Ecuador 2008 Constitution (reviewed 2021)

TITLE IV. PARTICIPATION AND ORGANIZATION OF POWER

CHAPTER 1. Participation in democracy

SECTION 1. Principles of participation

Article 95

Citizens, individually and collectively, shall participate as leading players in decision making, planning and management of public affairs and in the people’s monitoring of State institutions and society and their representatives in an ongoing process of building citizen power. Participation shall be governed by the principles of equality, autonomy, public deliberation, respect for differences, monitoring by the public, solidarity and interculturalism.

The participation of citizens in all matters of public interest is a right, which shall be exercised by means of mechanisms of representative, direct and community democracy.

SECTION 2. Community organization

Article 96

All forms of organizing society are recognized as an expression of the people’s sovereignty to develop processes of self-determination and to influence public decisions and policymaking and for social monitoring of all levels of government, as well as public and private institutions that provide public services.

Organizations can be articulated at different levels to build up citizen power and its forms of expression; they must guarantee internal democracy, the rotation of power of their leaders, and accountability.

Article 97

All organizations shall be able to develop alternative forms of dispute mediation and settlement, in those cases permitted by law; to act as delegates of the competent authority, with acceptance of due shared responsibility with this authority, to call for reparation of damages caused by public or private institutions; to draw up economic, political, environmental, social and cultural proposals and claims; and to propose other initiatives contributing to the good way of living.

Volunteer work for social action and development is recognized as a form of social participation.

Article 98

Individuals and communities shall be able to exercise the right to resist deeds or omissions by the public sector or natural persons or non-state legal entities that undermine or can undermine their constitutional rights or call for recognition of new rights.

Article 99

Citizen action shall be exercised individually or representing the community when a right is infringed and when it is threatened; it shall be submitted to a competent authority, in accordance with the law. The exercise of this action shall not prevent other actions guaranteed by the Constitution and the law.

SECTION 3. Participation in the different levels of government

Article 100

At all levels of government, entities of participation shall be set up, comprised of elected authorities, representatives of the dependent regime, and representatives of the society of the territorial sphere of each level of government, which shall be governed by democratic principles. Participation in these entities is aimed at:

1. Drafting national, local and sector plans and policies between governments and the citizenry.
2. Improving the quality of public investment and drafting development agendas.
3. Drawing up participatory budgets of governments.
4. Building up democracy with permanent mechanisms for transparency, accountability and social control.
5. Promoting citizen training and fostering communication processes.

To implement this participation, public hearings, oversight committees, assemblies, gross-roots lobbying, consultative councils, observatories and other entities that promote civic-mindedness shall be organized.

Article 101

The sessions of decentralized autonomous governments shall be public and at these sessions there will be an empty seat that shall be held by a representative of the citizens, depending on the topics to be dealt with, for the purpose of participating in their debate and decision making.

Article 102

Ecuadorians, including those residing abroad, whether individually or collectively, will be able to submit their proposals and projects at all levels of government, through the mechanisms provided for in the Constitution and by law.

SECTION 4. Direct democracy

Article 103

Grass-roots legal and regulatory initiatives shall be exercised to propose the creation, amendment or repeal of legal regulations to the Legislative Branch of Government or any other body that has a regulatory jurisdiction. It must benefit from the backing of a number accounting for no less than zero point twenty-five percent (0.25%) of the persons registered in the voter registration list of the corresponding jurisdiction.

Those who propose a grass-roots initiative shall participate, by means of their representatives, in discussing the project in the corresponding body, which shall have a term of one-hundred eighty (180) days to review the proposal; if the proposal is not reviewed within those time-limits, it will enter into force.

When it involves a bill, the President of the Republic shall be able amend the bill but not to veto it completely.

For the submittal of constitutional amendment proposals, the backing of a number accounting for no less than one percent (1%) of the persons registered in the voter registration list shall be required. If the Legislative Branch does not review the proposal within a term of one year, the proposers will be able to request the National Electoral Council to call for a referendum, without the need to provide the eight percent (8%) backing of those registered in the voter registration list. While one grass-roots proposal to amend the Constitution is being processed, no other can be submitted at the same time.

Article 104

The corresponding electoral body shall convene a referendum as ordered by the President of the Republic, the supreme authority of decentralized autonomous governments or citizen initiative.

The President of the Republic shall instruct the National Electoral Council to convene a referendum on matters he/she deems advisable.

Decentralized autonomous governments, on the basis of a decision taken by three fourths of their members, can request that a referendum be convened on issues of interest for their jurisdiction which are within the competence of the corresponding level of government.

Citizens will be able to request the call for a referendum. When the referendum is nationwide, the petitioner must reckon with the backing of a number accounting for no less than five percent (5%) of the persons registered in the voter registration list; when the referendum is local, it must be backed by a number accounting for no less than 10% of the corresponding voter list.

When the referendum is requested by Ecuadorians abroad, for matters of interest to them and involving the Ecuadorian State, it shall require the backing of a number accounting for no less than five percent (5%) of the persons registered on the voter registration list of their special voting precinct.

Referendums requested by the decentralized autonomous governments or the citizenry shall not be able to refer to tax-related matters or the country’s political and administrative structure, except for what is provided for in the Constitution.

In all cases, a previous ruling by the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the proposed questions shall be required.

Article 105

All persons, in the exercise of their political rights, will be able to recall elected authorities.

The request for recall can be submitted after the first year and before the last year of the term of office for which the challenged authority was elected. During the term of office of an authority, only one proceeding requesting his/her recall can be carried out.

The request for recall must be backed by a number accounting for no less than ten percent (10%) of the persons registered in the corresponding voter registration list. In the case of the President of the Republic, backing by a number accounting for no less than fifteen percent (15%) of the persons registered in the electoral registration list.

Article 106

The National Electoral Council, once it is apprised of the decision taken by the President of the Republic or the decentralized autonomous governments or accepts the petition requested by the citizenry, shall within fifteen (15) days call for a referendum, plebiscite or recall (motion to dismiss), which then must be held in the ensuing sixty (60) days.

For the adoption of a matter proposed for referendum, plebiscite or recall, an absolute majority of valid votes shall be required, except for a referendum to recall the President of the Republic, in which case the absolute majority of voters is required.

The people’s decision shall require mandatory and immediate enforcement. In the case of recall, the challenged authority shall be removed from office and shall be replaced by whoever is stipulated by the Constitution

Article 107

For the expenditures required to hold the elections that are convened by order of decentralized autonomous governments, they shall be charged to the budget of the corresponding level of government; those that are convened by order of the President of the Republic or at the request of the citizenry shall be charged to the General Budget of the State.

SECTION 5. Political organizations

Article 108

Political parties and movements are non-State public organizations, which constitute the expressions of political plurality of the people and are sustained by philosophical, political, ideological, inclusive and nondiscriminatory concepts.

Their organization, structure and functioning shall be democratic and shall guarantee rotation of power, accountability, and parity membership between women and men on their governing boards. They shall choose their board members and candidates by means of internal electoral processes or primaries.

Article 109

Political parties shall be national in nature, shall be governed by their principles and bylaws, shall propose a government platform and shall keep a record of their members. Political movements may pertain to any level of government or the district of Ecuadorians living abroad. The law shall set the requirements and conditions for the democratic organization, permanence and actions of political movements, as well as incentives for them to forge alliances.

Political parties must submit their statement of ideological principles, government platform setting forth the basic actions they propose to carry out, bylaws, symbols, emblems, logos, list of governing board members. Parties must have a national structure, which shall cover at least 50% of the country’s provinces, two of which must pertain to the three provinces with the largest population. The registry of members cannot have a number accounting for less than one point five percent (1.5%) of the persons on the voter registration list used in the last election.

Political movements must submit a statement of principles, government platform, symbols, acronyms, emblems, logos and registry of members or followers, with a number accounting for no less than one point five percent (1.5%) of the voter registration list used in the last election.

Article 110

Political parties and movements shall be funded by membership dues paid by their members and followers, and as long as they meet the requirements stipulated by law, the political parties shall receive State allocations subject to monitoring.

The political movement that, on two successive multi-person elections, obtains at least five percent (5%) of all valid votes nationwide, shall acquire the same rights and must meet the same obligations as political parties.

Article 111

The right of political parties and movements registered in the National Electoral Council to political opposition at all levels of government is recognized.

SECTION 6. Political representation

Article 112

The political parties and movements or their alliances may submit militants, sympathizers or unaffiliated persons as candidates for general election. Political movements shall require the backing of persons registered in the voter registration list of the corresponding jurisdiction by a number accounting for no less than one point five percent (1.5%).

When requesting registration, those who are submitting their candidacy shall submit their government platform or proposals.

The political parties and movements or their alliances may not nominate candidates for the elections to the Council for Public Participation and Social Control.

