attributed to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, 5.82 % were attributed to the FARC and 3.14 % were attributed to state agents, while in 30 % of the cases the actor was not identified.⁸⁸⁸ Sources report in November 2024 that the JEP indicted 6 former FARC commanders for crimes against children,889 including in relation to reproductive health and gender-based violence.890

In April 2025, the JEP ordered the government to strengthen the presence of public security forces in areas used for training and reintegration of former combatants, in recognition of a worsening pattern of violence against them; and urged the government to hold a plenary session of the National Commission for Security Guarantees, which has not met for over a year.891 This has hindered the policy to dismantle armed groups and consequently, it 'has yet to yield significant results that would positively impact the security of communities in conflict-affected regions where the state remains limited’.892

In September 2025, the JEP issued its first restorative sentences, in a 'historic step' in the pursuit of justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the internal armed conflict. Seven members of the FARC-EP Secretariat and 12 members of the public security forces were given sentences of 8 years of restorative activities and restrictions on their rights and freedoms, the maximum sentence provided in the context of the 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement.893