Is the Definition of Public Information Found in Ecuador’s Legislation Contrary to the Constitutional Right to Personal Data?

An Analysis of Ecuador’s Constitutional Court Ruling No. 839-14-EP/21

Abstract

This paper analyzes the definition of public information under the Ecuadorian legal system, in light of the right to personal data, according to the parameters set forth by the Constitutional Court in Ruling No. 2064-14-EP/21. For this purpose, Judgment No. 839-14-EP/21 of the Constitutional Court - in which a ruling on the merits was issued within the framework of an action for access to public information – has been examined. The claim, which was ultimately accepted by the courts, concerned the actor's access to his sister's inheritance tax return.