Article 113

The following cannot be candidates to an election by universal suffrage:

1. Those who, when registering their candidacy, have a contract with the State, as natural persons or as representatives or proxies of legal entities, when the contract was entered into for the implementation of a public work, provision of public service or production of natural resources.
2. Those have been convicted and sentenced for crimes punishable by long-term imprisonment or for bribery, illicit enrichment or embezzlement.
3. Those who owe alimony payments.
4. The judges of the Judicial Branch of Government, the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court and the members of the Constitutional Court and the National Electoral Council, unless they have resigned from office six months before the date set for the election.
5. Members of the foreign service who hold a position abroad cannot be candidates representing Ecuadorians abroad unless they have resigned from their position six months before the date set for the election.
6. Public servants whose appointment and recall are discretionary and those who have fixed-term contracts, unless they have resigned prior to the date of registration of their candidacy. The other public servants and teachers can submit their candidacy and shall enjoy a leave of absence without salary from the date of registration of their candidacies up to the date following the election, and if they are elected while they hold office. Performance of their duties by those who are elected to parish boards shall not be incompatible with the performance of their duties as public servants or teachers.
7. Those who have exercised executive authority in de facto governments.
8. Members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force on active duty.

Article 114

The authorities elected by the people can be reelected only once, consecutively or not, for the same position. The authorities elected by the people who submit their candidature for a different office shall resign from the one they are currently holding.

Article 115

The State, through the media, shall guarantee, in an equitable and egalitarian fashion, promotion of the election fostering debate and dissemination of the program platforms of all the candidates. Political subjects cannot hire advertising in the media and on billboards.

The use of State resources and infrastructure, as well as government publicity, at all levels of government for the electoral campaign, is forbidden.

The law shall set sanctions for those who fail to comply with these provisions and shall determine the limit and control mechanisms for political solicitation and campaign spending.

Article 116

For multi-person elections, the law shall establish an electoral system in line with the principles of proportionality, equality of vote, equity, parity and rotation of power between women and men and shall determine the voting precincts inside and outside the country.

Article 117

Legal reforms to election are forbidden during the year prior to holding elections.

If a provision is declared unconstitutional and this affects the normal development of the electoral process, the National Electoral Council shall propose to the Legislative Branch of Government a bill so that the Legislature can review it within no fewer than thirty (30 days); if it is not dealt with, it shall come into force by law.

CHAPTER 2. Legislative Branch of Government

SECTION 1. National Assembly

Article 118

The Legislative Branch of Government is exercised by the National Assembly, which is comprised of Assembly persons elected for a four-year term of office.

The National Assembly is comprised one single house of representatives and shall have its seat in Quito. In exceptional circumstances, it can meet in any part of the country’s territory.

The National Assembly shall be comprised of

1. Fifteen (15) Assembly persons elected as representatives of the nation as a whole (national district).
2. Two (2) Assembly persons elected for each province, plus one (1) additional Assembly person for every two hundred thousand (200,000) inhabitants or fraction thereof over one hundred fifty thousand (150,000), on the basis of the last national population census.
3. The law shall determine the election of Assembly persons representing regions, metropolitan districts, and the district representing Ecuadorians living abroad.

Article 119

To be an Assembly person, one must be an Ecuadorian national, at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of registering one’s candidacy, and in possession of political rights.

Article 120

The National Assembly shall have the following attributions and duties, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To swear into office the President and Vice-President of the Republic when the National Electoral Council has declared that they have won the election. The swearing-in ceremony shall take place on the 24th of May of the year they were elected.
2. To declare disempowering physical or mental disability preventing the President of the Republic from fulfilling his/her duties and to decide their termination of office in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
3. To elect the Vice-President, in the event of his/her definitive absence, from a shortlist of candidates proposed by the President of the Republic.
4. To be apprised of the annual reports that must be submitted by the President of the Republic and issue views regarding them.
5. To participate in the constitutional reform process.
6. To expedite, codify, reform and repeal laws and interpret them, with a generally mandatory nature.
7. To create, amend or eliminate taxes by means of the law, without detriment to the attributions granted to decentralized autonomous governments.
8. To adopt or turn down international treaties in those cases whenever appropriate.
9. To audit the activities of the Executive, Electoral, and Transparency and Social Control Branches of Government and other bodies of the public sector and to request public servants to provide the information that it deems necessary.
10. To authorize, on the basis of a vote of two thirds of its members, the criminal impeachment of the President or Vice-President of the Republic when the competent authority so requests it on substantive grounds.
11. To swear into office the supreme authority of the Office of the State Prosecutor, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People, the Superintendencies, and the members of the National Electoral Council, the Judiciary Council, and the Council for Public Participation and Social Control.
12. To adopt the General Budget of the State, in which the limits of government indebtedness shall be stipulated, and monitor its implementation.
13. To grant amnesty for public crimes and pardons for humanitarian reasons, with the favorable vote of two thirds of its members. The above shall not be granted for crimes perpetrated against public administration or for genocide, torture, forced disappearance of persons, kidnapping, or homicide on political or moral grounds.

Article 121

The National Assembly shall elect a President and two Vice-Presidents from among its members, for a two-year term of office, and they can be reelected.

The Vice-Presidents shall hold, in order, the office of the President in the event of temporary or definitive absence or resignation from office of the President of the National Assembly. The National Assembly shall fill the vacancies when required and for the time remaining to complete the terms of office.

The National Assembly shall elect from outside its membership a secretary and a pro-secretary.

Article 122

The supreme body of the legislative administration shall be comprised of those who hold the office of President and the office of the two Vice-Presidents and of four members elected by the National Assembly from among the Assembly persons belonging to different legislative groups.

Article 123

The National Assembly shall be installed in Quito, without the need to issue a call to meeting, on the fourteenth of May of the year of its election. The plenary shall be held regularly and permanently, with two fifteen-day recesses every year. The sessions of the National Assembly shall be public, barring those exceptions provided for by the law.

During recess, the President of the National Assembly, as such, at the request of the majority of the members of the Assembly or of the President of the Republic, shall convene special sessions to deal exclusively with the specific matters indicated in the call to meeting.

Article 124

The political parties or movements that have a number of Assembly persons accounting for at least ten percent (10%) of the members of the National Assembly may be able to set up a legislative group. The political parties or movements that do not manage to account for the above-mentioned percentage will be able to join with others for the purpose of forming a legislative group.

Article 125

To fulfill its attributions, the National Assembly shall set up permanent specialized committees, in which all of its members shall participate. The law shall determine the number, establishment, and competencies of each one.

Article 126

To carry out its work, the National Assembly shall be governed by the corresponding law and its internal regulations. To amend or codify this law, an absolute majority of the members of the Assembly shall be required.

Article 127

The Assembly persons shall perform a public duty at the service of the country, they shall act for the general welfare of the nation; they shall be held politically liable by society for their deeds or omissions in the performance of their duties and attributions; and they shall be obliged to render accounts to their constituents.

Assembly persons shall not be able:

1. To hold any other public or private office or perform their professional activities if the latter are incompatible with their office, except for teaching at university as long as their schedule allows them.
2. To provide, process, receive or administer resources of the General Budget of the State, except those earmarked for the functioning of the administrative budget of the National Assembly.
3. To process appointments to public office.
4. To collect allowances and other income from public funds that do not pertain to their duty as Assembly persons.
5. To accept appointments, delegations, commissions or representations that are paid from other State duties.
6. To be a member of the governing boards of other associated bodies of institutions or companies in which the State has a share.
7. To enter into contracts with entities of the public sector.

Whoever fails to observe one of these prohibitions shall forfeit the status of Assembly person, in addition to being held liable by law for this failure.

Article 128

Assembly persons shall enjoy parliamentary immunity from legal proceedings by the National Court of Justice during the performance of their duties; they shall not be held civilly or criminally liable either for the opinions they give or for the decisions or actions they carry out in the performance of their duties, inside or outside the National Assembly.

To file criminal proceedings against an Assembly person, prior authorization from the National Assembly shall be required, except in those cases that are not related to the performance of their duties. If the petition filed by the competent judge requesting authorization for trial proceedings is not answered within a term of thirty (30) days, it shall be construed as granted.

During the periods of recess, the time-limits indicated above shall be suspended. Assembly persons can only be arrested and imprisoned in case of a felony or final judgment of conviction.

Criminal proceedings that had been filed prior to the swearing into office shall continue to be processed by the judge in charge of the hearing the case.

SECTION 2. Monitoring government action

Article 129

The National Assembly shall be able to proceed with the impeachment of the President or Vice-President of the Republic at the request of at least one third of its members, in the following cases:

1. For crimes against the security of the State.
2. For crimes of extortion, bribery, embezzlement or illicit enrichment.
3. For crimes of genocide, torture, forced disappearance of persons, kidnapping or homicide on political or moral grounds.

To file impeachment proceedings, a ruling of admissibility by the Constitutional Court shall be required, but prior criminal proceedings shall not be required.

Within seventy-two hours, once the procedures provided for by law have concluded, the National Assembly shall issue a ruling, with a statement of its reasons, on the basis of evidence for his/her defense submitted by the President of the Republic.

To proceed with censure and removal from office, a favorable vote of two thirds of the members of the National Assembly shall be required. If the censure leads to grounds for suspicion of criminal liability, a decision shall be taken to refer the matter for investigation by the competent judge.

Article 130

The National Assembly shall be able to remove the President of the Republic from office in the following cases:

1. For having taken up duties that do not come under his/her competence, after a favorable ruling by the Constitutional Court.
2. For severe political crisis or internal unrest.

Within seventy-two (72) hours, after concluding the procedure provided for by law, the National Assembly shall issue a ruling, with a statement of its reasons, on the basis evidence for his/her defense submitted by the President of the Republic.

To proceed with the removal from office, the favorable vote of two thirds of the members of the National Assembly shall be required. If the motion to remove the President from office is adopted, the Vice-President shall take over the Office of the President of the Republic.

