All the leaders belonging to the orbit of the so-called Socialism of the XXIst Century tried to change the Constitution of their respective countries (Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Cristina Kirchner in Argentina and Rafael Correa in Ecuador). The big target of this new continental political fad was to alter the essentials of the juridical frame in order to perpetuate in power the new Latin-American socialistic leaders. While a new constitutional text was being devised, the socialist presidents established a legislative trick called Constituent Assemblies. These were erected like a legislative organ acting over all other branches of government. In practice, the Constituent Assemblies were authorized to execute any political and legal desire that might come from the socialist presidents, like true monarchs.
The Constituent processes of the last two decades created absurd juridical excesses, but perhaps the most disproportionate of all is the infamous Bill 13 or Mandate 13, issued by the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador (November, 2007 – October, 2008).
WHAT IS BILL 13 OR MANDATE 13?
Mandate 13 is a resolution of the Constituent National Assembly of Rafael Correa, that eliminates all possibility of juridical contest to the seizure for means of administrative act of all the companies that belonged to the Isaías Group, a holding from Guayaquil that stood out for having managed until 1998 the biggest bank of Ecuador, Filanbanco. The proprietors of the consortium, known as the Isaías Brothers, Roberto, William and Estéfano also possessed several of the more popular TV channels in Ecuador, which also were seized and awarded to the propaganda aparatus of the “correismo”.
The letter of Mandate 13 establishes that the goods seized to the Isaías “are not protected by constitutional cover… …The judges or magistrates that activate any class of constitutional action relative to this resolution… will be removed from office”.
Reputable lawyers from different countries have qualified the Mandate 13 as a legal atrocity, “an authentic juridical eyesore, perhaps the most flagrant of the continent” as affirms the Colombian investigator Alberto Valencia Granada in a revealing essay titled “When Success is a Crime / Human rights violation on the Family Isaías, available in Amazon.com.Doctor Valencia assures that “Mandate 13 violates the International Agreement of Civil and Political Rights that establishes that… every person should have a right to be heard publicly and with the due guarantees for a competent, independent and impartial court established by the law… for the determination of its rights or obligations of civil character” (art. 14, 1).
UNITED NATION CONTESTS MANDATE 13
Many know Mandate 13 and its pernicious consequences in the juridical stability of Ecuador, nevertheless, few ones know that this monstrous bill has been refuted by the Committee of Human Rights of the United Nations.
The Committee, determined in June 3, 2016 (paragraph 7.4): that “… the Constituent Mandate n ° 13… violated the right of the authors (Isaías Brothers) under the article 14 (1) of the Agreement, to a process with the due guarantees in the determination of its rights or obligations of civil character”. “… [Ecuador] has the obligation to provide the authors with an effective resource. In fulfillment of this obligation… it must give full repair… Consequently… it must assured that the pertinent civil processes should be guaranteed in conformity with the article 14 (1) of the Agreement and the present report” (Committee, paragraph 9).
Summing up, the United Nations established that the seizures that took place against the Isaías Brothers are illegal and therefore, the “Ecuadorian State must re-establish” to Roberto and William Isaías all the companies and properties confiscated since the they never had access to an impartial judge.
