According to news spread by Ecuavisa, it appeared “that there is no clear procedure” that allows the Constitutional Court (CC) to process emergency decree-laws in economic matters. In reality, the Organic Law on Judicial Guarantees and Constitutional Control (LOGJCC) does not provide for anything inherent in the prior decision required by such presidential decrees. The legislators and judges of the CC at that time forgot to establish the guidelines for issuing such an opinion. And of course, the current constitutional judges have to overcome the problem by relying on accumulated interpretations of the Constitution.

In a recent edition, the writer argued that every constitutional court has implicit powers and authorities to resolve problems arising in the application of the norms and principles of the Constitution, including correcting errors of great connotation and social and collective frequency. Solutions that are already used by the Constitutional Court of Colombia and the Constitutional Court of Peru.

The National Transitional Constitutional Court understood that the interpretation of the Constitution is a constant task of the Constitutional Court in the development of all its powers attributed by the Constitution, since the various functions of the Court itself are possible only by interpreting the fundamental norm in its overall context. and for each case in which it must be applied (the obligation to govern, for example). “It is not about the Court having the alleged task of interpreting the Constitution on the one hand, and other powers or functions on the other. On the contrary, all these other functions are possible (only) through the interpretation of the Constitution” (verdict no. 002-10-SIC-CC – D. – September 9, 2010, case no. 0020-09-IC).

Consequently, and if, in the exercise of its powers, the previous Constitutional Court interpreted that the criminal offense of abuse cannot be attributed to constitutional judges, the current CC can provide itself with rules that fill the gap in Article 75 of the ZODNCC, to contribute to the verification of motivation requirements of decree laws in economic matters which, due to their extraordinary and urgent nature, clearly require urgent attention in order not to hinder the design of the component and the realization of citizens’ aspirations.

It should be noted that the economic issue, the subject of decrees that the Constitution authorizes the president to issue after he has dissolved the Legislative Assembly, could only be challenged within the framework of the unconstitutionality procedure. All the more so since the formal aspect is what must be taken into account in order to decide on the regulation.

In addition, we should not forget that in the Constitution economic matter is intertwined and developed in texts dedicated to health (Art. 32), work and social security (Art. 33), promotion of youth work (Art. 39), employment opportunities for persons with disabilities (Art. 47) and the regime of development and job creation (Art. 276), among other complementary public finances. (OR)