Holland & Knight Helps Secure Landmark Arbitration Ruling for SI99 in Colombia
BOGOTÁ (June 18, 2026) – Holland & Knight successfully represented SI99 S.A, a concessionaire that provides urban mass transit services, in a landmark tutela action before the Constitutional Court of Colombia. The Constitutional Court set aside a unification ruling of the Plenary of the Third Section of the Council of State, reaffirming the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals over disputes concerning the economic effects of administrative acts issued under Article 14 of Colombia's State Contracting Law (Ley 80 de 1993). The decision sets a high-impact precedent for the state contracting system and arbitration in Colombia.
The dispute dates to 2019, when Holland & Knight successfully represented SI99 S.A. in an arbitration arising from a concession contract entered into in 2000 with Empresa de Transporte del Tercer Milenio S.A. (TransMilenio) for the operation of Bogotá's public transportation system. SI99 performed the concession, but TransMilenio unilaterally modified and extended the contract, adversely affecting SI99's economic position. Once the contract finished, SI99 initiated arbitration seeking compensation for the resulting imbalance. In July 2022, the tribunal issued an award granting compensation in its favor.
TransMilenio subsequently filed an extraordinary annulment action. In March 2024, the Plenary of the Third Section of the Council of State issued a unification ruling partially annulling the award. It held that the economic effects of administrative acts issued under Article 14 of Colombia's State Contracting Law are inseparable from the administrative act, and that disputes arising from those effects fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the administrative courts. On that basis, it partially annulled the award for lack of jurisdiction.
The Council of State's ruling raised significant concerns for the stability of arbitration in public contracting, as it materially restricted the scope of arbitral jurisdiction in disputes involving state entities.
As a direct result of the tutela action filed by Holland & Knight on behalf of SI99, the Constitutional Court set aside the Council of State's ruling. The court found that the unification ruling adopted an unduly restrictive interpretation of the Constitution, the Colombian Arbitration Statute, and departed from established precedent of both the Constitutional Court and Council of State recognizing the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals over disputes concerning the economic effects of administrative acts.
The decision carries structural implications for the Colombian arbitration system, reaffirming arbitration as a constitutionally valid mechanism for resolving disputes arising from state contracts.
Holland & Knight Partners José Gutiérrez Mestre and Juan Casallas and Associate José Fernando Rengifo represented SI99 S.A. in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court.