Article 268 of the Comprehensive Criminal Code on Organic Crimes (COIP) states: Members of the judicial career (…) who err against the express law, to the detriment of one of the parties; act contrary to the express law, doing what it forbids or not doing what it orders, (…), will be punished with a prison sentence of three to five years. It is about the well-known crime of “prevaricato”, a crime that, as the said provision states, judges commit when they violate clear laws in their judgments or decisions. The consequence of this crime is also clear: the judge who cheats must go to prison.

This little article on COIP should be one of the most powerful tools to fight corruption in our justice system. In fact, as he writes, in order to convict a judge of this crime, it is not necessary to prove that there was an agreement between him and one of the parties, which is usually quite difficult to do, but it is enough to show that there is a clear rule that the judge simply chose to ignore. And yet, despite how easy it should in principle be to prove that a judge was wrong, it is disappointingly common that these crimes are never reported or, when they are, the reports get stuck in the prosecutor’s office.

The National Court analyzes judicial decisions related to the transfer of judges; there are requests for the agency to clarify aspects of the document

There are several reasons behind this, but one of the main ones is the lawyers themselves who were victims of an indecisive judge. Indeed, it is not uncommon for lawyers, especially those who practice civil law, to often be reluctant to report these crimes or unwilling to follow through when we do. For most victims of irregular judges, Ecuador’s criminal system is too slow or corrupt, so using it would be a “waste of time.” Many prefer to bow their heads and simply appeal, hoping that in the second instance or perhaps in cassation they will find judges who pronounce judgments based on the law, not money. This resigned attitude, however, only fuels the vicious circle of corruption in the long run. And that is that every time a judge cheats without any consequences, the message is sent to the other judges that they have carte blanche to trample on the laws of our republic, without absolutely anything happening.

Cases of corruption and organized crime will be handled only by anti-corruption judges in Quito

Corruption in the judiciary, even in civil cases, is a problem that affects not only the parties, but our entire community. Corrupt judges are the ones who let criminals who terrorize our streets go free, those who leave the robbers of public money unpunished and those who, with their complicity and inaction, allow the powerful to trample on the good people of our country without the slightest scruple.

That is why, through this column, I invite my colleagues to join the anti-fraud pact. That the next time we come across a corrupt judge, he will be denounced and persecuted to the end. They have no breath. A judge who cheats should go to jail. (OR)