Motivación en las sentencias emitidas por los jueces de primer nivel en Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: This work analyzes the motivation behind a first-instance ruling that declares the existence of a post-mortem common-law union in Esmeraldas, taking as its central focus the standards established by the Constitutional Court regarding sufficient and correct reasoning and the methodology for analyzing rulings proposed by Atienza. Based on a doctrinal and normative study of the right to reasoned judgments, the regime of common-law unions, and the family in the Ecuadorian legal system, the analysis examines how the judge constructs the facts, applies constitutional and civil norms, and assesses the evidence in a case where cohabitation was never registered during the parties' lifetimes. The analysis shows that, although the decision is favorable to the plaintiff, it presents incomplete reasoning both factually and normatively, and proposes criteria.