Article 5 of Law 2213 of 2022 establishes that the special powers of attorney required to carry out any type of legal action may be conferred by data message, without requiring a handwritten or digital signature.
SUPREME COURT OF
JUSTICE (STC 3134-2023)
Generally, we err in equating the data message to an e-mail and understanding it as an indispensable requirement for the validity of a power of attorney.
On this point, the Supreme Court of Justice (STC 3134-2023) has stated that the validity of a power of attorney conferred by means of data messages is not subject to the condition that its sending from the e-mail of the principal to the attorney-in-fact is accredited.
Colombia adopts the definition of data message established in the UNCITRAL Model Law. This defines a data message as “information sent, generated, received, stored or communicated in electronic, optical or similar formats, as is the case of the power of attorney attached in ‘pdf’ format”, i.e., “data message” includes all the information recorded on a computer support, even if it is not intended to be communicated.
ARTICLE 5 OF DECREE
806 OF 2020
Furthermore, the Court emphasizes that these requirements disregard the presumption of authenticity expressly contemplated in Article 5 of Decree 806 of 2020.
Therefore, it is not required to provide proof of the sending of a power of attorney by data message for it to be valid.
Our Experts
Juan E. Pacheco
Associate
Litigation and ADR
