Judicial Branch
New justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the sitting members of the court. A bare majority of Congress, acting in a special session called by former President Lucio Gutiérrez in December, 2004, ousted 27 of the 31 justices and replaced them with new members chosen by Congress, notwithstanding the lack of any provisions permitting impeachment of Supreme Court justices by Congress and the specific provisions giving the Court the power to select new members. Earlier, in November 2004, Congress replaced the majority of judges on the country's Electoral Court and Constitutional Court by a similar process.
After the adoption of a new Constitution in 2008, the judicial branch of the country was completely renewed. Now it has a cooperative leadership having a judicial and an administrative head. First you have the National Court of Justice, which seats 21 judges elected for a period of 9 years. They are elected by the Judiciary Council based on a merits contest held by that office. They are the final stage of any judicial process serving as a Court of Cassation and create binding precedent based on Triple Reiterative Rulings from the Chambers of the Court. The President of the Court is elected amongst the members of the Court for a Period of 3 years where he will represent the Judicial Branch before the State. The current president of the National Court of Justice is Dr. Carlos Ruiz.
Second, you have the administrative branch of the Judicial Power, which consists of The Judiciary Council. The Council is formed by 9 Vocals who are elected by the Branch of Transparency and Social Control, which is formed by the Control Authorities of the State. The Vocals are elected also by a merits contest and it shall be formed by sic experts in law and 3 experts in management, economics and other related areas. However after the National Referendum that took place on the 5th of May in 2011, the proposition impulsed by the government of Mr. Correa won and now the Judiciary Council change its formation making a constitutional amendment. Currently a Tri-Party Commission is serving as a Transitional Council with delegates from the Legislative, Executive and Transparency Branch, to reform the broken judicial system of the Country.
Finally it is wise to say that there exist a Constitutional Court. However it does not exercise legal revision, but rather constitutional control of situations where constitutional rights are violated. Also they are the sole body in the State to interpret what the Constitution says.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Ecuador
Famous quotes containing the words judicial and/or branch:
“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)