The Tension Between Administrative Efficiency and Contractor Guarantees: Challenges and Proposals for the Declaration of Termination for Default

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Ricardo Arias Beltrán

Abstract

Contract termination due to expiration, provided in Article 18 of Law 80 of 1993, is one of the most significant expressions of the Administration’s exceptional powers, aimed at protecting the public interest against serious and direct breaches by contractors. However, the mandatory procedure established in Article 86 of Law 1474 of 2011 creates tension between the need for administrative efficiency—to prevent contractual paralysis and ensure the fulfillment of collective needs—and the obligation to safeguard contractors’ procedural guarantees. This article analyzes the regulatory and jurisprudential evolution of contract termination, its sanctioning nature, and the material and procedural limits that frame it, while proposing efficiency-oriented alternatives that balance the principle of administrative effectiveness with the fundamental right to due process.

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