Court accepts 12 challenges to Noboa’s anti-crime laws, a move that could require months to resolve

The Constitutional Court announced Saturday that it will hear nine lawsuits against the Organic Law of Public Integrity, two against the National Solidarity Law and one against the Organic Law of Intelligence.

Ecuador’s Constitutional Court

The decision means the court’s earlier order to suspend implementation of more than 20 articles of the three laws could remain in force for weeks, if not months. Last Monday, following a review of the lawsuits and provisions in the three laws, the court said claims that the laws were unconstitutional were “strong and persuasive.”

President Daniel Noboa insists the laws are needed to fight organized crime and that the delay in their full implementation puts the country at risk. Following the court’s decision, the president’s office responded that it was disappointed in the decision, saying “justice will be delayed.”

Following admittance of the legal challenges, the court notified the National Assembly, Noboa and the Attorney General’s office that they have 15 days to provide defenses to the challenges.

The court dismissed two lawsuits against the Public Integrity Law for lack of “legal basis.” The appeals were filed by the National Federation of University Employees and a private citizen.

The suits accepted by the court, against the Law of Public Integrity, were filed by:

 Attorney Adolfo Fernando Espinel
 The Popular Unity Movement and its national director, Geovanni Atarihuana
 The Popular Front, the United Workers’ Front (FUT), the Federation of University Students (FEUE), the Federation of Secondary Students (FESE) and other organizations
 The Ecuadorian Labor Parliament Trade Union Collective (PLE)
 Lawyer Carlos Andrés Maldonado Rogel and three other jurists
 The Trade Union Confederation of Workers of Ecuador (CSE)
 Attorney Andrés Rodrigo Cadena Romero
 The United Prosecutor’s Office Collective and the Association of Officials of the State Attorney General’s Office
 The Association of Civil Traffic Agents of Ambato

The actions against the National Solidarity Law were filed by:

 The Regional Human Rights Advisory Foundation (Inredh)
 The Pichincha Bar Association

The Intelligence Law is being challenged by the Ecuadorian Confederation of Free Trade Union Organizations, the United Workers Union, the Popular Front, the National Union of Educators and others.

According to several constitutional lawyers, the suits make strong claims that the three laws contain constitutional violations. “For those who insist on a strict interpretation of the constitution, these challenges will be difficult for the government to refute,” says Rodrigo Ortiz, a law professor at San Francisco University. “The interests of the president and the Assembly are primarily political, based on their plan to confront criminal gangs.”