The legal system of Ecuador
A civil-law system under the 2008 Constitution, drafted at Montecristi and notable worldwide as the first to grant enforceable rights to nature (Articles 71-74). It also constitutionalised buen vivir, created a fifth branch for citizen participation, and made the Constitutional Court the guarantor of a broad set of jurisdictional guarantees. The economy has been formally dollarised since 2000, which removes monetary policy from the state's toolkit.
Legal tradition
Ecuador belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system under the 2008 Constitution, drafted at Montecristi and notable worldwide as the first to grant enforceable rights to nature (Articles 71-74). It also constitutionalised buen vivir, created a fifth branch for citizen participation, and made the Constitutional Court the guarantor of a broad set of jurisdictional guarantees. The economy has been formally dollarised since 2000, which removes monetary policy from the state's toolkit.
How power is divided
Unitary and decentralised, with twenty-four provinces and autonomous decentralised governments at provincial, cantonal and parish level. Indigenous authorities exercise their own jurisdiction under Article 171, subject to constitutional review.
Where law comes from
- Constitution and international human-rights instruments
- Instruments more favourable than the Constitution prevail (Article 424).
- Organic and ordinary statutes
- Organic laws regulate rights and institutions and outrank ordinary laws.
- Codes
- Civil Code, Código Orgánico Integral Penal (2014), Código Orgánico General de Procesos (2015), Labour Code.
- Binding precedent
- Constitutional Court jurisprudence binds; the National Court issues binding precedent by triple reiteration.
The legal profession
A law degree plus registration in the Forense registry of the Consejo de la Judicatura, and usually membership of a provincial colegio de abogados. The Judicature Council holds disciplinary power. Public defence is provided by the Defensoría Pública, a separate autonomous body.
Law by topic in Ecuador
- Constitutional Law2008 Constitution recognising rights of nature and buen vivirEcuador's 2008 Constitution was the first in the world to grant enforceable rights to nature (derechos de la naturaleza), alongside the Andean concept of sumak kawsay or buen vivir. It creates a Corte Constitucional and a broad set of constitutional guarantees including acción de protección, habeas corpus, habeas data and the acción extraordinaria de protección against judicial decisions.
- Civil ProcedureCódigo Orgánico General de Procesos introduced oral civil trialsThe Código Orgánico General de Procesos (COGEP), in force since 2016, replaced the written Código de Procedimiento Civil with oral, concentrated hearings across civil, family, labour and administrative matters. Proceedings run through a preliminary hearing and a trial hearing, with evidence announced in the pleadings. Mediation is available and widely encouraged.
- Employment & LabourCódigo del Trabajo with 13th and 14th salary obligationsThe Código del Trabajo regulates employment. The ordinary week is 40 hours. Employers owe a decimotercera remuneración (Christmas bonus) and a decimocuarta remuneración (schooling bonus), plus profit-sharing for many employers. Unjustified dismissal triggers a desahucio payment and an indemnity graduated by years of service.
- Business & CorporateLey de Compañías with the SAS added in 2020The Ley de Compañías governs corporate forms, supervised by the Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros. Traditional vehicles are the compañía anónima and the compañía limitada; the Ley Orgánica de Emprendimiento of 2020 introduced the sociedad por acciones simplificada (SAS), which can be formed electronically with a single shareholder and no minimum capital.
- Tax LawSRI administers 25 percent corporate tax and 15 percent VATThe Servicio de Rentas Internas administers taxation in this dollarised economy. Corporate income tax is 25 percent, rising to 28 percent where shareholders in tax havens are involved. VAT was raised from 12 to 15 percent in 2024 to fund security spending. There is also an outflow tax (ISD) on transfers of currency abroad.
- Property & LandRegistro de la Propiedad inscription completes the transferEcuador follows the Chilean Bello tradition: a notarial deed followed by inscription in the cantonal Registro de la Propiedad performs the tradición that transfers ownership. Municipalities administer the registries and levy the alcabala transfer tax and a capital-gains style plusvalía charge on the increase in value.
- Criminal LawCOIP consolidated criminal law and procedure in one codeThe Código Orgánico Integral Penal (COIP) of 2014 unified substantive criminal law, procedure and sentence execution in a single instrument, replacing three separate codes. Procedure is accusatorial and oral, led by the Fiscalía General del Estado. Recent security emergencies have prompted repeated states of exception and military support to policing.
- Immigration & NationalityLey Orgánica de Movilidad Humana with universal-citizenship principlesThe 2017 Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana implements the Constitution's principle of universal citizenship and its prohibition on treating irregular migration as a crime. It provides temporary and permanent residence categories, including a UNASUR/Mercosur regional route, and is administered by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana.
- Family LawEqual marriage since 2019 by Constitutional Court rulingThe Corte Constitucional recognised same-sex marriage in June 2019, applying Inter-American Court Advisory Opinion OC-24/17. De facto unions (unión de hecho) after two years produce the same effects as marriage and can be registered administratively. Consensual divorce is available before a notary where there are no minor children.
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