Mutación constitucional : modificación legítima del texto constitucional.

Abstract

There are several mechanisms that make it possible to modify the content of the Constitution. These mechanisms are addressed by the institution of constitutional reform, and in the case of Ecuador, they can be produced through amendments, partial reforms, or constituent assemblies. Inaddition, it has also been observed that on certain occasions changes to the Constitution have occurred tacitly through constitutional mutations. Each of these mechanisms has its own characteristics and legal and political requirements. It is important to bear in mind that any changein the Constitution must be legitimate and accepted by society, to guarantee the stability and continuity of the political system. This paper studies the institution of constitutional mutation as another mechanism of modificationin the Constitution through the jurisprudential interpretation by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. This legal institution will be analyzed from a dogmatic perspective and its application in the Ecuadorian reality, including debates on democratic legitimacy, judicial activism, constitutional reform, theory of interpretation and normative effectiveness of the constitutional text. This will help to better understand the challenges and limitations of using constitutional mutation as a mechanism to modify the Constitution and to evaluate its viability in a democratic state.