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That the corruption in both public and private sector activities
puts under risk the stability and the credibility of the democratic
system, affects the internal and external image of the country,
defers the satisfaction of the Ecuadorian people needs, limits investment
and affects economic and human development;
That Ecuador is one of the subscribers of the Inter-American Convention
Against Corruption, approved in Caracas on the 29th. of May 1996,
which has been ratified by the National Congress, published in the
Official Gazette No. 70 of 23th. May 1997;
That the Political Constitution of the Republic creates the Civic
Counter Corruption Commission, as a legal person of public law,
with autonomy and economic, political and administrative independence;
That article 3 of the Constitution, in its numeral 6, when referring
to the primary duties of the State, it imperatively indicates that
will guarantee the force of the democratic system and a public administration
free of corruption;
That between duties and responsibilities that for the citizens establishes
numeral 13 of article 97 of the Political Constitution it is the
assumption of public functions as a service to the community and
give account to the society and to the authority pursuant to the
Law;
That it is a State duty and all its inhabitants to fight permanently
against corruption and to eradicate its devastating effects; and,
In exercise of their constitutional and legal powers, issues the
following,
CIVIL COUNTER CORRUPTION COMMISSION
TITLE I
OF ITS NATURE
Article 1. Creation. The Civic Counter Corruption Commission,
created by constitutional mandate, is a legal person of public law,
with autonomy and economic, political and administrative independence
and will act in representation of the citizenship. It has headquarters
in Quito and it will be able to constitute delegations in the provinces
and districts that are deemed advisable.
Article 2. Objective. The Commission will accomplish the
necessary actions for the prevention, investigation, identification
and individualization of acts of corruption, as well as dissemination
of values and principles of transparency in the performance of the
public matters. In order to do it, it will receive, process and
investigate the acts of corruption to obtain evidence and take other
necessary action to facilitate legal proceedings and measures regarding
the investigation of acts of corruption of public officials and
individual people involved in such acts under investigation. If
evidence or criminal liability is found in the referred investigations,
conclusions will be sent to the Public Ministry, the General State
Controllership and the jurisdictional agency that would be competent
according to the Law.
The Commission will be preferably occupied of accusations on cases
of graft, bribe, extortion, concussion, speculation, fraud of the
financial system and fraudulent actions as a rule and other similar
which affect either State resources or public sector institutions
resources, including those in which there is partnership with the
private sector.
Article 3. Structure. The Civic Counter Corruption Commission
will be integrated by seven principal members and seven substitutes.
They will last four years in their functions and could be reelected,
only once.
Article 4. Assignment. Members of the Commission will be
nominated by electoral colleges duly certified by each one of the
following entities:
1. The National
Universities Council and Polythecnic Schools;
2. Legally
recognized professional unions, representing each sector at a national
level;
3. The Ecuadorian
Newspaper Publishers Association, Television Channel Association,
Radio Broadcasting
Association and National Journalist Federation;
4. The National
Federations of the Chambers of Production;
5. Central
Unions and Indigenous, Afroecuadorian and Peasants organizations,
at a national level, and
legally recognized;
6. National
Women Organizations, legally recognized; and,
7. Human Rights
Organizations and Consumer Defense, legally recognized.
The leaders of the sponsored organizations will not be able to be
members of the Commission, unless they are separated from their
respective staff functions.
Each one of these entities will designate a principal member with
his/her respective substitute, who will replace him/her in the event
of suspension, definitive or temporary absence; in this last case,
until completing the period for which the principal member was elected.
The Supreme Electoral Court will summon with thirty days of anticipation
to the date of election, to the respective electoral colleges so
that they could proceed with assignments.
The Regulation of this Law will establish, within the election procedure,
the mechanisms that make possible to spread the names of the candidates,
before their election so that any citizen could present opposition
and objections to the candidacies.
Article 5. Requirements to be member. To be member of the
Civic Counter Corruption Commission it is necessary to fulfill the
following requirements:
a) Be Ecuadorian
and older than thirty years old;
b) Not to
have legal impediment to exercise public duties;
c) Enjoy recognized
honesty and rectitude; and,
d) Not to
exercise duties in parties, movements or political organizations.
Article 6. Of the organs. The following are Civic Control
Corruption Commission organs:
a) The Commission
Joint Session;
b) The Presidency;
c) The Vice-Presidency;
d) The Provincial
and District Delegations established by the Joint Session; and,
e) The Executive
Directorate.
