10 The agencies of the judicial branch shall enjoy independence in the exercise of their duties and powers. No function of the State may interfere in matters of their competence. Justices and judges shall be independent in the exercise of their jurisdiction and powers, even with respect to other agencies of the judicial branch; they shall be subject to the Constitution and to law alone. 15 40. In light of the regulatory grounds used by the National Congress to terminate the alleged victims (see infra, para. 54), it should be noted that the Constitution’s transitory provisions provided: Twenty-five. The officers and members of agencies appointed by the National Congress and the Comptroller General of the State appointed for a four-year period as of August 10, 1998, under the provisions of this Constitution, shall remain in those positions until January 2003. 16 41. The information available indicates that at the time, no regulations were in place for the grounds whereby Supreme Court justices could be terminated, nor for the cooptation system for filling vacancies. The following sections describe how the members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Electoral Court were removed from their positions, prior to the termination of the alleged victims in the instant case. 4. Resolutions terminating the members of the Constitutional Court and of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal 42. On November 25, 2004, Congress adopted Resolution No. R-25-160, whereby it decided “to rule that the full judges of the Constitutional Court and their deputies were appointed illegally and to proceed to appoint them as ordered by the Constitution of the Republic and by law, from the shortlists of three names received in due course by Congress.” In this way, it appointed “the two full judges of the Constitutional Court and their deputies that the National Congress is empowered to appoint (…) The appointees (…) shall remain in their positions until they are legally replaced in January 2007.” 17 43. In addition, it resolved to “declare the termination of the duties of the full judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and of their deputies, on the grounds that they were appointed without observing the provisions of Article 209 of the Constitution of the Republic as regards the method of their appointment; and to proceed to appoint them in accordance with that constitutional provision and with the electoral results of October 20, 2002 (…) The appointees (…) shall remain in their positions until they are legally replaced in January 2007.” 18 44. On November 25, 2004, the National Congress issued resolutions R-25-161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, and 169, whereby it appointed, from shortlists of three names submitted by the President of the Republic and by the Supreme Court of Justice, four full judges and four deputy judges of the Constitutional Court. It also appointed one full judge and one deputy judge of the Constitutional Court from the shortlist of three names submitted by mayors and 15 Annex 5. Constitution of Ecuador, http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Ecuador/ecuador98.html. adopted on June 5, 1998. Available at: 16 Annex 5. Constitution of Ecuador, http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Ecuador/ecuador98.html. adopted on June 5, 1998. Available at: 17 Annex 6. National Congress Resolution No. R-25-160, dated November 25, 2004. (Annex to the initial petition received on December 30, 2004.) 18 Annex 6. National Congress Resolution No. R-25-160, dated November 25, 2004. (Annex to the initial petition received on December 30, 2004.)