El delito del terrorismo y la protesta social en Ecuador. Un análisis desde el bloque de constitucionalidad

Abstract

The study examined whether the criminal offense of terrorism has been interpreted and applied in accordance with constitutional principles as they relate to social protest; to this end, the theoretical foundations of the study were established using a theoretical approach and a literature review. Subsequently, rulings on terrorism and social protest were analyzed based on information provided by the Judicial Council of Ecuador, which revealed that criminal judges interpreted and applied the criminal offense of terrorism to adjudicate and punish common crimes, thereby failing to observe provisions of the inter-American human rights system regarding social protest. Based on the triangulation of data, it is concluded that, in the area of criminal doctrine, there is a deficiency in establishing the subjective element of terrorism; regarding the constitutional aspect related to the requirement for reasoning, the rulings exhibit deficiencies in reasoning concerning irrelevance and inconsistency toward the parties due to omission. Finally, on the treaty compliance axis, inter-American standards regarding social protest are not met.