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OCR
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 "
