La protección constitucional de la labor de defensa de derechos humanos en Ecuador: criterios aplicables ante la ausencia de un desarrollo jurisprudencial expreso

Abstract

Abstract: This research focuses on the constitutional protection of human rights defense work in Ecuador, given the absence of explicit jurisprudential development on the matter. The primary objective is to analyze the constitutional criteria within the Ecuadorian legal system that enable the protection of human rights defense activities, notwithstanding the lack of explicit rulings by the Constitutional Court. Employing a qualitative approach alongside dogmatic, analytical, and interpretive (systematic and teleological) methods, the study examines both international standards and domestic regulations. The findings demonstrate that mechanisms such as the "block of constitutionality" and the *pro persona* principle allow for the integration of the Inter-American system's heightened guarantee obligations into the local legal framework. The study concludes that, despite the jurisprudential gap, there are constitutional and conventional grounds for safeguarding this work grounds systematized here into a matrix of four criteria for judicial application. This proposal aims to ensure the effectiveness of judicial guarantees in counteracting the punitive nature of the criminal justice system and to secure a safe environment for human rights defense.