CONCURRING AND PARTIALLY DISSENTING OPINION BY JUDGES
EDUARDO FERRER MAC-GREGOR POISOT
AND RODRIGO MUDROVITSCH
CASE OF AGUINAGA AILLÓN v. ECUADOR
JUDGMENT OF JANUARY 30, 2023
(Merits, Reparations and Costs)
I. INTRODUCTION
1.
The setting for the events of this case was a “mass dismissal of judges” from
Ecuador’s three high courts, which took place in November and December, 2004.
Over the course of 14 days, the judges were removed fro the Supreme Court, the
Constitutional Court, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (hereinafter “TSE”) and had
no access to effective recourse, all of which had a significant deleterious impact on
the institutions of judicial independence and its relationship to democracy and the
rule of law.
2.
The judgment in the Aguinaga Aillón v. Ecuador case (hereinafter “the
judgment”) 1—the facts and context of which are associated with two rulings delivered
a decade ago 2—marks an important contribution to the body of case law on judicial
independence. It joins the extensive case law by the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights (hereinafter “the IA Court” or “the Inter-American Court”) on judicial
independence that has been developed in certain landmark cases such as the
Constitutional Court v. Peru (2001) and has been reiterated and strengthened for
over 20 years. 3
1
Cf. Aguinaga Aillón v. Ecuador. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 30, 2023.
Case of the Supreme Court of Justice (Quintana Coello et al.) v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objection,
Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 23, 2013. Series C No. 266; and Case of the
Constitutional Court (Camba Campos et al.) v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of August 28, 2013. Series C No. 268.
2
Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January
31, 2001. Series C No. 71, paras. 73 to 75; Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile. Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of November 22, 2005. Series C No. 135, paras. 145 and 156; Case of Apitz Barbera et
al. (“First Court of Administrative Disputes”) v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of August 5, 2008. Series C No. 182, paras. 43 to 45, 84 and 138; Case of Reverón
Trujillo v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of June 30, 2009.
Series C No. 197, paras. 67, 68, 70 to 81; Case of Chocrón Chocrón v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objection,
Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of July 1, 2011. Series C No. 227, paras. 97 to 100; Case of
Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of February 24, 2012. Series
C No. 239, para. 186; Case of the Supreme Court of Justice (Quintana Coello et al.) v. Ecuador. Preliminary
Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 23, 2013. Series C No. 266, paras. 144 to
154; Case of the Constitutional Court (Camba Campos et al.) v. Ecuador. Preliminary Objections, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 28, 2013. Series C No. 268, paras. 188 to 198; Case of
Argüelles et al. v. Argentina. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
November 20, 2014. Series C No. 288, para. 147; Case of López Lone et al. v. Honduras. Preliminary
Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of October 5, 2015. Series C No. 302, paras. 190 to
199; Case of Valencia Hinojosa
3