The medical ethics tribunals: process and sanctions
- Law
The medical ethics tribunals investigate complaints against doctors and can warn, censure or suspend them from practice for up to five years.
What it is
Title III of Law 23 of 1981 creates the National Medical Ethics Tribunal, based in Bogotá, and a regional tribunal in each department. They judge breaches of ethics in a professional disciplinary process that can start on the tribunal's own initiative or on a complaint from anyone. The tribunals perform a public function, but their members are not public officials. The process is independent of criminal, civil or administrative actions for the same facts.
Key articles
- Art. 74: the process starts on the tribunal's own initiative or at the request of an entity or any person, with at least summary evidence of the act.
- Art. 75: once the complaint is accepted, the president appoints an investigating member who reports conclusions within no more than fifteen working days (extendable, art. 78).
- Art. 76: if the facts suggest a crime or a civil or administrative wrong, the competent authority is informed at the same time.
- Art. 80: the tribunal decides that there is no case or brings charges; the hearing of the defence takes place between ten and twenty working days after the charges are notified.
- Art. 83: sanctions: a) private warning; b) censure (written and private, written and public, or spoken and public); c) suspension for up to six months; d) suspension for up to five years.
- Art. 84: the regional tribunal imposes sanctions a), b) and c); if it finds that d) applies, it sends the case to the National Tribunal.
- Arts. 87 to 89: against a warning or censure only a request for reconsideration lies; against suspension up to six months, reconsideration or appeal to the National Tribunal (fifteen working days); against suspension up to five years, reconsideration or appeal to the Ministry of Health (thirty working days).
- Art. 82: where the law is silent, the Code of Criminal Procedure applies.
What it covers
- National Tribunal (arts. 63 to 66): five doctors chosen by the Ministry of Health from a list of ten (four proposed by the Colombian Medical Federation, three by the National Academy of Medicine and three by the medical schools); two-year term.
- Regional tribunals (arts. 67 to 70): five doctors per department, chosen by the National Tribunal from lists of the medical associations; two-year term.
- Art. 73: they perform a public function; their members do not thereby become public officials.
Step by step
- Complaint or action on the tribunal's own initiative, with summary evidence of the act (art. 74).
- The president assigns an investigating member, who investigates and gathers evidence (art. 75).
- The investigator submits a report of conclusions and the full tribunal studies it (art. 79).
- Decision: no case and the file is closed, or written charges are brought (art. 80).
- Hearing of the doctor's defence; the doctor may be advised by a lawyer (arts. 77 and 80).
- Final ruling: acquittal or a sanction according to the seriousness (arts. 81 and 83).
- Remedies: reconsideration and, depending on the sanction, appeal (arts. 87 to 89).
Sanctions under Law 23 of 1981 and their remedies
| Sanction (art. 83) | Who imposes it | Remedies |
|---|---|---|
| a) Private warning | Regional or national tribunal | Reconsideration only (art. 87) |
| b) Censure: written private, written public or spoken public | Regional or national tribunal | Reconsideration only (art. 87) |
| c) Suspension up to six months | Regional tribunal | Reconsideration or appeal to the National Tribunal (art. 88) |
| d) Suspension up to five years | National Tribunal only | Reconsideration or appeal to the Ministry of Health (art. 89) |
In clinical practice
- Answering on time and with a complete medical record is the best defence: what is not written down is hard to prove.
- One complaint can open an ethics, a criminal and a civil process at the same time; the ethics process does not replace the others (art. 76).
- Ethics sanctions are reported to the national health workforce register (Rethus) under Law 1164 of 2007, art. 23.
Status and official text
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 on funcionpublica.gov.co (Law 23 of 1981) and minsalud.gov.co (Decree 780 of 2016).
- The procedure is complemented by Decree 3380 of 1981, compiled in Decree 780 of 2016 (arts. 2.7.2.2.1.2.1 to 2.7.2.2.1.2.27): decisions by absolute majority, notice of the ruling within five working days, publication of censure and suspension, and repeat misconduct (the same breach twice or more within a year) leading to the next higher sanction.
- Art. 72 of Law 23 was repealed by art. 136 of Decree 19 of 2012.
- Reading note: art. 84 refers by mistake to «article 84»; from context it means the letters of art. 83.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What sanctions does art. 83 of Law 23 of 1981 set?
Private warning; censure (written and private, written and public, or spoken and public); suspension up to six months; and suspension up to five years.
Which tribunal can suspend a doctor from practice for up to five years?
Only the National Medical Ethics Tribunal (art. 89). A regional tribunal that thinks it applies must send it the case (art. 84).
Who can start an ethics disciplinary process against a doctor?
The tribunal on its own initiative, a public or private entity, or any person; always with at least summary evidence of the act (art. 74).
Does the ethics process prevent a criminal process for the same facts?
No. If there are signs of a crime or of a civil or administrative wrong, the tribunal informs the competent authority while its own process continues (art. 76).
Connections
Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.
Sources: Ley 23 de 1981, Título III: órganos de control y régimen disciplinario (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1981); Decreto 780 de 2016, Book 2, Part 7, Title 2, Chapter 2: ethics in the health professions (compiles Decree 3380 of 1981) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, 2016).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.