VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0492/01 0552046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 242046Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3723
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5385
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1594
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 9681
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0367
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 9986
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 000492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KJUS EC
SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL AND JUDICIAL COUNCIL 
RECONSTITUTED 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Coastal parties voted together on 
February 22 to select a new Constitutional Tribunal, 
excluding the main highland party, the Democratic Left (ID). 
The process followed constitutional guidelines and fulfills a 
key benchmark in our democracy promotion strategy.  Important 
cases pending before the new court include the 
constitutionality of Congress' dissolution of the Supreme 
Court and the selection process for the current Supreme Court 
in December.  In a separate but related development, on 
February 22 the Supreme Court named a new National Judicial 
Council, the administrative institution of the judicial 
branch, which will be responsible for developing a list of 
candidates for Attorney General for congressional approval, 
another milestone in the democratic rebuilding process. 
While recognizing the importance of reconstituting Ecuador's 
institutions, we do not recommend a USG public statement on 
the controversial new constitutional court.  End Summary. 
 
Congress Chooses Constitutional Tribunal Judges 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (U) Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal rules on 
constitutional issues, much like the U.S. Supreme Court. 
(The Ecuadorian Supreme Court, in contrast, functions as a 
Court of Appeals.)  Newly-named constitutional court judges 
will be sworn in on February 24 for a four-year term.  This 
court replaces its predecessor, selected in 2003 and 
disbanded by Congress in December 2004.  The court has been 
vacant since then, causing an accumulation of 1,400 pending 
cases.  The nine judges were chosen, per the constitution, 
from lists of nominees submitted to Congress by the following 
groups:  the President (2), the Supreme Court (2), Congress 
(2), municipal and provincial leaders (1), unions (1), and 
business chambers (1).  However, this constitutional process 
resulted in a highly politicized court, with coastal parties 
over-represented and the highland center-left ID party left 
out. 
 
¶3.  (U) An alliance of Leon Febres Cordero's PSC, Abdala 
Bucaram's PRE, Alvaro Noboa's PRIAN, and ex-President Lucio 
Gutierrez' PSP, and independents reached a simple majority of 
 
55 votes to approve the judges.  Of the judges named, four 
reportedly have strong ties to the PSC, one to the PRE, one 
to PRIAN, one PSP, and two are independent.  The ID was 
surprised by the congressional vote, and controversy over the 
new court ensued.  ID and other opponents claim the court 
should be limited to serve out the term of its 
illegally-destituted predecessor, ending in January 2007. 
 
¶4.  (U) The most prominent cases in the backlog facing the 
new court include the constitutionality of the congressional 
resolution which disbanded the Supreme Court in December 
2004, the law passed to select the current Supreme Court 
sworn in in December 2005, and congressional approval of 
Claudio Mueckay as Human Rights Ombudsman.  The court may 
also be called on to rule on the prosecution of ex-President 
Gutierrez and the constitutionality of the free trade 
agreement if signed between Ecuador and the United States. 
 
¶5.  (U) In addition to the outcry from the ID and other 
parties not represented in the new court, four citizen groups 
(Justice Networks, Citizen Participation, Rupture of the 25, 
and the Assembly of Women of Quito) have publicly criticized 
the politicization of the new court and the qualifications of 
some of the new magistrates. 
 
New Judicial Council Named 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Meanwhile, the Supreme Court named a new National 
Judicial Council on February 22.  The council is the 
administrative and disciplinary body of the judicial branch. 
The council will be responsible for sending the list of 
candidates for the Attorney General to Congress.  Also, the 
Judicial Council must fill 120 vacant positions in the 
judicial branch and resolve 130 pending complaints filed 
against judicial workers.  Press reports that two of the new 
council members have strong ties to the PSC and one has ties 
to DP, while one is closely linked with the corrupt judicial 
union FENAJE. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) While the creation of a Constitutional Tribunal and 
 
naming of the council fills a void in the judiciary, and does 
so by means envisioned in the constitution, the resulting 
institutions are likely to become highly politicized, 
undermining their credibility.  We therefore do not recommend 
any USG statement on this development (in contrast to the 
selection of the Supreme Court, which we publicly praised). 
There are ironies here, since the ad hoc approach to 
replacing the Supreme Court (not envisioned in the 
constitution) resulted in a more independent, and thus far 
more credible, institution. 
 
BROWN