Colombia: New Presidential Directive Seeks to Increase Governmental Oversight over Arbitration Agreements and the Arbitral Selection Process

This note summarizes Colombia's new 2015 Presidential Directive which seeks to increase governmental control over the use of arbitration agreements in state contracts, and the arbitral selection process in disputes arising out of these contracts. It also addresses certain potentially undesirable consequences that might arise from the presidential directive and proposes a number of practical steps that the Colombian government could take to ensure public officials continue to enter into arbitration agreements and thus reduce the potential anti-arbitration impact of the 2015 Presidential Directive.