The appeal and application of the guarantee ¨non reformatio in peius¨ in Ecuadorian legislation

Abstract

Introduction: The uncertainty of the status of the defendant when establishing an appeal within the Ecuadorian procedural system, is derived from the misapplication and non-observance of due process in all instances of the criminal system, this has led to the rights of the appellant to be violated by the non-observance of the principle of non reformatio in peius especially in the second instance,  Therefore, the objective of the research was to analyze the application of the guarantee of non reformatio in peius, through the law, comparative law, jurisprudence and theoretical basis, to prevent the violation of procedural principles in the second instance of the criminal process, avoiding the infringement of due process, legal security and the right to appeal. Methodology: The level of research was descriptive from the qualitative approach, using the compilation of information from different scientific and jurisprudential databases, published in the last five years, following the same thread included the respective legal analysis of the normative bodies in force in Ecuador, comparative law was applied with respect to the guarantee of non reformatio in peius in relation to other countries with a similar judicial system. Conclusion: As a conclusion of this research work, it was determined that the guarantee of non reformatio in peius was not applied by the judges of second instance, because there are conflicting criteria regarding its application, since this guarantee is not positivized in the Organic Integral Penal Code.