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# 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.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Art. 111: harm to the body or health; the result is described by the expert.
- Art. 112: bands of up to 30, 31 to 90 and more than 90 days of incapacity.
- Sequelae: deformity (113), functional impairment (114), mental impairment (115), loss (116).
- Art. 116A: injuries with acids or chemical agents (Law 1773 of 2016).
- Art. 117: punitive unity. Art. 119: double penalty if the victim is under 14 or a woman targeted for being a woman.

## 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.

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## Connections

## Related 4

- [Incapacidad médico-legal: what it is and how it is set](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/incapacidad-medico-legal-what-it-is-and-how-it-is-set/)
- [Medico-legal sequelae: deformity, functional impairment, loss](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/medico-legal-sequelae-deformity-functional-impairment-loss/)
- [Examining a living victim of injury (lesiones personales)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/examining-a-living-victim-of-injury/)
- [Criminal liability in medical practice: negligent homicide and injury](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/criminal-liability-in-medical-practice-negligent-homicide-and-injury/)

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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)](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=6388) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2000); [Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal (art. 74)](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=14787) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004).

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