Analysis of the special remedy of double compliance and the protection of the right to due process in Ecuador

Abstract

The special remedy of double jeopardy is a legal input that has its origin in the right to a double instance, recognized in various international instruments such as the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), in its Art. 8, numeral 2, literal h. This principle seeks to guarantee that every person convicted of a crime has "the right to appeal the judgment to a higher judge or court" (American Convention on Human Rights, 1969, pp.10), thus ensuring an effective review of the sentence. In Ecuador, formal recognition of the special double jeopardy remedy has been a progressive process. Article 76 of the 2008 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador establishes the right to due process and the possibility of challenging judicial decisions. Over the years, various jurisprudential pronouncements by the judiciary have consolidated this remedy as a special and fundamental procedural remedy.