Mandatory On May 31, Guillermo Lasso presented a 19-page report in which he explains the reasons for the economic urgency of the Organic Law for Strengthening the Family Economy, presented before the Constitutional Court on May 17, 2023. Although it establishes that according to the Constitution it is the sole discretion and authority of the President of the Republic to classify a decree as an economic emergency and that the Court is competent for abstract control, which refers to the constitutionality of the decree, it explains what the criteria are to consider that it is a decree of economic urgency.

Regarding determining whether the project is an economic emergency or not, the letter indicates that according to the Constitution “Until the appointment of the National Assembly, the President of the Republic can, after a favorable verdict of the Constitutional Court, issue decrees-laws on economic urgency, which the legislative body can approve or repeal. (…)”. The Government understands this in the sense that The President may issue economic emergency law decrees, leaving only to his discretion and authority the classification of economic emergency law decrees. While The Constitutional Court can only exercise abstract supervision normative but not the qualification of economic urgency as such. He cites Article 74 of the Organic Law on Guarantees and Constitutional Control, which indicates that the abstract control of constitutionality aims to guarantee the unity and coherence of the legal system through the identification and removal of regulatory incompatibilities, for material reasons. or forms, between constitutional norms and other provisions that make up the legal system.

In the letter of the president Lasso reminds that on May 25, 2023, an order was received confirming the recognition of avoco case no. 1-23-UE “Urgent economic need in connection with this decree law”. There, the President of the Republic was asked to submit a report to the Constitutional Court within three days in which he will explain the reasons for the economic urgency of this Regulation on Organic Law.

For President Lasso, the inclusion of the presidential authority to refer urgent projects on economic issues in the Constitution to the legislative branch responds to the concern that the component had to speed up the documentary process that enables the management of the national economy in the context of the economic crisis. Thus, the existence of an agile procedure in the legislative body allows the President of the Republic to implement economic policy, counting on this with participation in the parliamentary debate, in order to give a quick response that allows overcoming, as far as possible, the economic crisis in which the Republic is involved; even more so when they come from contexts of hardship around the world.

It also indicates that the constitutional text from 2008 in Article 140, when it regulates the handling of proposals classified as urgent in economic matters, stipulates that three elements must match:

1) that it is on the initiative of the president;

2) which refers to economic issues;

3) that the President of the Republic qualifies it as urgent.

Class action

Despite the fact that the justification report is on the Court’s website, it is June 2 Colectivo Va por Ti Ecuador (which supports Andrés Arauz, former Correísmo presidential candidate), sent a letter to the court stating that since President Lasso had not provided an explanation, go to archiving the case. This group also indicates, which had previously produced several writings against the decree of the law, that if justification existed, it was sent to explain why it was hidden.