Brief introduction to corporate criminal liability in Ecuador
Abstract
The corporate criminal liability systemin Ecuador has the following characteristics: they are liable for certain crimes, not all; the crime
must be for the benefit of the corporation “or its partners” understood in a collective sense; the criminal liability of individuals and
corporations are independent; the compliance program is only one more mitigating factor; the most common sanction is winding-up or dissolution plus a fine. The paper also proposes a constitutional interpretation of this new regime due to its tendency to the vicarious liability model and warns that, in the absence of exhaustive procedural regulation, caution should be exercised in respecting due process against the corporation, as long as this does not go against its nature or the nature of the accusatory system.
Keywords
corporation, criminal liability, Ecuador, constitutional interpretation, due process
References
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