TITLE II
OF THE POWERS OF THE COMMISSION JOINT SESSION
Article 7. Powers. The Civic Counter Corruption Commission
will have the following powers:
a) Formulate programs and lead campaigns against corruption, as
well as preparation of a national prevention plan that will be informed
to the top State authorities. The plan will be presented until one
hundred twenty days after the Commission would have started its
activities. It will contain policies, objectives, programs and actions,
aimed at complying this purpose;
b) Promote the citizenship participation and organization for the
creation of legality and honesty culture;
c) Know and investigate corruption claims that may have been presented
and legally proceed before enough data is gathered to presume corruption;
d) Request reports or documents to any public or private institution,
or natural persons in order to verify the bases of cases under investigation;
verify and pronounce on situations that imply conflicts of interest
or improper utilization of privileged information, as well as accession
with the same purposes to any file or information of any public
office.
Authorities, public officials, or required managing will have to
supply information in a term of twenty days. Every verification
or inspection will have to be fulfilled by facts and documents related
to the cases under investigation.
For authorities, required managing or public officials banking account
examination, as well as credit cards or other documents related
to operations of the financial system, the Commission will send
their requests to the Superintendent of Banks; in the case of instruments
related to Stock Market Law, to that official or to the Superintendent
of Companies. In any circumstance, the mentioned authorities will
have to satisfactorily answer the above-mentioned requests.
Any public official who refuses or does not fulfill with this mandate
will be ceased in his/her position by special order given by respective
authority. It will be taken an immediate action, after the Civic
Counter Control Commission has informed on such contempt;
e) Grant to the persons who spontaneously collaborate with the Commission
in the clarification of the facts, legal protection for their personal
safety through relevant authorities;
f) Send, when the cases merit it, final reports of the investigation
processes to both the General State Controllership and to the Public
Ministry, who will process such Commission reports, according to
the Law;
g) Receive extra-processal statements of persons who would have
been aware of some act of corruption or that would have presumably
participated on it;
h) Request the competent administrative authorities, in merit to
investigations, the corresponding sanctions;
i) Know, approve and evaluate the administrative plan, and the annual
budgetary proforma prepared by the Executive Director;
j) Designate experts, and commission in writing to specialized outsiders
so that on its behalf and representation investigations be carried
out, whose results will be put in exclusive knowledge of the Commission;
k) Issue the Functional Organizational Regulation of the Commission,
as well as others that would be necessary for its organization and
operation;
l) Order that members of the public force render in a timely manner
a strict protection to the members of the Commission or the respective
delegates, only by means of a verbal request and official identification,
without being necessary the authorization or any order from a hierarchic
superior. In the event of the fact that a member of the public force
would not fulfil that duty, such disrespect would be informed to
the competent official so that he/she imposes the respective sanction,
and report of it to the Commission; and,
m) The others granted by the Political Constitution of the Republic
and the laws.
TITLE III
OF OBLIGATIONS AND JURISDICTION
Article 8. Obligations. All members and directors of the
Civic Counter Corruption Commission will have the following obligations
and prohibitions:
a) Submit at the beginning and at the end of their management a
the sworn patrimonial statement as established in article 122 of
the Political Constitution of the Republic;
b) Keep absolute secrecy on all investigations that have been carried
out, as well as all information that reach to their knowledge in
an indirect or direct way as a result of their work in the Commission,
until the investigations are concluded and the corresponding report
is issued. This obligation, as well as the one stated in previous
literal, includes all Civic Counter Corruption Commission officials,
personnel and workers who would be dismissed in the event of nonfulfillment;
c) Not to participate in the investigations of facts where there
would be conflict of interest or somehow involved either personally
or their relatives within fourth degree of consanguinity and second
of affinity;
d) Not to participate in political and factional activities; and,
e) Other established in this Law and respective Regulations.
Article 9. Jurisdiction. Members of the Civic Counter Corruption
Commission will have Supreme Court jurisdiction.
TITLE IV
OF THE POSITIONS
Article 10. President. The President of the Commission will
be elected among its principal members, with the favorable vote
of most of them. He/she will last two years in his/her position
and could be reelected.
Article 11. Powers and duties of the President. The President
of the Commission has the following powers and duties:
a) Fulfil
and make fulfil this Law and the decisions of the Commission Joint
Session;
b) Exercise
the legal representation of the Commission;
c) Call, preside
meetings of the Commission Joint Session and propose corresponding
agenda;
d) Present
to the citizenship by means of the National Congress the annual
report on the state, operation
and activities of the Commission; and,
e) The others
established in the Law and Regulations.
Article 12. Vice-President. The Vice-President will be elected
among the principal members of the Commission, in the same way as
the President. He/she will replace him/her in the event of temporary
absence, and in case of a definitive absence, until completing the
period for which he/she was elected.
