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OCR
OSWALDO RUIZ-CHIRIBOGA procedure. Ihere was no judicial or administrative control over the designations. The TCCPSC had absolute discretion. As to the Constitutional Court, the TCCPSC not only ceased all nine justices, but it also declared a “constitutional vacancy” (vacancia constitucional), meaning that the country became “courtless” until the definitive replacements were appointed. There is no constitutional or legal provision that allows any authority to declare such type of “vacancy”. Quite the opposite, the law provides how to proceed in cases of temporary or definite absence of a member of the Constitutional Court.”° This procedure was arbitrarily ignored by the TCCPSC. CONCLUSIONS The constitutional amendments sought by President Moreno should have been reviewed by the Constitutional Court, but Moreno circumvented this revision. The lack of constitutional review produced severe problems for democracy and human rights. Question 3 of the referendum that created the TCCPSC, was incomplete, unclear and blurred, which impacted on the electorate’s right to an informed vote. The Constitutional Court could have corrected the question if it had been allowed to conduct its constitutional review. The obscurity of the question represented a hindrance in the expression of the people’s will. Furthermore, the people’s participation and deliberation were limited to approving or rejecting complex constitutional amendments contained in five questions, plus two extra questions of the popular consultation, that were not interconnected between them and discussed topics ranging from mining, sexual violence and ecology to corruption, statute of limitations and presidential term limits. The Constitution requires a prior constitutional revision precisely to protect the freedom of the elector. If there is not enough information or if the electorate cannot understand the questions, then the electorate is not free. The almighty TCCPSC presented itself as the voice of the people. It had the haughtiness of calling its decisions “mandates”, as if they were approved by the people, picturing them as supra-constitutional. The TCCPSC was unstoppable. It became an ad hoc administrative tribunal that did not apply pre-established rules or procedures. The referendum altered the separation of powers and the autonomy of the public functions. Such a change, according to the Constitution, shall not be approved by a referendum. The 2018 constitutional amendments in Ecuador were unconstitutional. 2° Articles 183-184 OLJGCC. + 370 "
