El principio de oportunidad y los derechos de la víctima en la legislación penal ecuatoriana

Abstract

This research paper addresses the problem of the conflict between the principle of opportunity and the rights of victims in criminal proceedings. This apparent collision derives from the effects derived from the application of this principle, namely, the abstention from initiating a prosecutorial investigation, the dismissal of the initiated investigation and the extinction of the criminal action. These results established in the norm, as well as the normative configuration of the principle of opportunity, may place the victim in a defenseless position. This stems from the inexistence of mechanisms that ensure the victim's participation in the procedure for the application of the principle of opportunity for the exercise of his or her right to defense, as well as the lack of clear regulations regarding the legal status of the victim's rights once this principle has been applied, particularly regarding his or her right to full reparation. These points of debate have been studied in the light of criminal dogmatics as well as from a comparative law perspective in order to determine, on the one hand, the effects of the application of the principle of opportunity on the rights of the victims and if, indeed, there is such incompatibility between the principle of opportunity and the rights of the victim that may lead to a violation of the right to full reparation as well as other rights of the victims