Mecanismos de coordinación entre la justicia ordinaria y la justicia indígena en Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: This article makes an analysis of the current state of the coordination and cooperation mechanisms between ordinary justice and indigenous justice in Ecuador, based on a documentary and legislative review of the development of the subject, applying a qualitative approach based on the methods of analysis and synthesis, induction by deduction and that of legal exegetical analysis. The main result is a description of the main differences between the two jurisdictions, the identification and explanation of the arguments that support the need for coordination and cooperation, and the analysis of the principle of intercultural interpretation as a criterion for applying state legal norms. in the processes where indigenous persons are tried, without there being a norm that requires the application of the same principle when the indigenous authorities judge persons outside their communities. The main conclusion is that these mechanisms have not been sufficiently developed in the legislative and jurisdictional channels, which has as a consequence different conflicts regarding the application of the respective normative systems to particular conflicts with detriment to the rights of the persons tried. It is emphasized that, despite the differences described between both jurisdictions, the recognition of indigenous justice as a value in itself, expression ofcultural diversity and manifestation of legal pluralism and the existing plurinationality in Ecuador should prevail as a principle.