Habeas corpus in Ecuadorian constitutional practice: Its technical nature versus its abusive use (Review)

Abstract

The human right to freedom is of considerable importance, which has demanded the creation of tools to be able to protect it or claim its protection in other cases. As a result of this need, the legal institution of habeas corpus has arisen since the 12th century, which precisely means to liberate the body. The objective was to determine the successes and failures present in the constitutional and legal configuration of the habeas corpus action, with an influence on the practical and casuistic behavior of its interposition in the Ecuadorian legal and constitutional reality. This legal institution is currently part of the constitutional law responsible for providing for fundamental rights. In Ecuador, today, habeas corpus is conceived in the Constitution as a constitutional action and in the organic law of jurisdictional guarantees as one more guarantee. However, its practical behavior reflects technical problems of application, in terms of the dominance by the parties who promote it and the judges who decide on it, all of which evidences an abusive use of it, resulting in its distortion. These results are obtained through a qualitative approach and the use of various research methods, especially of a theoretical type, predominating analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction, documentary analysis, and legal hermeneutics.