In this last case, the Commission will proceed to appoint among
its members to the Vice-president.
Article 13. Executive Director. The Commission will appoint
from outside an Executive Director who besides gathering the requirements
indicated in article 5 of this Law, will need to have a university
degree. The Executive Director position will be of free appointment
and removal.
Article 14. Powers. The Executive Director of the Commission
will:
a) Exercise Commission administrative and financial management;
b) Elaborate and submit to the Commission the annual budgetary proforma
of the organization; and,
c) Exercise other powers conferred to him/her by regulations or
delegations given by the President and/or
the Commission.
Article 15. Dismissal causes. Members of the Commission will
be dismissed by its Joint Session, exclusively because of the following
causes:
a) If a plenary stage proceeding of a case has been opened against
him/her or there is a condemnatory criminal judgment within a penal
trial because of fraudulent offenses;
b) Violate secrecy that involved in the investigations of the Commission;
c) Incur in serious guilt in the exercise of his/her functions,
same that will have to be qualified by at least two-thirds of the
Commission members;
d) Participate in the investigation processes where conflicts of
interest have been found;
e) Deliberately hinder procedures and investigations of the Commission;
and,
f) Have presented accusations against other or other members of
the Commission, that become malicious or rash.
Article 16. Suspension causes. When an investigation, judge
and dismissal process have started against a Commission member,
because of any of the causes mentioned in literal b), c), d) and
e) of the previous article, member or members under discussion will
remain suspended in the exercise of their functions until the Joint
Session of the Commission solves on their liability.
TITLE V
OF THE INVESTIGATION, JUDGE AND DISMISSAL PROCESS
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
Article 17. Without prejudice of administrative, civil and penal
actions established by Law, the investigation and prosecution process
to a member of the Commission, will have to start subject to duty
or complaint filing in those cases pointed out in Article 15 of
this Law.
Article 18. In the cases of complaint, this will have to
be previously recognized by the claimant, subject to the following
rules:
a) If a member of the Commission files a complaint against other
member, he/she will have to formalize it in writing, indicating
their bases and accompanying material evidences or documents he/she
has; and,
b) If other person knew that a member of the Commission, is found
liable to one of the dismissal causes he/she will file a formal
complaint in the terms indicated in the preceding procedures.
All complaints must be acknowledged before the President of the
Commission or his replacement. The content of the complaint will
be confidential.
The claimant will have to give all the cooperation and information
required by the Commission in order to sustain his/her complaint.
Any complaint qualified in the terms of literal f) of article 15
of this Law, that derives from an outsider, will follow regulations
established in the Penal Procedure Code.
In any circumstance it remains an action by moral damage.
Article 19. Once the arraignment is recognized, the Commission
will be able to declare its inappropriateness and order to be filed,
by means of a duly based resolution.
On the contrary, if arraignment is qualified and accepted to procedure,
it will be ordered the immediate citation to the member of the Commission
to whom it has been lodged a complaint, giving to him/her the term
of fifteen days to answer it in writing.
Article 20. Once the term established in the previous article
concludes within the three following business days, through either
the answer to the arraignment or by default, the Commission will
call the parties so that the respective evidences be presented during
the following fifteen days.
Article 21. After evidences are acted, the Commission will have
ten days to accomplish the respective assessment. Once such term
is concluded it will solve on the denounced liability in a term
not superior to ten days.
Article 22. The Commission will adopt its resolutions by
majority of votes of their members in a single meeting. The single
resolution will be refutable before the Constitutional Court.
Article 23. Funding and Budget. The Civic Counter Corruption
Commission funding will be stated in the General State Budget.
TRANSTORY DISPOSITIONS
FIRST. The Electoral Supreme Court, will summon to the electoral
colleges, within the sixty subsequent days, counted as of the force
of the present Law.
SECOND. Members of the Civic Counter Corruption Commission
appointed by the President of the Republic in line with the Thirteenth
Transient Resolution of the Political Constitution, will last in
their functions until they are replaced, as established by this
present Law.
FINAL DISPOSITION
According to the Political Constitution, the President of the Republic
will be in charge of dictating the respective Regulation of application
to this present Law.
Given in the city of San Francisco de Quito, Metropolitan District,
in the board room of the National Congress of Ecuador, on the fifth
day of the month of August nineteen ninety nine.
f) Eng. Juan Jose Pons Arízaga, President
f) B.A. Guillermo H. Astudillo Ibarra, General Secretary
NATIONAL CONGRESS
I certify: That the above copy is a true certified copy of the original
that remains in the files of the General Secretariat.
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