Oldal 366 [366]
OSWALDO RUIZ-CHIRIBOGA
guestioned or in any way objected the suspension of the legal deadline. In fact,
none ofthe parties involved in the constitutional proceedings, including those who
were supporting the referendum, guestioned the decision of the judge rapporteur.
Moreno, therefore, acted in bath faith. He was silent on this point during the entire
constitutional proceeding and then circumvented the Court using arguments he
never raised before.
The timing of the Executive Decrees, together with Moreno’s lack of opposition
to the suspension of the legal deadline, show that Moreno decided to bypass the
Constitutional Court not because the Court took more than 20 days, but because
justice Ordefiana was against the creation of the TCCPSC. Assuming for a moment
that Moreno was right and the Constitutional Court could not suspend the legal
deadline, then the deadline for the Court to decide would have expired on October
27, 2017. Why did Moreno wait until November 29 to pass the Executive Decrees?
The only viable answer is that justice Ordefiana’s opinion was leaked sometime
after November 23 and Moreno was afraid that the rest of the justices could have
the same opinion.
President Moreno also sent the Executive Decrees No. 229 and 230 to the
Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Council, hereinafter “NEC”). On
December 1, 2017, the NEC declared the beginning of the electoral period. At
this date, the Constitutional Court was still within the time to decide on the
constitutionality of the referendum. However, on December 1, 2017, the President
of the Constitutional Court, without giving any reason, decided to suspend the
plenary session of the Court.’
The suspension of the Constitutional Court’s plenary session closed the
doors for the constitutional review of the referendum. By the sole decision of the
President of the Constitutional Court and without giving any reason, the other
justices of the Constitutional Court were prevented from discussing and deciding
on the constitutionality of the proposed constitutional amendments.
THE TCCPSC CHANGED THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE OF THE STATE
On February 4, 2018, the referendum and the popular consultation took place.
Ecuadorians voted “yes” to the seven questions. The TCCPSC was created by the
approval of question 3 that read as follows:
“Do you agree to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador to restructure
the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control, as well as to terminate the
5 Official communication No. 7126-CCE-SG-2017.
* 364 "