The National Institute of Legal Medicine and the forensic system
- Topic
The National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences gives scientific support to the justice system and runs the legal medicine system nationwide.
What it is
The National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF) belongs to the judicial branch and is attached to the Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalía General de la Nación) as a national public body with legal personality, its own assets and administrative autonomy (Law 938 of 2004, art. 33). It organises and controls the National System of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences across the country (art. 34), and its mission is to give scientific and technical support to the administration of justice (art. 35). In criminal proceedings, Law 906 of 2004 defines it as the technical-scientific body that supports the prosecution service and the judicial police, and also the accused or their defence lawyer when they ask (art. 204). Where the Institute has no office, other doctors act as experts following its technical rules.
Key facts
- Law 938, art. 36, item 2: provides the medico-legal services requested by prosecutors, judges, judicial police, the Ombudsman's Office and other competent authorities.
- Art. 36, item 5: sets the technical rules that bodies and people doing expert work in legal medicine and forensic sciences must follow, and checks compliance.
- Art. 36, items 6 and 8: verifies and audits other bodies' expert evidence when an authority asks, and accredits and certifies laboratories, expert tests and experts.
- Art. 36, item 12: may delegate or contract expert activities to individuals or organisations and supervise them.
- Law 906, art. 406: expert services are provided by the judicial police, the INMLCF, public or private bodies and specialised individuals.
- Law 906, art. 214: in a homicide, or an event presumed to be one, the body is taken to the medico-legal centre with an order for an autopsy.
Next step: what to do and document
- Identify the Legal Medicine office that covers your municipality and how to contact it for advice and referrals.
- Refer the injured person or victim with the authority's request: the medico-legal examination is ordered by the authority.
- Follow the Institute's technical rules when acting as an expert away from its offices.
- Send bodies, samples and items that the authority orders to be referred under chain of custody.
Legal framework in Colombia
- Law 938 of 2004 (Organic Statute of the Office of the Attorney General), arts. 33 to 41: nature, functions and structure of the INMLCF. Several articles of that law on the prosecution service were repealed by 2014 decrees; arts. 33 to 36 carry no repeal notes in the Gestor Normativo.
- Law 906 of 2004, arts. 204, 214 and 406.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Law 938 of 2004 and Law 906 of 2004).
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which branch of government does the National Institute of Legal Medicine belong to, and to which body is it attached?
The judicial branch, attached to the Office of the Attorney General (Law 938 of 2004, art. 33).
Can an accused person's defence ask the National Institute of Legal Medicine for technical support?
Yes. Law 906 (art. 204) says the Institute also supports the accused or their defence lawyer when they ask.
Who sets the technical rules that forensic experts outside the Institute must follow?
The National Institute of Legal Medicine itself, which also checks compliance (Law 938 of 2004, art. 36, item 5).
Who can provide expert services in Colombian criminal proceedings?
The judicial police, the National Institute of Legal Medicine, public or private bodies and specialised individuals (Law 906, art. 406).
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 938 de 2004, Estatuto Orgánico de la Fiscalía General de la Nación (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004); Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.