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

Abstract

Abstract: This study analyzes the legal reasoning in judgments issued by trial-level judges in Ecuador, using Case No. 13205-2023-XXXXX handled by the Judicial Unit for Family, Women, Children, and Adolescents in the Manta Canton as a case study. The primary objective was to evaluate the sufficiency and correctness of the judicial reasoning based on the doctrinal, normative, and methodological criteria of the "Puzzle Project" from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja. To this end, the EL SER method was applied, enabling the exploration, reading, highlighting, outlining, and summarizing of the judgment, as well as the determination of its argumentative structure in accordance with the model proposed by Atienza (2013). Questionnaires designed to assess the sufficiency and correctness of the reasoning were utilized. The results demonstrate that the judgment in question presents coherent, complete, and legally adequate reasoning in its substantiation of the declaration of paternity, the settlement agreement, and the determination of child support, while upholding constitutional and procedural norms as well as the protection of the rights of children and adolescents. The research highlights the importance of judicial reasoning.