Consecuencias jurídicas frente a la falta de temporalidad de las medidas de seguridad aplicadas a personas inimputables por trastornos mentales en Ecuador

Abstract

This research paper analyzes the legal nature and material execution of security measures imposed on unimputable individuals within the Ecuadorian penal system. Through the case study of Process No. 13113-2016-00010, known as "Hijo del Sol" (Son of the Sun), it examines the critical tension between the therapeutic purpose of such measures and their practical application, which often results in indefinite deprivation of liberty. The investigation identifies a severe normative antinomy between the guarantee-based mandate of the 2008 Constitution and the omission of temporal limits in the Comprehensive Organic Penal Code (COIP). The findings demonstrate that the lack of periodic judicial review and the absence of a maximum duration term violate the principles of proportionality, legal certainty, and human dignity, transforming psychiatric treatment into a mechanism of neutralization and perpetual confinement. Finally, the study concludes on the imperative need for legislative reform and the application of international human rights standards to ensure effective judicial protection for this priority attention group.