Ecuador Advances Three-Phase Plan for 222 Temporary Judges

Ecuador’s Council of the Judiciary is advancing a process to appoint 222 temporary judges across first-level courts and administrative and tax litigation tribunals. The methodology received approval from the full Council on July 30, 2026, after the Judicial Function declared an emergency on July 14, according to El Universo.

The appointments are intended to address vacancies and the shortage of judicial operators at the national level. For investors, the issue is not simply the number of judges. It is whether the appointment mechanism improves court capacity without adding uncertainty around independence, continuity, or the timing of decisions.

Three phases, one national process

The approved methodology has three phases: preliminary work, selection, and designation.

Provincial directorates handle the preliminary phase. Their responsibilities include identifying vacancies, obtaining budget certification from the Provincial Financial Unit, and preparing the technical report required to apply the methodology.

The National Human Talent Directorate manages selection. It will issue the internal call, receive applications, verify requirements and disqualifications, and prepare the technical selection report.

The full Council of the Judiciary handles designation. Its responsibilities include requesting viability reports, preparing a legal report and resolution, notifying selected judges, coordinating the handover of the judge’s prior post, and issuing the personnel action.

Eligibility and scoring

For first-level judicial units, the internal call can include secretaries, senior clerks, judicial assistants, and court clerks with permanent, provisional, or occasional-service appointments. Applicants must have at least five years of service in the Judicial Function.

Academic training is valued at 50 points, with professional training worth another 50 points, for a total of 100. Candidates with serious or very serious disciplinary sanctions cannot apply, and applicants must submit a notarized sworn declaration stating that they have none of the disqualifications in the Organic Code of the Judicial Function.

Council president Mercedes Caicedo said the temporary designation is an exceptional response to the shortage of judges and rejected the expression “traveling judges.” The source also records criticism from judicial and constitutional-law representatives.

The institutional risk variable

One issue identified in the reporting is that the methodology does not state how long a temporary judge will serve. Other observers question whether occasional-service employees should be eligible without a competitive examination and whether temporary appointments could create exposure to pressure or interference.

For businesses, judicial capacity is an operating variable. Commercial disputes, administrative challenges, tax litigation, and enforcement actions depend on courts that can process cases predictably. A temporary appointment program can improve capacity, but its effect will depend on execution and the credibility of the selection process.

What to watch

Watch for the vacancy list, the internal call, the names and professional profiles of appointed judges, and a clear statement on the duration of each designation. Investors should treat the methodology as an institutional development rather than as evidence that court delays have already been resolved.

Source: El Universo