ECUADOR

On February 25, the Committee for Citizen Participation and Social Control of the Assembly approved the report with a partial veto, which includes objections due to unconstitutionality to the draft bill for the recovery of assets of illicit origin (known as Extinction of Domain). By means of this document, the legislative board established the arguments on which it considers the partial objection unfounded due to unconstitutionality. The report has been sent to the Constitutional Court and the Judiciary is expected to hold a hearing in the short term.

In the report, the legislators stated that the law recognizes the right to property, as one of the fundamental rights other than human rights, as it is an attribution of the State that exercises due to its sovereignty. For this reason, examining the origin of the resources with which property is accessed does not affect the right to it, but rather seeks to strengthen other economic and social rights.

Regarding the unconstitutionality objection to article 8, the legislative committee considered it necessary that the law contain complementary norms that allow solving unforeseen situations and whose areas are duly determined. In this sense, the principle of legal certainty guaranteed by the constitution is not affected.

Regarding the observation on the Special Fund for Extinction of Domain and Destination, the members of the committee expressed that the provisions of the Constitution have been respected to carry out these regulations. Because of this, the destination of the resources of said fund will be destined to integral child development, with an emphasis on early childhood and the eradication of child labor; both issues are considered within the concept of health and education.