This power can only be exercised once during the legislative period, during the first three years of office.

Within seven days at the most after publication of the ruling to remove the President from office, the National Electoral Council shall convene for a same date legislative and presidential elections ahead of time for the rest of the respective terms of office. Installation of the National Assembly and the swearing in of the President-elect shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, on the date set by the National Electoral Council.

Article 131

The National Assembly shall be able to file impeachment proceedings at the request of at least one fourth of its members, and for failure to perform the duties stipulated by the Constitution and the law, against the Ministers of State or the supreme authority of the Office of the State Prosecutor, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People, the Superintendencies, and the members of the National Electoral Council, the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court, the Judiciary Council and the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, and the other authorities as provided for by the Constitution, during the performance of their duties in office and up to one year after concluding their respective terms of office.

To proceed with their censure and removal from office, the favorable vote of the absolute majority of the members of the National Assembly shall be required, except for Ministers of State and members of the Electoral Branch of Government and the Judiciary Council, in which case two thirds shall be required.

Censure shall lead to the immediate removal of the authority from office. If the reasons for the censure lead to grounds for suspicion of criminal liability, the decision shall be taken to refer the matter for investigation by the competent authority.

SECTION 3. Legislative procedures

Article 132

The National Assembly shall adopt laws as general norms for the general welfare. The attributions of the National Assembly that do not require the enactment of a law are exercised by means of agreements or resolutions. A law shall be required in the following cases:

1. Regulating the exercise of constitutional rights and guarantees.
2. Providing for the criminal categorization of infringements and providing for the corresponding sanctions.
3. Levying, amending or eliminating taxes, without detriment to the attributions that the Constitution grants to decentralized autonomous governments.
4. Attributing duties, responsibilities, and competencies to decentralized autonomous governments.
5. Amending the political and administrative division of the country, except with respect to parishes.
6. Granting public monitoring and regulatory bodies the power to issue standards of a general nature in matters pertaining to their competence, without being able to alter or innovate legal provisions.

Article 133

Laws shall be organic and regular.

The following shall be organic laws:

1. Those governing the organization and functioning of the institutions established by the Constitution.
2. Those governing the exercise of constitutional rights and guarantees.
3. Those governing the organization, competencies, powers, and functioning of decentralized autonomous governments.
4. Those related to the system governing political parties and the electoral system.

The issuance, reform, repeal and interpretation, of a generally mandatory nature, of organic laws shall require an absolute majority of the members of the National Assembly.

The others shall be regular laws, which cannot amend or prevail over an organic law.

Article 134

The initiative to submit bills pertains:

1. To the Assembly persons, with the support of a legislative group or at least five percent (5%) of the members of the National Assembly.
2. To the President of the Republic.
3. To the other branches of the State in the framework of their jurisdiction.
4. To the Constitutional Court, the Office of the State Prosecutor, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, and the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People in the subjects that pertain to them in accordance with their attributions.
5. To the citizens who are in possession of their political rights and the social organizations that benefit from the support of at least zero point twenty-five percent (0.25%) of the citizens registered in the national voter registration list.
6. Those who submit bills in accordance with the present provisions will be able to participate in their discussion, either personally or by means of their delegates.

Article 135

Only the President of the Republic will be entitled to submit bills that levy, amend or eliminate taxes, that increase public spending or that change the country’s political and administrative division.

Article 136

Bills must refer to one single subject and shall be submitted to the President of the National Assembly with sufficient explanation of their grounds, the list of articles that are being proposed and a clear indication of the articles that would be repealed or amended by the new laws. If the bill does not meet these requirements, it shall not be processed.

Article 137

The bill shall be subject to two debates. The President of the National Assembly, within the time-limits set by law, shall order distribution of the bill to the members of the Assembly and shall publicly disseminate an abstract of the law and shall send it to the corresponding committee, which shall start its respective examination and processing.

Citizens interested in having the bill adopted or who believe that their rights might be affected by its enactment shall be entitled to appear before the committee to expound their arguments.

Once the bill has been adopted, the Assembly shall send it to the President of the Republic so that he/she can approve it or object to it on the basis of substantiated grounds. Once the bill has been approved or if there are no objections within thirty days after it was received by the President of the Republic, the law shall be enacted and it shall be published in the Official Register.

Article 138

If the President of the Republic totally objects to the bill, the National Assembly can once again consider it, but only one year after the date of the objection. Once this period has elapsed, the Assembly can ratify it in one single debate, with a favorable vote of two thirds of its members, and shall send it immediately to the Official Register for publication.

If the objection is partial, the President of the Republic shall submit an alternative text, which cannot include subjects not envisaged in the bill; the same restriction must also be observed by the National Assembly when adopting the suggested amendments.

The Assembly shall examine the partial objection within thirty (30) days as of the date of its submission and shall be able, in one single debate, to adhere to it and amend the bill with the favorable vote of the majority of those attending the session. The initially adopted project can also be ratified by the favorable vote of two thirds of its members.

In both cases, the Assembly shall send the law to the Official Register for publication. If the Assembly does not examine the objection within the time-limits indicated, it shall be understood that it adheres to it and the President of the Republic shall order enactment of the law and its publication in the Official Register.

If unconstitutionality is the grounds of the objection, then the objection shall first be resolved.

Article 139

If the objection of the President of the Republic is based on the bill’s total or partial unconstitutionality, a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court shall be required and it must be issued within thirty days.

If the ruling confirms that the bill is totally unconstitutional, it shall be shelved, and if it is ruled that it is partially unconstitutional, the National Assembly shall make the necessary changes so that the bill can secure the approval of the President of the Republic. If the Constitutional Court rules that the bill is not unconstitutional, the National Assembly shall enact it and order its publication.

Article 140

The President of the Republic will be able to send to the National Assembly bills qualified as urgent on economic matters. The Assembly must adopt, amend or turn them down within thirty (30) days at the most as of their reception.

Procedures for submittal, discussion and adoption of these bills shall be the regular ones, except with respect to the previously established time-limits. While a bill qualified as urgent is being discussed, the President of the Republic will not be able to send another, unless a State of Exception has been decreed.

When the Assembly does not adopt, amend or turn down the bill qualified as urgent in economic matters within the stipulated time-limits, the President of the Republic shall enact it as a decree-law or shall order its publication in the Official Register. The National Assembly shall be able, at any time, to amend or repeal it, on the basis of the regular process provided for by the Constitution.

CHAPTER 3. Executive Branch of Government

SECTION 1. Organization and duties

Article 141

The President of the Republic performs the duties of the Executive Branch of Government and is the Head of State and Government and is in charge of public administration.

The Executive Branch is comprised of the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice-President of the Republic, the Ministries of State and the other organizations and institutions needed to fulfill, in the framework of their competence, the attributions of Leadership, planning, implementation and evaluation of national public policies and plans that are created to implement them.

Article 142

The President of the Republic shall be an Ecuadorian national by birth, at least thirty (30) years of age when registering his/her candidacy, in possession of his/her political rights, and not subject to any of the disqualifications or prohibitions provided for by the Constitution.

Article 143

Candidates to the office of the President and Vice-President of the Republic shall appear on the same voting ballot. The President or Vice-President shall be elected by absolute majority of the valid ballots that were cast. If, at the first round of voting, no electoral pair secures the absolute majority of votes, a second electoral round shall be held within the ensuing forty-five days, and the two electoral pairs who have obtained the highest number of votes in the first round shall participate in the second round. A second round of voting shall not be necessary if the electoral pair that obtained the highest ranking garners at least 40% of the valid votes and a difference of more than 10% of the number of votes obtained by the electoral pair ranking second.

Article 144

The term of office of the President of the Republic shall start ten days after installation of the General Assembly, before which he/she shall be sworn into office. If the National Assembly has already been installed, the term of office of the new administration shall begin within forty-five (45) days after the results of the election have been announced.

The President of the Republic shall remain four years in office and can be reelected only once.

The President of the Republic, during his/her term of office and up to one year after leaving office, must advise the National Assembly ahead of time of any departure from the country, the duration and reasons for absence from the country.

Article 145

The President of the Republic shall cease to perform his/her duties and shall leave office in the following cases:

1. Expiry of the presidential term of office.
2. Voluntary resignation from office accepted by the National Assembly.
3. Removal from office, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
4. Permanent physical or mental disability preventing him/her from performing his/her duties, as certified in accordance with law by a committee of specialized physicians and so declared by the National Assembly with the votes of two thirds of its members.
5. Giving up the post, as confirmed by the Constitutional Court and declared by the National Assembly with the votes of two thirds of its members.
6. Impeachment and recall, in accordance with the procedures provided for by the Constitution.

Article 146

In the event of a temporary absence from the Office of the President of the Republic, the President shall be replaced by the person holding the office of Vice-President. A temporary absence shall be understood as the result of illness or other force majeure circumstance that prevents the performance of duties for a maximum period of three months or the leave of absence granted by the National Assembly.

In the event of the definitive absence of the President of the Republic, the person holding the office of Vice-President shall replace the President for time remaining to complete the corresponding presidential term of office.

In the event of a simultaneous and definitive absence of the President and Vice-President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly shall temporarily take on the office of President, and within forty-eight (48) hours, the National Electoral Council shall convene an election for these offices. Those who are elected shall perform their respective duties until the term of office has expired. If there is one year or less before expiry of the term of office, the President of the National Assembly shall take the office of the President of the Republic for what remains of the term of office.

