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

Abstract

Abstract: This curricular integration project analyzes the legal reasoning in judgments issued by trial-level judges in Ecuador, using a case involving the crime of murder as defined in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code as a reference. The research aims to determine whether the judicial decision meets the constitutional standards for reasoning required by the legal framework and the guarantees inherent in due process. To this end, an argumentative analysis methodology is employed, enabling the identification of the legal issue, the normative and factual questions, the assessment of evidence, and the reasons used by the judge to substantiate the decision. Furthermore, the study incorporates a doctrinal analysis of fundamental categories of criminal law theory, such as *tipicidad* (conduct fitting the statutory definition of a crime), unlawfulness, culpability, co-perpetration, complicity, participation, and sentencing. It also examines the distinction between functional control of the act and secondary cooperation within the various forms of criminal involvement. The research concludes that proper legal reasoning constitutes an essential guarantee for preventing arbitrary decisions and strengthening legal certainty within the penal system.