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VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS GUARANTEES IN THE APPLICATION OF THE DIRECT PROCEDURE IN CANTON SANTO DOMINGO IN ECUADOR

Abstract:

The reforms in criminal matters in recent years in Ecuador have been characterized by the innovation of the criminal procedure system through the creation of procedural figures, one of the most significant changes being the application of the direct procedure, contained in article 640, of the Code Comprehensive Criminal Law in force since 2014. Characterized by being a fast procedure that responds to the reform in the administration of justice as a process that helps to decongest the criminal justice system in the proces-sing of flagrant crimes. By concentrating all the stages of the process in a single hearing, although it is true, the principle of speed and procedural economy are applied, guiding principles of Law, however, this criminal procedural figure is highly questionable in terms of the violation of rights and constitutional guarantees of the accused, due to the limited time available in the application of this procedure to exercise a true technical defense and search for exculpatory elements in his favor. This scenario was demonstrated in the development of this research. The results obtained show that in this procedure, judicial productivity is measured around the increase in convictions in a very short period of time and in people deprived of liberty at the cost of restricting the rights and guarantees that make up the right to due process.