Article 147

The following are the attributions and duties of the President of the Republic, in addition to those stipulated by law:

1. To observe and enforce the Constitution, laws, international treaties, and other legal regulations within the scope of his/her competency.
2. To submit, at time of being sworn into office before the National Assembly, the basic guidelines of the policies and actions that will be developed during his/her term of office.
3. To define and direct the public policies of the Executive Branch.
4. To submit to the National Planning Council the proposal for the National Development Plan for its adoption.
5. To direct public administration with a decentralized approach and to issue the decrees needed for its integration, organization, regulation and monitoring.
6. To create, change, and eliminate coordination ministries, entities and bodies.
7. To annually submit to the National Assembly the report on compliance with the National Development Plan and the objectives that the government intends to achieve the following year.
8. To send the draft General Budget of the State to the National Assembly for its adoption.
9. To appoint and remove from office Ministers of State and other public servants whose appointment pertains to him/her.
10. To draw up the country’s foreign affairs policy, to sign and ratify international treaties, and to remove from office ambassadors and heads of mission.
11. To participate with legislative initiatives in the process of drafting laws.
12. To approve bills adopted by the National Assembly and to order their enactment in the Official Register.
13. To issue the regulations that are needed to enforce laws, without infringing them or altering them, as well as those that are required for the sound functioning of the administration.
14. To convene a referendum in those cases and with those requirements provided for in the Constitution.
15. To convene the National Assembly for special sessions, identifying the specific matters that will be dealt with.
16. To exercise the supreme authority for the Armed Forces and the National Police Force and designate the members of the high command of the armed and police forces.
17. To safeguard the country’s sovereignty, the independence of the State, domestic law and order and public security and to exercise the political leadership of national defense.
18. To pardon, reduce and commute sentences, in accordance with the law.

Article 148

The President of the Republic will be able to dissolve the National Assembly when, in his/her opinion, it has taken up duties that do not pertain to it under the Constitution, upon prior favorable ruling by the Constitutional Court; or if it repeatedly without justification obstructs implementation of the National Development Plan or because a severe political crisis and domestic unrest.

This power can be exercised only once the first three years of his/her term of office.

Within seven days at the most after the publication of the decree of dissolution, the National Electoral Council shall convene, for the same date, legislative and presidential elections for the rest of the respective terms of office.

Up until the installation of the National Assembly, the President of the Republic shall be able, upon a prior favorable ruling issued by the Constitution Court, issue decree-laws for urgent economic matters, which may be adopted or repealed by the legislative body.

Article 149

Whoever holds the office of Vice-President of the Republic shall meet the same requirements, shall be subject to the same disqualifications and prohibitions as those set for the President of the Republic, and shall perform his/her duties for the same term of office.

The Vice-President of the Republic, when not replacing the President of the Republic, shall perform the duties that the latter assigns him/her.

Article 150

In the event of temporary absence of whoever holds the office of Vice-President of the Republic, replacement shall pertain to the Minister of State who is designated by the Office of the President of the Republic.

Causes for temporary absence of whoever holds the office of Vice-President of the Republic shall be the same as those set for the President of the Republic.

In the event of the definitive absence of the Vice-President of the Republic, the National Assembly, on the basis of a vote of the majority of its members, shall elect his/her replacement from a shortlist of candidates submitted by the Office of the President of the Republic. The elected person shall perform his/her duties for the time that remains to complete the term of office.

If the National Assembly neglects to pronounce itself within thirty days of being notified of the petition, it shall be understood that the first person appearing on the shortlist of candidates shall be chosen.

Article 151

The Ministers of State shall be appointed and recalled at the discretion of the President of the Republic and shall represent him/her in matters inherent to the respective ministries for which they are responsible. They shall be held liable politically, civilly and criminally for the actions and contracts they enter into during the performance of their duties, regardless of the State’s subsidiary civil responsibility.

To be a standing Minister of State, one is required to be an Ecuadorian national, to be in possession of political rights and to not have incurred any disqualification or incompatibility, as provided for by the Constitution. The number of Ministers of State, their name and the competencies assigned to them shall be established by means of a decree issued by the Office of the President of the Republic.

Article 152

The following cannot be Ministers of State:

1. Relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and the second degree of affinity of those who hold the office of President and Vice-President of the Republic.
2. Natural persons, owners, board of director members, representatives or proxies of private-sector legal entities, whether domestic or foreign, that have a contract with the State for the implementation of public works, the provision of public services or the production of natural resources, by means of a concession, partnership or any other type of contract.
3. Members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force on active duty.

Article 153

Those who have held the standing post of Minister of State and public servants at the upper echelons of public administration as defined by law, once they have left their post and for the ensuing two years, cannot be member of the board of directors and executive management team or be legal representatives or have the power of attorney for private-sector legal entities, whether domestic or foreign, that have entered into a contract with the State, whether for the implementation of public works, the provision of public services, or the production of natural resources, by means of a concession, partnership or any other type of contract, nor can they be officers of international financial institutions that have pending credit with the country.

Article 154

The Ministers of State, in addition to the attributions given to them by law, are in charge of

1. Exercising leadership of the public policies concerning the area under their responsibility and issuing the agreements and administrative resolutions that are required for its management.
2. Submitting to the National Assembly the reports that are required and that are related to the areas under their responsibility and to appear when called or subject to impeachment.

Article 155

In each territory, the President of the Republic shall be entitled to have one representative who monitors observance of the policies of the Executive Branch and who directs and coordinates the activities of its public servants.

SECTION 2. National Equality Councils

Article 156

The National Equality Councils are bodies responsible for ensuring the full observance and exercise of the rights enshrined in the Constitution and in international human rights instruments. The Councils shall exercise their attributions for the drafting, cross-cutting application, observance, follow-up and evaluation of public policies involving the issues of gender, ethnic groups, generations, interculturalism, and disabilities and human mobility, in accordance with the law. To achieve their objectives, they shall coordinate with leading and executive entities and with specialized organizations for the protection of rights at all levels of government.

Article 157

The National Equality Councils shall be comprised, on the basis of a parity approach, of representatives of civil society and the State, and they shall be chaired by those who represent the Executive Branch. The structure, functioning and form of membership of their members shall be governed by the principles of rotation of power, democratic participation, inclusion and pluralism.

SECTION 3. Armed Forces and National Police Force

Article 158

The Armed Forces and National Police Force are institutions aimed at protecting citizen rights, liberties, and guarantees.

The fundamental mission of the Armed Forces is the defense of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and, complementary, support the State’s integral security in accordance with the law.

Internal protection and upholding law and order are exclusive duties of the State and responsibility of the National Police Force.

The employees and officers of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be trained in the basic principles of democracy and human rights and shall respect the dignity and human rights of persons without any discrimination and with full observance of the legal regulatory framework.

Article 159

The Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be obedient and not deliberative; they shall fulfill their mission strictly subject to civilian power and the Constitution.

The authorities of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be responsible for the orders that are given. Obedience of orders from their superiors shall not exonerate those who carry them out from being held liable for them.

Article 160

Persons wishing to have a career in the armed forces or police force shall not be discriminated against for admittance. The law shall stipulate the specific requirements for those cases where special skills, knowledge or capabilities are required.

Members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be subject to specific laws governing their rights and obligations and subject to their system of advancement and promotions based on merit and gender equity criteria. Their job security and professional development shall be guaranteed.

The members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force can only be deprived of their ranks, pensions, decorations and commendations for causes set forth in these laws and cannot make use of privileges stemming from their ranks over the rights of persons.

The members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be judged by the bodies of the Judicial Branch of Government; in the case of crimes committed in the framework of their specific mission, they shall be judged by specialized military and police courts, belonging to the same above-mentioned Judicial Branch. Breach of the rules of discipline shall be judged by the competent organizations provided for by law.

Article 161

Civic-military service is voluntary. This service shall be performed in the framework of respect for diversity and rights and shall be supported by alternative training in various occupational fields that contribute to individual development and the well-being of society. Those who participate in this service shall not be taken to areas of high military risk.

All forms of forced recruitment are forbidden.

Article 162

The Armed Forces can only participate in economic activities involving national defense and can provide their contingent to support national development, in accordance with the law.

The Armed Forces will be able to organize reserve forces, in accordance with the needs to perform their duties. The State shall allocate the resources that are needed for their equipment, training, and education.

Article 163

The National Police Force is a state institution that is civilian, armed, technical, structured by ranks, disciplined, professional and highly specialized, whose mission is to provide for public safety and law and order, and to protect the free exercise of rights and security of persons in the national territory.

The members of the National Police Force shall receive training based on human rights, specialized research, prevention, control, and crime prevention, and the use of methods of deterrence and conciliation as alternatives to the use of force.

For the development of its activities, the National Police Force shall coordinate its duties with the different levels of decentralized autonomous governments.

SECTION 4. State of Exception

Article 164

The President of the Republic shall be entitled to decree a State of Exception throughout the country’s territory or in part of this territory in the event of aggression, international or domestic armed conflict, severe domestic unrest, public calamity or natural disaster. The declaration of a State of Exception shall not interrupt the activities of the State’s duties.

