Constitucionalidad de los estados de excepción dictados durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en el Ecuador

Abstract

In 2020, due to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, the President of the Republic of Ecuador, making use of his constitutional powers, decreed several States of Exception in the country, limiting the exercise of certain rights of freedom in order to guarantee the right to health, integrity and life of citizens. At the beginning of the pandemic, the declaration of a State of Exception was necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus. However, with the passage of time, the State of Exception ceased to be justified, given that during the validity of this extraordinary instrument the President must create ordinary measures to control and overcome the emergency that has arisen, and not use the State of Exception as a permanent measure to overcome a crisis. Therefore, in order to avoid both the abuse and the permanence of the States of Exception, the Constitutional Court, by means of a legal ruling, carries out the constitutional control of the States of Exception, and guarantees the full validity of the rights recognized in the Constitution of the Republic and International Human Rights Treaties