National Court of Justice rejects international report on Ecuadorian justice

The report sent by the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) in Washington regarding judicial independence in Ecuador, was rejected by President of the National Court of Justice (CNJ for its Spanish acronym), Carlos Ramirez, in a document warning of serious weaknesses in the study.

Ramirez says the report does not mention aspects of the Ecuadorian judicial system such as the fact that court officials can be sanctioned according to the provisions of the Organic Code of the Judicial Function.

The report on the Ecuadorian system, developed by Peruvian lawyer Luis Pasara, examined 12 cases that were widely disseminated to the public, in addition to analyzing the role played by the courts and authorities. Moreover, it states that the Executive in Ecuador has direct influence on the Judiciary.

For his part, the statement from the CNJ notes that in 2013 they solved 9,515 cases and questioned that the 12 cases analyzed does not even represent 1% of the resolved cases, and stressed out that in Ecuador, magistrates are elected according to rigorous merit, opposition and citizen challenge competitions, and not based on political appointments.