The State of Exception shall observe the principles of needs, proportionality, legality, temporariness, territoriality and reasonableness. The decree establishing the State of Exception shall indicate its cause and motivation, territorial scope of application, period of duration, measures that must be applied, the rights that can be suspended or restricted and the notifications that correspond, in accordance with the Constitution and international treaties.

Article 165

During the State of Exception, the President of the Republic can only suspend or limit the exercise of the right to the inviolability of domicile, inviolability of correspondence, freedom of movement, freedom to associate and assemble, and freedom of information, under the terms set forth by the Constitution.

Once the State of Exception has been declared, the President of the Republic can:

1. Decree the advanced collection of taxes.
2. Use public funds allocated for other purposes, except those for health and education
3. Transfer the seat of government to anyplace of the country’s territory.
4. Order prior censorship of information in the media strictly with respect to the reasons for the State of Exception and the security of the State.
5. Establish all or part of the country’s territory as a security zone.
6. Order the use of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force and call to active duty the entire reserve forces or part of them, as well as staff from other institutions.
7. Order the closing or enabling of seaports, airports, and border passes.
8. Order the mobilization and requisitions that might be needed and decree national demobilization when normal conditions are restored.

Article 166

The President of the Republic shall notify the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, and the relevant international organizations of the State of Exception within forty-eight (48) hours after the signing of the corresponding decree. If circumstances justify it, the National Assembly will be entitled to repeal the decree at any time, without detriment to any ruling about its constitutional validity that might be issued by the Constitutional Court.

The decree of a State of Exception shall be in force for up to a maximum period of 60 days. If the grounds for the decree persist, it can be renewed for up to 30 additional days, which must be notified.

If the President of the Republic does not renew the decree of the State of Exception or does not notify it, it shall be understood to have expired.

When the causes motivating the State of Exception disappear, the President of the Republic shall decree its termination and shall immediate notify this, with the corresponding report.

Public servants shall be responsible for any abuse that might have been committed in the exercise of their powers while the State of Exception was in force.

CHAPTER 4. Judicial and Indigenous Justice Branch of Government

SECTION 1. Principles for the administration of justice

Article 167

The power to administer justice comes from the people and is exercised by the bodies of the Judicial Branch of Government and by the other bodies and functions provided for by the Constitution.

Article 168

The administration of justice, in compliance with its duties and in the exercise of its attributions, shall apply the following principles:

1. The bodies of the Judicial Branch shall benefit from both internal and external independence. Any breach of this principle shall entail administrative, civil, and criminal liability, in accordance with the law.
2. The Judicial Branch shall benefit from administrative, economic and financial autonomy.
3. By virtue of the jurisdictional unity, no authorities of the other branches of government shall be able to perform duties for the ordinary administration of justice, without detriment to the jurisdictional powers recognized by the Constitution.
4. Access to the administration of justice shall be free of charge. The law shall set the structure for court costs.
5. In all of their phases, the trials and their decisions shall be public, except for those cases expressly indicated in the law.
6. Formal procedures for conducting proceedings in all matters, instances, stages and steps shall be carried out using the verbal system, in accordance with the principles of consolidation, cross-examination, and provision.

Article 169

The procedural system is a means to carry out justice. The procedural standards shall embody the principles of simplification, consistency, effectiveness, immediacy, swiftness and procedural economy and shall ensure the effectiveness of the guarantees for due process of law. Justice shall not be sacrificed because of the sole omission of formalities.

Article 170

For admittance to the Judicial Branch, the criteria of equality, equity, rectitude, competitiveness, merits, publicity, challenge and public participation shall be observed.

The judiciary career stream is recognized and guaranteed in regular justice. Professional development shall be guaranteed by continuous training and periodic evaluation of the performance of public servants of the judiciary, as indispensable conditions for promotion and permanence in the judiciary career stream.

SECTION 2. Indigenous justice

Article 171

The authorities of the indigenous communities, peoples, and nations shall perform jurisdictional duties, on the basis of their ancestral traditions and their own system of law, within their own territories, with a guarantee for the participation of, and decision-making by, women. The authorities shall apply their own standards and procedures for the settlement of internal disputes, as long as they are not contrary to the Constitution and human rights enshrined in international instruments.

The State shall guarantee that the decisions of indigenous jurisdiction are observed by public institutions and authorities. These decisions shall be subject to monitoring of their constitutionality. The law shall establish the mechanisms for coordination and cooperation between indigenous jurisdiction and regular jurisdiction.

SECTION 3. Principles of the Judicial Branch

Article 172

Judges shall administer justice subject to the Constitution, international human rights instruments and the law.

The public servants of the judiciary, which include judges and other operators of justice, shall apply the principle of due diligence in the processes of administering justice.

The judges shall be responsible for damages to the parties as result of delays, neglect, denial of justice, and lawbreaking.

Article 173

Administrative acts by any State authority can be challenged, both by administrative proceedings and with the bodies corresponding to the Judicial Branch.

Article 174

Public servants of the judiciary cannot practice as attorneys-at-law or hold any other public or private employment, except university teaching outside office hours.

Procedural bad faith, wrongful or hasty litigation, the generation of obstacles or procedural delays shall be punishable by law.

Judges cannot hold any executive office in political parties and movements or participate as candidates in elections by universal suffrage or carry out activities of political or religious solicitation.

Article 175

Children and adolescents shall be subject to specialized legislation and administration of justice, as well as operators of justice who are duly trained and who shall enforce the principles of the doctrine of integral protection. The specialized administration of justice shall divide competency in the protection of rights and the liability of adolescent lawbreakers.

Article 176

The requirements and procedures for designating public servants of the judiciary must involve a competitive merit-based examination, subject to challenge and social monitoring; parity between men and women shall be fostered.

Except for the judges of the National Court of Justice, the public servants of the judiciary must take a general and special training course and pass theoretical, practical and psychological tests for their admittance to the judiciary service.

SECTION 4. Organization and functioning

Article 177

The Judicial Branch is comprised of jurisdictional bodies, administrative bodies, support bodies and autonomous bodies. The law shall determine its structure, duties, attributions, competencies and all that is needed for the adequate administration of justice.

Article 178

The jurisdictional bodies, without detriment to the other bodies with equal powers recognized in the Constitution, are those in charge of administering justice and they shall be as follows:

1. The National Court of Justice.
2. The provincial courts of justice.
3. The courts and tribunals provided for by law.
4. The justices of the peace.

The Judiciary Council is the body for the governance, administration, surveillance and discipline of the Judicial Branch.

The Judicial Branch shall have as support bodies the notary service, the judiciary auctioneers, the judiciary custodians, and others provided for by law.

The Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People and the Attorney-General’s Office are the autonomous bodies of the Judicial Branch.

The law shall provide for the organization, scope of competency, Auctioning and judiciary bodies of the Judicial Branch, and everything that is needed for the adequate administration of justice.

SECTION 5. Judiciary Council

Article 179

The Judiciary Council shall be comprised of 5 delegates and their respective deputies (substitutes). Nominations of such delegates and their deputies shall be made by the President of the National Court of Justice, whose representative will be president of the Council, by the Attorney General of the State, by the Ombudsman, by the Executive Branch and by the National Assembly.

The Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall approve such nominations, through a public scrutiny (transparent) process subject to citizen oversight and a right by the citizens to challenge such process.

The Council for Public Participation and Social Control will determine procedure, terms and other elements of the process.

The term of both regular members and deputies (substitutes) of the Judiciary Council shall be six years.

The Judiciary Council shall report its annual activities before the National Assembly, who will have the power to monitor and judge the Judiciary Council members.

Article 180

The members shall meet the following requirements:

1. Be an Ecuadorian national and in possession of political rights.
2. Hold a university degree in law, legally recognized in the country and in the academic sectors related to the Council’s inherent duties and legally accredited.
3. Having practiced with notable rectitude and propriety the profession of attorney or university instructor in law or in subjects related to the Council’s inherent duties, for a period of at least ten years.

Article 181

In addition to those powers established by law, the Judiciary Council shall also be empowered to:

1. Define and implement policies for the improvement and modernization of the judicial system.
2. Be informed of and approve the draft of the Judiciary’s budget, with the exception of the autonomous bodies.
3. To direct the selection process for judges and other public officers of the Judiciary, as well as their evaluation, promotion and sanctioning. All processes shall be public and decisions shall be reasoned.
4. To administer the judicial career and professionalization, and organize and manage schools for judicial training.
5. To monitor the transparency and efficiency of the Judiciary.

The Judiciary Council’s decisions shall require a simple majority approval.

SECTION 6. Regular justice

Article 182

The National Court of Justice shall be comprised of twenty-one (21) judges, who shall be organized in specialized courts and shall be designated for a nine-year term of office. They cannot be reelected and a third of them shall be renewed every three years. They shall leave their office in accordance with the law.

The judges of the National Court of Justice shall elect, from among its members, the Chief Justice, who shall be representing the Judicial Branch and shall have a three-year term of office. In each court, a Chief Justice shall be elected for a one-year term.

There shall be alternate judges who shall be part of the Judicial Branch and who shall be selected on the basis of the same processes and shall have the same responsibilities and be subject to the same system of incompatibilities as those of the standing judges. The National Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction over the country’s entire territory and its seat shall be in Quito.

