El principio de proporcionalidad en el incremento de pensiones alimenticias en Ecuador: análisis de los criterios de valoración para la verificación de la variación de las circunstancias que sustentan la modificación de la obligación alimentaria.

Abstract

This study examines the increase of child support payments in Ecuador, specifically focusing on how the presiding judge determines whether the circumstances considered when setting the original support amount have changed sufficiently to justify a modification. Although the Ecuadorian legal system allows for requests to increase support when such circumstances change, the analysis reveals the absence of a specific methodology establishing how this assessment should be conducted. The research employed a qualitative approach using legal, comparative, and dogmatic methods, based on an analysis of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, the Code on Children and Adolescents, the Organic General Code of Processes, constitutional case law, and comparative studies by authors addressing this subject in Europe and Latin America. The results demonstrated a gap in the current Ecuadorian procedure; this gap lies not in the lack of a mechanism to request a support increase, but rather in the absence of objective criteria to guide the judge in assessing whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances. Consequently, a methodological model for judicial assessment was proposed to allow for a systematic verification of the actual needs of the minor receiving support, the financial capacity of the payer, and the shared responsibility of both parents. This proposal strengthens the application of the principle of proportionality and contributes to legal certainty.