Necesidad de reforma del artículo 247 del COIP para mejorar la eficacia del derecho penal en la tutela efectiva de los derechos de la naturaleza.

Abstract

Abstract: According to our Constitution, nature is the subject of rights and its effective protection is the responsibility of the State. The Ecuadorian Penal System allows the protection of the legal assets of society, therefore, the defense of the rights of nature against the occurrence of affectations to wild flora and fauna, especially, when crimes occur in areas of the System National of Protected Areas. In the 2015-2019 period, 14 cases for crimes against wild flora and fauna were known and sanctioned by the criminal justice system, in the protected areas of the Galapagos province, showing that the lack of gradation of article 247 of the COIP (before 437 of the Penal Code) resulted in the determination of similar penalties for cases of different significance, despite the characteristics and magnitude of each offense. The analysis of the judgments made it possible to show which are the elements derived from the application of Article 247 that limited the effective protection of the rights of nature in ordinary criminal justice, and; the construction of a reform proposal.