Adolescents in conflict with criminal law and the application of the summary procedure as a form of early termination of the judicial process in Ecuador

Abstract

This article examines the legal compatibility of abbreviated proceedings when the accused person is an adolescent in conflict with criminal law under the Ecuadorian legal system. The issue arises from an evident tension: while abbreviated proceedings were created within the ordinary criminal process to promote procedural economy, speed, and early termination of criminal cases, the adolescent criminal responsibility system follows a different logic, grounded in specialization, comprehensive protection, the best interests of the child, and the imposition of socio-educational measures rather than purely retributive sanctions. This tension raises the question of whether both logics can coexist without undermining the constitutional and conventional model of juvenile justice in force in Ecuador.

The research adopts a qualitative approach, with a documentary design and a legal-analytical method. It examines the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code, the Code on Children and Adolescents, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 24 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Ecuadorian constitutional case law related to the specialized adjudication of adolescent offenders. Through this analysis, the study identifies the material, procedural, and interpretative limits that condition the possible admissibility of abbreviated proceedings in this field.

The findings show that abbreviated proceedings cannot be automatically transferred from adult criminal justice to the juvenile justice system, because doing so may affect reinforced guarantees such as specialized legal defense, informed consent, interdisciplinary assessment, and the socio-educational orientation of the State’s response. The article concludes that its eventual application could only be considered legitimate if there is material compatibility with the specialized system, reinforced judicial review, and strict respect for the best interests of the adolescent, in accordance with the Constitution, specialized legislation, and applicable international standards (National Assembly of Ecuador, 2008, arts. 44 and 175; National Assembly of Ecuador, 2014, art. 635; Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2019, paras. 15, 18 and 95).