Article 183

To be judge of the National Court of Justice, in addition to the requirements of propriety provided for by law, the following is required:

1. Be an Ecuadorian national and in possession of political rights.
2. Hold a university degree in law legally recognized in the country.
3. Having practiced with notable rectitude the profession of attorney, judge or university instructor in law, for a period of at least ten years.

The judges of the National Court of Justice shall be elected by the Judiciary Council in conformity with a procedure entailing a competitive merit-based examination, subject to challenge and social monitoring. Parity between men and women shall be fostered.

Article 184

The National Court of Justice’s duties, in addition to those provided for by law, shall be the following:

1. To hear appeals for cassation, review and others provided for by law.
2. To develop the system of case law precedents based on triple reiteration rulings.
3. To hear cases that are filed against public servants who benefit from immunity.
4. To submit bills concerning the system to administer justice.

Article 185

The sentences issued by the specialized courts of the National Court of Justice that repeat on three occasions the same ruling on the same point, shall obligatorily refer the decision to the plenary of the Court so that the latter can deliberate and decide, within sixty (60) days at the most, on whether they agree. If within that term no ruling is made or the previous decision is ratified, this opinion shall constitute a mandatory part of case law.

The judge responsible for drafting the opinion for each sentence shall be designated by the drawing of lots and must observe the mandatory case law set as a precedent. To change the mandatory case law criterion, the judge responsible for drafting the opinion shall base the decision on substantive legal grounds justifying the change, and his/her decision must be approved unanimous^ by the Court.

Article 186

In every province, there shall be a provincial court of justice comprised of the number of judges deemed necessary to process the cases coming from law firms, free professional practice of law, and university faculty. The judges shall be organized in specialized courts in the fields corresponding to those of the National Court of Justice.

The Judiciary Council shall determine the number of courts and justice tribunals that are necessary, in keeping with the needs of the population.

In each canton, there shall be at least one judge specializing in the family, children, and adolescents and one judge specializing in adolescent offenders, in accordance with the needs of the population.

In the localities where there is a social rehabilitation center, there shall be at least one judge on penitentiary guarantees.

Article 187

The public servants of the judiciary shall be entitled to remain in their posts as long as there are no legal grounds for dismissing them; they shall be subject to individual and periodic evaluation of their performance in line with the technical parameters drawn up by the Judiciary Council and subject to social control Those who do not comply with minimum requirements shall be dismissed.

Article 188

In compliance with the principle of jurisdictional unity, the members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall be charged and tried by regular justice. Misconducts of a disciplinary or administrative nature shall be subject to their own procedural standards.

For reasons of hierarchical ranking and administrative liability, the law shall govern cases of immunity from prosecution.

SECTION 7. Justices of the peace

Article 189

Justices of the peace shall settle matters in a framework of equity and shall have the exclusive and mandatory competence to hear those individual, community, and district conflicts and infringements that are brought to their jurisdiction, in conformity with the law. In no case can they order the arrest and imprisonment of a person nor can they prevail over indigenous justice.

Justices of the peace shall use mechanisms of conciliation, dialogue, friendly settlement, and others practiced by the community to adopt their resolutions, which shall guarantee and observe the rights recognized by the Constitution. Sponsorship of an attorney shall not be necessary.

The justices of the peace must have their permanent domicile in the place where they exercise jurisdiction and must have the respect, consideration and support of the community. They shall be elected by their community, by means of a process whose responsibility pertains to the Judiciary Council and they shall remain in office until the community itself decides to remove them from office, in accordance with the law. To be a justice of the peace, it is not necessary to be a professional in law.

SECTION 8. Alternative means of dispute settlement

Article 190

Arbitration, mediation and other alternative procedures for dispute settlement are recognized. These procedures shall be applied subject to the law in those areas where, because of their nature, compromises can be reached.

In public bidding processes, legal arbitration shall be accepted after a favorable ruling by the Attorney-General’s Office, in conformity with conditions provided for by law.

SECTION 9. Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People

Article 191

The Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People is an autonomous body of the Judicial Branch, aimed at guaranteeing full and equal access to justice by persons who, because of their situation of defenselessness or economic, social, or cultural status, cannot hire legal defense services for the protection of their rights.

The Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People shall provide technical, timely, efficient, effective and free-of-charge legal services to support and legally advise the rights of persons in all matters and institutions.

The Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People is indivisible and shall function as a decentralized entity with administrative, economic, and financial autonomy, it shall be represented by the Attorney for the Defense of the People and shall benefit from human and material resources and labor conditions that are equivalent to those of the Attorney-General’s Office.

Article 192

The Attorney for the Defense of the People shall meet the following requirements:

1. Be an Ecuadorian national and in possession of political rights.
2. Hold a university law degree, legally recognized in the country and be knowledgeable in administrative management.
3. Having practiced with notable rectitude and propriety the profession of attorney, judge or university instructor for a period of no less than ten years.

The Attorney for the Defense of the People shall perform his/her duties for six years and cannot be reelected and every year shall submit a report to the National Assembly.

Article 193

The Schools of Jurisprudence, Law or Legal Science of the universities shall organized and maintain services for the defense and legal counseling of persons of limited economic resources and groups who require priority attention.

So that other organizations can provide this service, they must be accredited and evaluated by the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People.

SECTION 10. Attorney-General’s Office

Article 194

The Attorney-General’s Office is an autonomous body of the Judicial Branch; it is one single indivisible body and shall function as a decentralized body and shall enjoy administrative, economic, and financial autonomy. The Attorney-General is its supreme authority and legal representative and shall act in accordance with constitutional principles, rights, and guarantees of due process of law.

Article 195

The Attorney-General’s Office shall conduct, by virtue of its office or at the request of a party, pretrial inquiries and criminal proceedings; during the proceedings it shall exercise public action subject to the principles of timeliness and minimum criminal intervention, with special attention focused on the general welfare and on the rights of the victims. If the case is found to have merits, the Attorney-General shall formally charge the alleged offenders before a competent judge and shall promote indictment when substantiating the criminal trial.

To perform his/her duties, the Attorney-General shall organize and direct a comprehensive specialized system for inquiry, forensic medicine and medical examination, which shall include civil and police investigation staff; shall direct the system for the protection and assistance of victims, witnesses and participants in criminal proceedings; and shall perform the other duties provided for by law.

Article 196

The Attorney-General shall meet the following requirements:

1. Be an Ecuadorian national and in possession of political rights.
2. Hold a university degree in law legally recognized in the country and be knowledgeable about administrative management.
3. Having practiced with notable rectitude and propriety the profession of attorney, judge or university instructor in criminal law for a minimum often years.

The Attorney-General shall perform his/her duties for six years and cannot be reelected, and must submit an annual report to the National Assembly. Appointment shall be made in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Constitution and the law.

Article 197

The career of public prosecutor is recognized and guaranteed, and its regulations shall be provided by law.

Professional development on the basis of ongoing training, as well as the periodical evaluation of its servants, shall be indispensable conditions for advancement and permanence in the career stream of public prosecutor.

SECTION 11. System for the protection of victims and witnesses

Article 198

The Attorney-General’s Office shall direct the national system for the protection and assistance of victims, witnesses and other participants in the criminal proceedings, for which it shall coordinate the mandatory participation of public institutions related to the system’s interests and objectives and shall articulate the participation of civil society organizations.

The system shall be governed by the principles of accessibility, responsibility, complementariness, timeliness, effectiveness, and efficiency.

SECTION 12. Notary services

Article 199

Notary services are public services. In each canton or metropolitan district there shall be the number of notaries set by the Judiciary Council The remunerations of notaries, the support staff structure for these services, and the fees that users must pay shall be set by the Judiciary Council The amounts collected from the rates charged shall be deposited into the General Budget of the State as provided for by law.

Article 200

The notaries are the repositories of public faith; they shall be appointed by the Judiciary Council after a process of public competitive and merit-based examination, subject to challenge and social control To be a notary, one must hold a university degree in law legally recognized in the country and have practiced with notable rectitude the profession of attorney for no less than three years. Notaries shall remain in office for six years and can only be reelected once. The law shall provide for accountability standards and the causes for their dismissal.

SECTION 13. Social rehabilitation

Article 201

The social rehabilitation system shall be ultimately aimed at ensuring the integral rehabilitation of the persons sentenced for crimes, for their reinsertion into society, as well as protecting incarcerated persons and guaranteeing their rights.

The system’s priority is the development of the capabilities of the persons sentenced to exercise their rights and fulfill their responsibilities once they are released.

Article 202

The system shall guarantee its end purposes by a technical body in charge of evaluating the effectiveness of its policies, administering the incarceration centers, and setting standards for complying with the purposes of the system.

The penitentiary centers may be administered by decentralized autonomous governments, in accordance with the law.

The board of directors of the social rehabilitation body shall be comprised of representatives from the Executive Branch and professionals who have been designated in accordance with the law. The President of the Republic shall designate the minister of State who shall chair this body.

The security, technical, and administrative staff of the social rehabilitation system shall be appointed by the social rehabilitation body, after assessment of their technical, cognitive and psychological conditions.

