Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador

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The Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador (Spanish: Tribunal Constitucional del Ecuador) is the highest court in Ecuador dealing with constitutional issues. It was created as part of Ecuador's 1996 constitutional reform package. It is composed of nine magistrates.

The Constitutional Tribunal has been affected by Ecuador's recent political crises. In 2005, President Lucio Gutiérrez manipulated his party's modest advantage in Congress to replace numerous justices, including eight of nine members of the Constitutional Tribunal.^[1] In 2007, the Tribunal was involved in a confrontation with newly elected President Rafael Correa. On March 9, the Tribunal warned President Correa that he would be acting illegally if he ignored its eventual ruling on the constitutionality of a national referendum. Correa responded by saying that the Tribunal was "dominated by the political parties" and that it had no authority to act on the issue. It should be noted that the Constitutional Tribunal's rulings have often been ignored by Ecuador's Presidents and Congress.^[2]