3 prompt and substantial.”1 The right of petition would be meaningless and useless, if this was not required of the State. The lack of this response to Mr. Claude Reyes et al. has constituted, in our opinion, a violation of the constitutional right of petition and, since this petition was to accede to information, recognized in the American Convention as part of the right to freedom of expression, it has violated that right. Alirio Abreu Burelli Judge Cecilia Medina Quiroga Judge Pablo Saavedra Alessandri Secretary Judgment T-281 of 1998. Reporting Judge Dr. Alejandro Martínez Caballero, Colombian Constitutional Court. Reproduced in www.ramajudicial.gov.co, http://200.21.19.133/Judgments/programas/relatoria. 1