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The judgment of the Supreme Court of Colombia, rendered upon the petition by a citizen to declare Law 20 of 1974, approving the concordat between the Holy See and Colombia, to be unconstitutional, deals with one of the most controversial aspects of the interface between international law and constitutional law under many modern constitutions. In most contemporary constitutional systems, the conclusion of international agreements requires parliamentary participation. In the United States only one house—the Senate—must give its advice and consent, but in the majority of states with bicameral systems, including Colombia, the approval must be given by both houses, usually in the form of a statute, the so-called ratification law. According to Article 120, subsection 20, of the Constitution of Colombia,
it is the task of the President, as head of the state and highest administrative authority, to conduct the diplomatic and commercial relations with the other nations and entities under international law … and to conclude with other nations and entities under international law treaties and conventions, which are to be subject to approval by Congress.

The doctrine of the immunity of foreign governments from the adjudicatory and enforcement jurisdiction of national courts is rooted in two bases of international law, the notion of sovereignty and the notion of the equality of sovereigns. There is no need to rehearse the historical growth of these foundations of the modern international community. Suffice it to say that E.D. Dickinson's celebrated study, The Equality of States in International Law, furnishes a detailed account of the evolution of these notions. Although historically the recognition of the jurisdictional immunities of foreign states may have been intertwined with the recognition of the immunity of foreign sovereigns as rulers and of the immunity of foreign ambassadors as their representatives, its juridical foundation rests on the principals of sovereignty, independence, equality and dignity of states and, additionally, on the ideas of reciprocity, comity among nations and avoidance of unilateral action in international affairs. Couched in the telling maxim, "Par in Parem imperium non habet," the principle of sovereign immunity is recognized in the jurisprudence of most nations.