Aplicabilidad de la caducidad de la prisión preventiva al arresto domiciliario en función de los principios de libertad personal y seguridad jurídica.

Abstract

This research addresses the legal problem arising from the legislative omission concerning the expiration of house arrest in the Ecuadorian criminal process, analyzing whether it is legally viable to apply, through analogy in bonam partem—a hermeneutical technique that allows extending favorable norms to the defendant in the face of legal gaps—the terms of Article 541 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP, by its Spanish acronym) provided for pre-trial detention. The purpose is to safeguard the fundamental rights of personal liberty and legal certainty, which are compromised by the possibility of indefinite house confinement. Through the analysis of judicial decisions and the constitutional and conventional framework, it is concluded that the analogy in bonam partem does not violate the principle of legality, but rather complements it, by not expanding the ius puniendi, but rather limiting it in favor of the defendant. The research shows that, in the absence of express regulation, judges are authorized to apply such time limits, ensuring normative coherence and effective control of the State’s punitive power. Keywords: analogy, house arrest, pre-trial detention, personal liberty, legal certainty