La Transgresión en la que incurren los jueces de Garantías penales al Dictar prisión preventiva en la mayoría de los casos que llegan a su conocimiento

Abstract

The Ecuadorian Constitution and the Comprehensive Criminal Code, establishes that pretrial detention is a precautionary measure taken on an exceptional and personal basis, in order to guarantee the presence of the prosecuted individual at trial and the execution of the sentence. This is an exceptional measure, however, is being applied in an arbitrary matter, and therefore considered that such basic rights as freedom and the presumption of innocence of the accused are being violated, in addition being stigmatized by society, people in detention represent a cost burden for the State, which has to cover the high expenses involved in addressing the needs of people deprived of their freedom. Despite the fact that constitutional regulations, international human rights agreements and conventions, and procedural laws are consistent with this measure, which is considered an exceptional or a last ratio for judges in charge of criminal justice in Ecuador, grant, by request of the prosecutors, the deprivation of freedom as a first instance in most cases, thus violating the rights of the prosecuted to defend themselves in full freedoum and the right of the presumption of innocence. This research analyses the issue of the infringement by criminal judges of the rights of prosecuted individuals on whom this measure has been applied which fail to comply with alternative precautionary measures to pretrial detention, thereby causing an overpopulation of unsentenced prisoners with statistics and specific data concerning this issue, and at the end of the research several conclusions and suggestions are outlined.