Article 203

The system shall be governed by the following guidelines:

1. Only those persons punished by imprisonment as a result of a conviction shall remain as inmates of social rehabilitation centers.Only social rehabilitation centers and provisional detention centers shall be part of the social rehabilitation system and shall be authorized to hold imprisoned persons. Military quarters, police stations or other type of barracks are not authorized as places for imprisonment of the civilian population
2. In social rehabilitation centers and provisional detention centers, plans for education, vocational training, farm production, arts and crafts, and industrial manufacturing, or any other occupational form, mental and physical health and culture and leisure shall be promoted and implemented.
3. Judges of penitentiary guarantees shall ensure the rights of incarcerated persons in compliance with their sentence and shall decide upon their modifications.
4. In detention centers, affirmative action measures shall be taken to protect the rights of persons belonging to groups requiring priority care.
5. The State shall establish the conditions for the real social and economic insertion of persons after they have been incarcerated.

CHAPTER 5. Transparency and Social Control Branch of Government

SECTION 1. Nature and duties

Article 204

The people are the mandator and prime auditor of public power, in the exercise of their right to participation.

The Transparency and Social Control Branch of Government shall promote and foster monitoring of public entities and bodies and of natural persons or legal entities of the private sector who provide services or carry out activities for the general welfare, so they shall conduct them with responsibility, transparency and equity, it shall foster and encourage public participation; it shall protect the exercise and fulfillment of rights; and it shall prevent and combat corruption.

The Transparency and Social Control Branch shall be comprised of the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Office of the Comptroller General, and the Superintendencies. These entities shall have a legal status and administrative, financial, budgetary and organizational autonomy.

Article 205

The representatives of the entities that are part of the Transparency and Social Control Branch shall have jurisdiction of the National Court and shall be subject to impeachment by the National Assembly. They will exercise their functions for a period of five years, with the exception of the members of the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, whose mandate will be four years. In the event of impeachment, and if they are removed from office, a new appointment process must be carried out, except for the members of the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, in which case the corresponding alternate will be appointed until the end of that period. In no case can the Legislative Branch designate the replacement.

Its supreme authorities must be Ecuadorian nationals who are in possession of their political rights and shall be selected by means of a competitive and merit-based examination with the submittal of candidacies, subject to citizen oversight and challenge.

Article 206

The standing representatives of the entities of the Transparency and Social Control Branch shall establish a coordination body and shall choose, from among themselves every year, the Chair of the Branch. The following shall be the attributions and duties of the coordination body, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To draw up public policies for transparency, monitoring, accountability, promotion of public participation and the fight against corruption.
2. To coordinate the plan of action of the entities of the Branch, without undermining their autonomy.
3. To articulate the drafting of the national plan for combating corruption.
4. To submit to the National Assembly proposals for legal reforms in the framework of its competencies.
5. To report annually to the National Assembly about the activities regarding fulfillment of its duties and whenever the latter requests this report.

SECTION 2. Council for Public Participation and Social Control

Article 207

The Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall promote and encourage the exercise of the rights involving public participation, shall promote and setup social control mechanisms in matters of general welfare, and shall designate the authorities that pertain to it in accordance with the Constitution and the law. The Council’s structure shall be deconcentrated and shall be in line with the performance of its duties.

The Council shall be comprised of seven standing council persons and seven alternates. The standing members shall elect from among themselves the Chair, who shall be the Council’s legal representative for a term that shall extend to the middle of his/her term of office.

The councilors will be elected by universal, direct, free and secret suffrage every four years coinciding with the elections of the authorities of the decentralized autonomous governments. The regime of their elections will be contemplated in the organic law that regulates their organization and operation.

The must be citizens with experience in social organizations, in citizen participation, in the fight against corruption or of recognized prestige that makes evident their civic commitment and defense of the general interest. The councilors may not be affiliates, adherents or leaders of political parties or movements, during the previous five years.

Article 208

The Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall have the following duties and attributions, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To promote public participation, encourage public deliberation processes and foster citizenship training, values, transparency, and the fight against corruption
2. To establish mechanisms for the accountability of public sector institutions and entities and to contribute to citizen oversight and social monitoring processes.
3. To urge the other entities of the Branch to act obligatorily on matters that merit intervention in the opinion of the Council
4. To investigate reports about deeds or omissions affecting public participation or leading to corruption.
5. To issue reports that point to evidence of liability, to draft the necessary recommendations and to promote the corresponding legal proceedings.
6. To act as a procedural party in cases filed as consequence of its investigations. When a ruling determines that, in the perpetration of crime, there was improper appropriation of resources, the competent authority shall proceed to seize the personal assets of the sentenced party.
7. To contribute to the protection of persons who report deeds of corruption (whistleblowers).
8. To request from any of the entities or officials of State institutions information that it deems necessary for its investigations or proceedings. The persons and institutions shall cooperate with the Council and those who refuse to do so shall be punishable by law.
9. To organize the process and oversee the transparency in the implementation of the activities of citizen commissions for the selection of state authorities.
10. To designate the principal authority of the Office of the State Prosecutor and the Superintendencies from among the shortlists proposed by the President of the Republic, after the corresponding citizen challenge and oversight process.
11. To designate the principal authority of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the People, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Office of the Comptroller General, after completing the corresponding selection process.
12. To designate the members of the National Electoral Council, the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court, and the Judiciary Council, after completing the corresponding selection process.

Article 209

To perform its duties as designated, the Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall organize citizen selection commissions, which shall be in charge of conducting, in those cases that pertain to them, the public competitive and merit-based examination with the submittal of candidacies, citizen oversight and the right to challenge by the citizenry.

The citizen selection commissions shall be comprised of one delegate for each State branch of government and an identical number of representatives for social organizations and the citizenry, chosen by the public drawing of lots from among those submitting their candidacies and meeting the requirements provided for by the Council and the law. The candidates shall be subject to public scrutiny and citizen challenge. The commissions shall be directed by one of the representatives of the citizenry, who shall have the tie-breaking vote, and its sessions shall be open to the public.

Article 210

In those cases of selection of an authority by competitive and merit-based examination, the Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall choose the one who obtains the highest score in the respective examination and shall report this to the National Assembly for the respective swearing in office.

When dealing with the selection of senior management committees directing State entities, the Council shall designate the standing members and alternates, by priority, from among those who obtain the highest scores in the examination. The alternates shall replace the standing members whenever relevant, in compliance with the order of their qualification and designation.

Those who are holding office shall not be able to submit their candidacies for public competitive and merit-based examinations called to designate their substitutes. Conditions of equity and parity between women and men, as well equality of conditions, shall be guaranteed for the participation of Ecuadorians living abroad.

SECTION 3. Office of the Comptroller General

Article 211

The Office of the Comptroller General is a technical body in charge of monitoring use of State resources and private-law legal entities that dispose of government resources.

Article 212

The following shall be the duties of the Office of the Comptroller General, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To direct the administrative surveillance system, comprised of internal auditing, external auditing and internal monitoring of public sector institutions and those private-sector entities that dispose of government resources
2. To determine administrative and civil liabilities of neglect and gather evidence of criminal liability, related to those aspects subject to its control, without detriment to the duties that, in this matter, pertain to the Attorney-General’s Office.
3. To issue the rules and regulations for the performance of its duties.
4. To advise the bodies and entities of the State when said advice is requested.

SECTION 4. Superintendencies

Article 213

Superintendencies are technical bodies of surveillance, auditing, intervention, and monitoring of economic, social, and environmental activities and of the services provided by public and private entities, for the purpose of ensuring that these activities and services comply with the provisions of the legal system and work for the general welfare. Superintendencies act by virtue of their office or at the request of the citizenry. The specific powers of the Superintendencies and the areas that require monitoring, auditing, and surveillance of each one of them shall be determined in accordance with the law.

The Superintendencies shall be led and represented by superintendents. The law shall set the requirements that must be met by those who wish to be at the head of these institutions.

The superintendents shall be appointed by the Council for Public Participation and Social Control from a shortlist that shall be sent by the President of the Republic, drawn up on the basis of criteria of special skills and merits and subject to public scrutiny and the right to challenge by citizens.

SECTION 5. Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman

Article 214

The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman shall be a body governed by public law with national jurisdiction, legal status and administrative and financial autonomy. Its structure shall be deconcentrated and it shall have delegates in each province and abroad.

Article 215

The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman shall have as its duties the protection and guardianship of the rights of the inhabitants of Ecuador and the defense of the rights of Ecuadorian nationals living abroad. It shall have the following attributions, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To support, by virtue of its office or at the request of a party, the actions of protection, habeas corpus, access to public information, habeas data, noncompliance, citizen action and complaints for poor quality or improper provision of public or private services.
2. To issue measures of mandatory and immediate compliance for the protection of rights and to request trial and punishment from the competent authority for their violations.
3. To investigate and rule, in the framework of its attributions, on the deeds or omissions of natural persons or legal entities that provide public services.
4. To exercise and promote surveillance of due process of law and to immediately prevent and stop all forms of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

Article 216

To be designated as Human Rights Ombudsman, one must meet the same requirements as those stipulated for judges of the National Court of Justice and demonstrate wide-ranging experience in defending human rights. The Human Rights Ombudsman shall be immune from prosecution in the National Court of Justice and shall benefit from the privilege of immunity in accordance with the terms provided for by law.

CHAPTER 6. Electoral Branch of Government

Article 217

The Electoral Branch of Government shall guarantee the exercise of political rights as expressed by voting, as well as those referring to the political organization of the citizenry.

The Electoral Branch shall be comprised of the National Electoral Council and the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court. Both bodies shall have their seat in Quito and shall have national jurisdiction, administrative, financial, and organizational autonomy, and their own legal status. They shall be governed by the principles of autonomy, independence, publicity, transparency, equity, interculturalism, gender equality, swiftness and rectitude.

