Intercultural legal pluralism and legal certainty in the Ecuadorian constitutional state

Abstract

Introduction. The constitutional recognition of intercultural legal pluralism in Ecuador raises the problem of guaranteeing legal certainty in the relationship between indigenous justice and ordinary jurisdiction, given the persistent absence of an interjurisdictional coordination law provided for in article 171 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador.
Objective. To analyze the case law treatment of legal certainty in Ecuadorian indigenous justice and to propose interjurisdictional coordination guidelines that guarantee it without undermining indigenous autonomy.
Methodology. Qualitative study, with a documentary design and jurisprudential case study, based on the content analysis of a corpus of five rulings issued by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador between 2014 and 2025.
Results. The analysis shows that legal certainty operates as an implicit standard within the guarantees of a competent judge and reasoned decision, rather than as the subject of an autonomous ruling; it documents, through anthropological expert opinions, a structurally equivalent own procedural sequence between kichwa communities in different locations; and it systematizes an interjurisdictional coordination model made up of six components operating at the jurisdictional, procedural, and structural levels.
Conclusion. The legal certainty of indigenous justice depends on the consistency with which the Constitutional Court has applied these criteria in the absence of a coordination law, and the systematized model offers a reference point for guiding the relationship between both justice systems until that law is enacted.
General Area of Study: Law
Specific area of study: Constitutional law / Legal pluralism
Type of study: Original article.