No Trial May be Reopened in Fujita’s Case, State Jurists

Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa, said that the current managers of El Universo newspaper must be the responsible for the damages caused by the Japanese construction firm Fujita, in charge of the first building of the Bus Terminal of Guayaquil, which showed structural damage in its platforms of the first floor.

The case alleges that the former director of this media, Carlos Pérez Perasso (+), was a shareholder of Prenor SA (Predial e Industrial del Norte), which designed the building plans for Fujita. Because of its damages, the former Transit Commission of Guayas sued Fujita and it was sentenced for breach of contract.

Although Correa requested El Universo to repair the financial damage by $ 100 million to the state, legal experts clarified that the resources used by the regime have no legal basis and the cause cannot be reopened.

Enrique Echeverría – Jurist

“There you have the response in Article 76, paragraph 7, letter E of the Constitution: “No one shall be tried more than once for the same cause and matter.” In addition, if there was someone responsible in the case, the death puts an end to any cause even if it is in investigation process. So there is no legally way to relive a case that happened thirty years ago, not even with the discretion of the Commission of Truth.

Iván Castro – Católica University Law School Dean

“(…) We have to see if the trial at the time had the same  objective, subjective and cause identity. If there were the same people as defendants in case you get it to a new trial, we have to know if the demand was exactly the same (…) Limitation is an applicable rule in Ecuador. The longer time limit is 15 years. If this period passes there could be no new process. “

Farid Simon – Law Professor

“The law and the rules by which decisions were made, regarding the bus station, were those applicable at the time. Therefore, it will mean to force an interpretation if contemporary figures are linked to past events. It is a violation of the basic principle of the retroactivity law. (…) The law is trying to serve a political purpose.”

Source: Daily Expreso