Economic, social, and cultural rights in the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court (Panel Moved Online)

In Ecuador, teenage pregnancy is one of the social problems that most concerns the governments and society. In this context, on July 20, 2018, Ecuador issued the Intersectoral Policy for the Prevention of Pregnancy in Girls and Adolescents for the period 2018-2025, which for the purpose of this study was analyzed in relation to three aspects. First, if it was framed in the human rights approach of Children. Second, if it contemplated the principle of progressive autonomy of adolescents, which in turn is composed of three elements: empowerment, equality and non-discrimination and mechanisms of participation. Third, if the policy promoted Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which is considered one of the fundamental aspects for adolescent girls to fully exercise their right to sexual and reproductive health. For all the above, it´s important to know how is the treatment that the Ecuador Constitutional Court, have to the adolescents and if it contemplates them as subjects of rights.

Schools aim to satisfy the right to education for children and adolescents. In this context, conflicts between actors, such as students, parents, and administrative staff are inevitable. For this reason, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador has considered that, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child, restorative justice should be applied to resolve conflicts in the educational community. In the words of the Court, this type of justice seeks to repair the social fabric, resolve, and mitigate the negative consequences of an offense with the active participation of the parties to the conflict and the community. In order to explain this methodology of conflict resolution and analyze the minimum parameters established by the Court, two decisions will be studied, the first referring to the right to due process in a case involving the harm caused by sexting to a female student, and the second to sexual harassment caused by a teacher to a student.

Ruling 679-18-JP/20, was issued by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, in the framework of several actions for protection that were presented in individual terms. The analysis of the ruling in question is relevant because it developed the right to availability and access to medicines, within which it addressed: 1) the right to health and the prevention of disease and the promotion of the right to health - 2) the right to access to quality, safe and effective medicines for the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health - 3) the right of patients to access to information and informed consent - 4) the right to effective judicial protection in cases of access to medicines - 5) the indicators to assess the right to availability and access to medicines both individually and collectively - 6) the right to access to quality, safe and effective medicines in the cases heard by the Court.