SECTION 1. National Electoral Council

Article 218

The National Electoral Council shall be comprised of five standing council persons, who shall hold a six-year term of office. The Council shall be partially renewed every three years, two members the first time, three the second time, and so on There shall be five alternate council persons who shall be renewed using the same approach as the one for the standing members.

The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected from among its standing members and shall hold a three-year term of office.

The Chair of the National Electoral Council shall be the representative of the Electoral Branch. The law shall determine the organization, functioning and jurisdiction of the deconcentrated electoral bodies, which shall be temporary in nature.

To be a member of the National Electoral Council, one must be an Ecuadorian national and in possession of political rights.

Article 219

The National Electoral Council shall have the following duties, in addition to those stipulated by law:

1. To organize, direct, oversee, and guarantee, in a transparent fashion, electoral processes, call for the holding of elections, carry out the calculations for elections, announce electoral results, and swear into office those persons winning elections.
2. To designate the members of deconcentrated electoral bodies.
3. To control electoral campaign advertising and spending, to hear and rule on accounts submitted by political organizations and candidates.
4. To guarantee the transparency and legality of the internal electoral processes of political organizations and any others stipulated by law.
5. To submit proposals for legislative initiatives on the scope of competence of the Electoral Branch, in compliance with what is suggested by the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court.
6. To regulate the legal system governing matters under their jurisdiction.
7. To determine its organization and draw up and implement its budget.
8. To keep a permanent record of political organizations and their executive boards and to check registration processes.
9. To ensure that political organizations observe the law, its regulations and bylaws.
10. To implement, administer and control State funding of electoral campaigns and the fund for political organizations.
11. To hear and resolve administrative challenges and complaints on the resolutions taken by deconcentrated bodies during electoral processes and to impose the corresponding sanctions.
12. To organize and draw up the voter registration list for the country and abroad in coordination with the Vital Statistics Office (Civil Registry).
13. To organize the functioning of a political-electoral research, training and promotion institute.

SECTION 2. Electoral Dispute Settlement Court

Article 220

The Electoral Dispute Settlement Court shall be comprised of five standing members, who shall hold a six-year term of office. The Electoral Dispute Settlement Court shall be partially renewed every three years, two members the first time, three the second time, and so on. There shall be five alternate members who shall be renewed in the same way as the standing members.

The Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice of the Court shall be chosen from among its standing members and shall hold a three-year term of office.

To be a member of the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court, one must be an Ecuadorian citizen, be in possession of political rights, hold a university degree in law that is legally recognized in the country and to have practiced with notable rectitude the profession of attorney-at-law, as member of the Judiciary, or university instructor in law for a minimum often years.

Article 221

The Electoral Dispute Settlement Court has the following attributions, in addition to those provided for by law:

1. To hear and resolve electoral appeals against actions taken by the National Electoral Council and the deconcentrated bodies and the litigation matters of political organizations.
2. To punish for failure to comply with the rules governing funding, political campaigning, electoral spending, and in general for infringing electoral regulations.
3. To determine its organization and draw up and implement its budget.

Its decisions and resolutions shall constitute electoral case law, shall be the appeal of last resort and shall require immediate compliance.

SECTION 3. Common standards for political and social monitoring

Article 222

The members of the National Electoral Council and the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court shall be subject to impeachment for failure to perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities as set forth in the Constitution and in the law. The Legislative Branch shall not be able to appoint replacements for persons removed from office.

Article 223

The electoral bodies shall be subject to social monitoring; political organizations and candidacies shall be guaranteed the power to monitor and oversee the work of electoral bodies.

The ceremonies and sessions of electoral bodies shall be open to the public.

Article 224

The members of the National Electoral Council and the Electoral Dispute Settlement Court shall be designated by the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, after selection by a competitive and merit-based examination, with candidacies submitted by the citizenry and citizen right to challenge, as well as the guarantee of equity and parity between men and women, in accordance with the law.

CHAPTER 7. Public administration

SECTION 1. Public sector

Article 225

The public sector is comprised of the following:

1. The bodies and agencies of the Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Electoral and Transparency and Social Control Branches of Government.
2. The institutions that comprise the decentralized autonomous system of government.
3. The bodies and institutions created by the Constitution or by law to exercise the powers of the State, to provide public services or to carry out economic activities entrusted to the State.
4. The legal entities created by regulatory acts issued by the decentralized autonomous governments for the provision of public services.

Article 226

State institutions, bodies, agencies, public servants and persons who act by virtue of a state power granted to them shall perform only those duties and wield those powers that are given to them by the Constitution and the law. They will have to coordinate actions for the fulfillment of their purposes and enforce the enjoyment and exercise of the rights recognized in the Constitution.

SECTION 2. Public administration

Article 227

Public administration shall constitute a service aimed at the common welfare of the public and shall be governed by the principles of effectiveness, efficiency, quality, hierarchical structure, deconcentration, decentralization, coordination, participation, planning, transparency, and evaluation.

Article 228

Admittance into public service, advancement and promotion in the administrative career stream shall be by competitive merit-based examination, as provided for by law, except for public servants who are elected by universal suffrage or whose appointment and recall are discretionary. Failure to observe the above shall lead to dismissal of the appointed authority.

SECTION 3. Public servants

Article 229

Public servants shall consist of all those persons who in any way or under any category, provide services or hold an office, function, or dignity in the public sector.

The rights of public servants cannot be waived. The law shall determine the executive body in charge of human resources and remuneration for the entire public sector and shall regulate admittance, advancement, promotion, incentives, disciplinary system, job security, salary scale and termination of duties of its employees.

Remuneration of public servants shall be fair and equitable, in line with their respective duties, and shall take into account their professional development, training, responsibility, and experience.

Article 230

In the exercise of public office, the following is forbidden, in addition to what is provided by law:

1. To hold more than one public office at the same time, except in the case of university teaching, as long as one’s schedule allows its.
2. Nepotism.
3. Actions of discrimination of any kind.

Article 231

Civil servants shall present, without exception, at the beginning and end of their term of office and according to the periodicity set by law, a sworn statement regarding their net worth, which shall include both their assets and liabilities, as well as the authorization, if necessary, to lift the secrecy of their bank accounts; whoever tails to comply with this requirement shall not be sworn into office. The members of the Armed Forces and the National Police Force shall submit an additional statement of net worth, prior to being promoted and retiring.

The Office of the Comptroller General shall examine and crosscheck the statements and shall investigate those cases where illicit enrichment is alleged. The failure to submit this statement at the end of one’s term of office or any unsubstantiated inconsistency between the statements shall lead to the presumption of illicit enrichment.

When there is severe evidence of cover-ups or use of fronts, the Office of the Comptroller General will be able to request similar statements from third parties linked to the person holding or having held public office.

Article 232

Those who have vested interests in those areas that they shall be monitoring or regulating or who represent those who have these vested interests cannot be public officials or members of the board of directors of institutions that perform state control or regulatory powers.

Public servants shall refrain from acting in those cases where their vested interests clash with those of the body or institution where they are providing their services.

Article 233

No public servant shall be exempt from being held accountable for his/her actions in the performance of his/her duties or for his/her omissions and shall be held liable administratively, civilly, and criminally for the management and administration of public funds, assets or resources.

Public servants and the delegates or representatives of the senior management committees of State institutions shall be subject to the sanctions established for the offenses of embezzlement, bribery, extortion and illicit enrichment. The proceedings to prosecute them and the corresponding penalties shall not be subject to any statute of limitations and, in these cases, the trials shall begin and even continue in the absence of the persons charged. These norms shall also be applicable to those who participate in these offenses even when they do not have the above-mentioned qualities.

Persons against whom there is an enforceable conviction for the crimes of embezzlement, illicit enrichment, extortion, bribery, influence peddling, offer to carry out influence peddling, and acting as a figurehead [testaferrismo]; as well as, money laundering, illicit association, and organized crime related to acts of corruption, will be prevented from being candidates for popularly elected positions, from contracting with the State, from performing public jobs or positions and will lose their participation rights established in the present Constitution.

Article 234

The State shall guarantee the continuing education and training of public servants by means of schools, institutions, academies and public sector education or training programs, and coordination with national and international institutions that function on the basis of agreements with the State.

SECTION 4. Office of the State Prosecutor

Article 235

The Office of the State Prosecutor is a public, technical, and legal body, with administrative, budgetary, and financial autonomy, directed and represented by the State Prosecutor, who is appointed for a four-year term.

Article 236

The Council for Public Participation and Social Control shall appoint the State Prosecutor from a shortlist of candidates submitted by the Office of the President of the Republic. The shortlist shall be drawn up on the basis of criteria of specialized skills and merits and shall be subject to public scrutiny and right to citizen challenge; whoever is included on the list must meet the requirements stipulated for being members of the Constitutional Court.

Article 237

The following duties shall be performed by the State Prosecutor, in addition to others provided by law:

1. To represent the State in the judiciary.
2. To defend the State and its institutions.
3. To provide legal counsel and binding responses to legal queries from public sector bodies and institutions on the interpretation and application of the law, on those issues where the Constitution or the law does not grant competencies to other authorities or bodies.
4. To monitor, subject to the law, the documents and contracts signed by public sector bodies and institutions.