20 judiciary of Ecuador, overcrowding and precarious living conditions in the prisons. Some trials lasted at least two years, and there were heavy prison sentences of twelve to sixteen years. Provisional detention was established to investigate, before beginning the criminal law action, whether a crime had been committed. This detention could not surpass 48 hours. If a person was provisionally detained for a period longer than that set forth in the law, he must be released ex officio by the judge. However, in practice, the detainee had to request release. Preventive incarceration, a personal precautionary measure, was not subject to a specific maximum duration. It continued indefinitely. At the time of the events, the Criminal Code set forth the cases of immediate release of those accused of a crime, but excluded those accused of crimes punished by the LSEP. Ecuadorian legislation in force at the time of the facts set forth that persons authorized to conduct detentions should identify and present the order issued by a competent authority, which should specify the reasons for the detention and explain the rights of the detainee. In regards to the order of preventive incarceration, notification had to be personal. In practice, once the court order to investigate an alleged crime had been issued, the summons did not take place personally, but rather was taken to the prison and the copy of the court order to investigate an alleged crime was deposited in the file and the indictee did not receive a copy. During the substantiation of the proceeding, the preliminary examination statement by the accused should be heard by the judge within 24 hours of the time when the accused was brought before him. This period could be extended another 24 hours, if the judge deemed it necessary. In practice, the first statements were made before the district attorney and the agent of the judiciary police, and the judge was rarely involved in hearing said statements. According to the Ecuadorian legislation in force at the time of the facts, the stages of the criminal proceedings had a certain maximum duration: 1) the indictment, no more than 60 days; 2) the intermediate stage, no more than 19 days; after this time, the judge issued either an order of dismissal or one to begin the full trial, and these orders could be appealed within three days of when they were notified; 3) the full trial stage was processed before the criminal court; and 4) an appeal was in order when, after the judgment had been issued by the respective court, the parties filed a cassation remedy, for which they had three days time; if they did not do so, the sentence was executed. In no case should the judge admit the co-accused as witnesses; their statements should have no evidentiary value. There are variants of dismissal in Ecuadorian law. Provisional dismissal is ordered if the judge deems that it has not been shown that there was a crime, or if it has been shown that there was one, those guilty have not been identified, or there is insufficient evidence of participation of the indictee. Once provisional dismissal of the criminal proceeding has been ordered, the proceeding is suspended for five years. When provisional dismissal of the charges against the accused has been