Constitutional Court declares two laws promoted by Noboa unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional two laws President Daniel Noboa claimed were necessary to fight organized crime. The decision makes permanent an August ruling provisionally suspending the laws while more than 30 suits against them were considered.

Economy Minister Zaida Rovira

The court ruled that the Law of National Solidarity violated the constitutional single-issue rule by mixing economic, criminal and security issues, and improperly justifying it due to an economic emergency.

In addition, the court agreed with social organizations claiming the law violated “basic human rights” in its allowance of arbitrary detentions and possible extrajudicial executions.

In the case of the Law on Public Integrity, the court said it also violated the single-issue rule as well as violating the requirement of “adequate public notice and discussion.”

Labor unions had filed legal challenges against the law, claiming it violated established labor laws. In its decision, the court wrote: “No law can be passed with shortcuts that limit public debate or without citations of specific economic justification.”

The government reacted angrily to the decisions, claiming the court was “out of touch with public sentiment.”

“At this point, no one is surprised by the court’s actions against the Ecuadorian people,” said Economy Minister Zaida Rovira. “We already know who they work for and who they serve. These actions take away from the citizens the tools needed to confront the mafias, the drug traffickers and other corrupt players.”