10 The Political Constitution of Ecuador of 1979 acknowledged the right to equality and the principle of non-discrimination, which necessarily meant an unrestricted respect to these constitutional principles. Both in the reality and in some bodies of law, the right to equality has not been duly respected. One of the sectors that has been affected by the lack of protection of these rights, has been that of the people submitted to processes or trials related to the trafficking and possession of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Thus, both the law of 1989, and the law of 1990, in force up to this date, included norms that lead to an unequal treatment, even when the right to a presumption of innocence hangs over them. The indictees for these crimes are discriminated and it is systematically expected that there will be convictions. A stigma has been created in social, judicial, and police mediums against these people, which in many cases has also reached the defense counsel, who are afraid to defend cases related to the law on drugs. The Constitutional Court, through an Order of December 16, 1997, recognized the unconstitutionality of several provisions of the Law on Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances. Also, following that pointed out by the Inter-American Court in the case of Suárez Rosero, it decided to declare the unnumbered article following Article 114 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional, since this rule recognized a discrimination against people indicted for crimes included in the Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. On December 18, 1997, two days after the previously mentioned provisions were declared unconstitutional, an amendment to the Code of Execution of Judgments, with the purpose of granting the power to the directors of the social rehabilitation centers to free all detainees that do not have an arrest warrant issued by a competent judge. However, this norm established the following exception: “This stipulation will not apply for the misdemeanors included in the Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.” This clearly creates a discriminatory regime against the population imprisoned based on the mentioned law and without doubt reflects the stigma that has officially been imposed on this sector. Since the Constitution of 1998 came into force, Ecuador has recognized that their most important duty is to protect and defend human rights. The Constitution clearly develops both the content of the guaranteed rights, and the scope of the human rights international norms and their enforceability before national authorities, either administrative or judicial. However, in many cases this protection is deficient when dealing with people submitted to arrests and processes derived from crimes included in the Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. B) EVIDENCE ASSESSMENT Documentary Evidence Assessment