Las audiencias telemáticas y su efectividad en los procesos orales en Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: Since the health crisis of March 2020, Ecuador has experienced a rapid shift in the administration of justice through the widespread adoption of online hearings, initially as an exceptional measure and subsequently as a policy, through instruments such as the Organic Law for Digital and Audiovisual Transformation (2023), reforms to the General Organic Code of Procedure (COGEP), and updated protocols in 2024-2025. The overall objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of online hearings in oral proceedings in Ecuadorian courts from the perspectives of speed, cost-effectiveness, access to justice, adversarial proceedings, immediacy, and transparency, proposing improvements to the regulatory and technical guidelines to ensure the proper conduct of these proceedings. The methodology employed a mixed-methods approach: quantitative and qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, analytical, and correlational. Eight hundred final judgments (2021-2025) were analyzed, and 25 judicial officers (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and lawyers) were selected. Likert scales and open-ended questions, validated by experts, were used in the survey. The results showed that 80% of the officers were aware of the speed, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of remote hearings; only 36% reported that mediation is functioning satisfactorily, and 64% reported technical shortcomings that affect the right to challenge evidence. Finally, the study concludes that remote hearings represent an irreversible and valuable advancement, although their full effectiveness requires overcoming technical limitations and bridging the digital divide.