El neoconstitucionalismo: Una aproximación a su aplicación en el Estado ecuatoriano

Since the enactment of the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador, there has been a shift in perspective regarding the importance of protecting people’s rights and creating mechanisms to make those rights effective. Human beings have been placed at the center of society which has led to the rise of neoconstitutionalism, as there has been an ideological change. Previously Ecuador was dominated by a legalistic vision under the Constitutional State, but this shifted to a constitutional vision of rights and justice, in which the catalog of rights included in the Constitution of Ecuador was expanded, and principles of legality and equality of rights were given importance. Based on this premise, an analysis of neoconstitutionalism is carried out to outline its definition, characteristics, differences from constitutionalism, and an approach to its application in Ecuador, in order to show how this ideology was established in the country. Additionally legal argumentation is addressed as a technique used by judges, which has allowed for reasoned rulings through the use of justification and rhetoric in judicial proceedings.