Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador
Encyclopedia
The Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador (Spanish:
Tribunal Constitucional del Ecuador) is the highest court in Ecuador
dealing with constitutional issues. It was created as part of Ecuador's 1996 constitutional reform package. It is composed of nine magistrates.
The Constitutional Tribunal has been affected by Ecuador's recent political crises. In 2005, President Lucio Gutiérrez
manipulated his party's modest advantage in Congress
to replace numerous justices, including eight of nine members of the Constitutional Tribunal.
In 2007, the Tribunal was involved in a confrontation with newly elected President Rafael Correa
. On March 9, the Tribunal warned Correa that he would be acting illegally if he ignored its eventual ruling on the constitutionality of a national referendum. Correa responded that the Tribunal was "dominated by the political parties" and that it had no authority to act on the issue. The Tribunal's rulings have often been ignored by Ecuador's presidents and Congress.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
Tribunal Constitucional del Ecuador) is the highest court in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
dealing with constitutional issues. It was created as part of Ecuador's 1996 constitutional reform package. It is composed of nine magistrates.
The Constitutional Tribunal has been affected by Ecuador's recent political crises. In 2005, President Lucio Gutiérrez
Lucio Gutiérrez
Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa served as President of Ecuador from January 15, 2003 to April 20, 2005.- Political rise :Gutiérrez was prominent in a popular uprising that replaced President Jamil Mahuad for three hours in January 2000...
manipulated his party's modest advantage in Congress
National Congress of Ecuador
The National Congress was the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Ecuador prior to November 2007....
to replace numerous justices, including eight of nine members of the Constitutional Tribunal.
In 2007, the Tribunal was involved in a confrontation with newly elected President Rafael Correa
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
. On March 9, the Tribunal warned Correa that he would be acting illegally if he ignored its eventual ruling on the constitutionality of a national referendum. Correa responded that the Tribunal was "dominated by the political parties" and that it had no authority to act on the issue. The Tribunal's rulings have often been ignored by Ecuador's presidents and Congress.
See also
- Case No. 111-97-TCCase No. 111-97-TCCase No. 111-97-TC is a case decided by the Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador on November 25, 1997 that resulted in a landmark decision regarding sodomy laws. The newly created Constitutional Tribunal overturned as unconstitutional the first section of Article 516 of the Penal Code which...
, a decision handed down by the Constitutional Tribunal in 1997 which decriminalized homosexuality in Ecuador. - ConstitutionConstitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
- ConstitutionalismConstitutionalismConstitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law"....
- Constitutional economicsConstitutional economicsConstitutional economics is a research program in economics and constitutionalism that has been described as extending beyond the definition of 'the economic analysis of constitutional law' in explaining the choice "of alternative sets of legal-institutional-constitutional rules that constrain the...
- JurisprudenceJurisprudenceJurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
- JudiciaryJudiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
- Rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
- Rule According to Higher LawRule according to higher lawThe rule according to a higher law means that no written law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain unwritten, universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice...