Código Penal: lesiones personales (arts. 111–121)
- Law
Articles 111 to 121 of Law 599 of 2000 punish harm to the body or health according to the days of incapacity and the sequelae.
What it is
The personal-injury chapter of the Colombian Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000) defines the offence broadly: causing another person harm to the body or to health (art. 111). The penalty depends on the result the expert describes: days of incapacity to work or illness, deformity, functional or mental impairment, and functional or anatomical loss. That is why the medico-legal report is the central evidence in these offences. Later laws raised penalties and added new offences, such as injuries with chemical agents (art. 116A) and with unauthorised body-shaping substances (art. 116B).
Key articles
- Art. 111: a person commits lesiones by causing another harm to the body or to health.
- Art. 112: incapacity to work or illness, with three penalty bands: up to 30 days, more than 30 and up to 90, and more than 90 days.
- Art. 113 (amended by Law 1639 of 2013): transient or permanent physical deformity; the penalty rises by one third to one half if it affects the face.
- Arts. 114 and 115: functional impairment of an organ or limb and mental impairment, transient or permanent.
- Art. 116: loss of the function of an organ or limb; anatomical loss raises the penalty by up to one third.
- Art. 116A (added by Law 1773 of 2016): injuries with chemical agents, acids or corrosive substances, with their own higher penalties; one of its paragraphs was declared unconstitutional (inexequible).
- Art. 116B (added by Law 2316 of 2023): injecting or infiltrating unauthorised body-shaping substances; higher penalty if done by a health professional.
- Art. 117: punitive unity, only the penalty of the most serious result. Art. 118: if the injury causes harmful premature birth, or miscarriage, the penalty rises.
- Art. 119: aggravating circumstances; the penalty doubles if the victim is under 14 or a woman targeted for being a woman (paragraph amended by Law 1761 of 2015).
- Arts. 120 and 121: negligent injuries, with a reduced penalty, and their aggravating circumstances by reference to art. 110.
What it covers
- Intentional injuries by their result (arts. 111 to 116B) and negligent injuries (art. 120).
- How results are combined (art. 117) and the aggravating circumstances (arts. 118, 119 and 121).
- The doctor does not classify the offence: the doctor describes the result; the Fiscalía and the judge classify it.
Next step: what to do and document
- Write the conclusions in the law's terms: days of medico-legal incapacity, deformity, functional or mental impairment, loss, and whether transient or permanent.
- Record whether the injury affects the face, whether the victim is under 14 or pregnant: these facts change the penalty.
- In corrosive-substance injuries, describe extent, depth and areas, and preserve the clothing under chain of custody.
- If you suspect violence against a woman or a child, activate the protection pathway and notification (see mandatory reporting).
Status and official text
- Law 599 of 2000, in force since 24 July 2001. Penalties increased by Law 890 of 2004 (art. 14).
- Changes: art. 113 (Law 1639 of 2013); art. 116A added by Law 1773 of 2016; art. 116B added by Law 2316 of 2023; art. 119 amended by Law 1761 of 2015 and extended by Law 2197 of 2022.
- Victim's complaint: under Law 906 of 2004 (art. 74), several minor injuries need one; it is not needed in flagrante cases, with a minor or incapable victim, or in violence against women.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Gestor Normativo).
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which article of the Penal Code sets the penalty by days of incapacity to work or illness?
Article 112, with three bands: up to 30 days, more than 30 and up to 90, and more than 90 days.
Which law created the offence of injury with chemical agents, acids or similar substances?
Law 1773 of 2016, which added article 116A to the Penal Code.
What happens to the penalty for intentional injuries against a child under 14?
It doubles, under the paragraph of article 119 amended by Law 1761 of 2015; the same applies if the victim is a woman targeted for being a woman.
If an injury causes 40 days of incapacity and a permanent deformity, which penalty applies?
Only that of the most serious result, under the punitive unity of article 117.
How does the Penal Code punish the anatomical loss of an organ or limb?
With the functional-loss penalty of article 116, increased by up to one third.
Connections
Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.
Sources: Ley 599 de 2000, Código Penal (arts. 111 a 121) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2000); Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal (art. 74) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004).
Spotted a mistake?We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it.Report a mistake
Representative model, for educational purposes only.