REPORT No. 99/11
CASE 12.597
MERITS
MIGUEL CAMBA CAMPOS ET AL.
“JUDGES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT”
ECUADOR
July 22, 2011
I.
SUMMARY
1.
On February 23, 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter
“the Inter-American Commission,” “the Commission,” or “the IACHR”) received a complaint filed by
Miguel Camba Campos and seven other former judges of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, for
the violation of various provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the
American Convention,” “the Convention,” or “the ACHR”) by the Republic of Ecuador (hereinafter
“the Ecuadorian State,” ‘the State,” or “Ecuador”). The petitioners alleged that on November 25,
2004, they were dismissed by an irregular and arbitrary procedure from their positions as judges of
the Constitutional Court by the National Congress, that in impeachment proceedings held on
December 1, 2004 they were not censured, and that a new impeachment proceeding was held on
December 8, 2004, by which they were removed. According to the petitioners, the decision to
terminate them was issued in repudiation of the procedures established in the Constitution and by
statute to that end, and the second impeachment trial was conducted without respecting due process
guarantees. In addition, the petitioners made reference to the absence of a judicial remedy in the face
of that situation. Finally, the petitioners stated that being terminated prevented them from continuing
to exercise the right to hold public office, and that they were subjected to discriminatory treatment,
both in relation to other judges of the same Court who were ratified in their duties and in relation to
the entire population, as they were impeded from being able to file amparo actions to safeguard their
rights.
2.
In this regard, the Commission considers it appropriate to refer to the specific
situation of each of the petitioners. The Constitutional Court of Ecuador was made up of nine full
judges (magistrados titulares) and nine alternate judges (magistrados suplentes). The petitioners in
this case are seven principal members of the Constitutional Court: Miguel Camba Campos, Oswaldo
Cevallos Bueno, Enrique Herrería Bonnet, Jaime Nogales Izurieta, Luis Rojas Bajaña, Mauro Terán
Cevallos, and Simón Zabala Guzmán, and one alternate member, Manuel Jaramillo Córdova. The 18
principal and alternate members of the Constitutional Court were terminated by the National
Congress on November 25, 2004. In addition, Miguel Camba Campos, Oswaldo Cevallos Bueno,
Jaime Nogales Izurieta, Luis Rojas Bajaña, and René de la Torre (another full judge of the
Constitutional Court who was terminated on November 25 and newly designated on that same date)
were impeached based on having participated in Resolution No. 0004-2003-TC. Miguel Camba
Campos, Luis Rojas Bajaña, Jaime Nogales Izurieta, Simón Zavala Guzmán, and Manuel Jaramillo
Córdova were impeached for having participated in Resolution No. 025-2003-TC.
3.
In turn, the State of Ecuador claimed that the petitioners were not dismissed or
removed from their positions, but rather that they were simply terminated, for in the session of
November 25, 2004, the Congress noted that the appointment of the members of the Constitutional
Court in 2003 had been illegal and resolved to remedy that situation. It added that as a result, the
guarantees of due process were not applicable, nor the principle of legality, for they were not
sanctioned for any violation whatsoever, rather, they were merely “terminated”. In addition, the State
indicated that the petitioners did not have recourse to suitable legal means for channeling their claims
and, consequently, there was no breach of the right to judicial protection. Finally, the State