Interpretación intercultural de la justicia indígena en la Corte Constitucional del Ecuador

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to determine if the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court applies the constitutional principle of the plurinationality and interculturality when resolving extraordinary protection actions against judgments issued by the indigenous justice. The article also seeks to find if the Court, when applying those principles, interprets human rights and examines the factual background through an intercultural standard. The analysis is based on a review of the Constitutional Court’s decisions and archives, as well as testimonies held by the leaders and persons involved in conflicts that took place in two indigenous communities: “La Cocha” and “Lote Cuatro.” This article concludes that the Court conceptualized plurinationality and interculturality as synonymous with multiculturalism and multiethnicism, which prevent the possibility for a truly intercultural interpretation.

Keywords

• pluri-nationality
• interculturality
• intercultural interpretation
• own right