La interpretación de los derechos de la naturaleza en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional del Ecuador (2018–2024).

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of the interpretation of the rights of nature, based on the identification of interpretative gaps that affect their effective protection and legal certainty. Currently, there is a legal issue arising from the lack of jurisprudence to easily determine the rights-holder, its content, and the operational mechanisms of these rights, as well as their relationship with other constitutional rights. The general objective is to determine and examine the hermeneutic criteria already established by the courts, as well as the constitutional and environmental principles they applied, and the impact of the decisions made on the solidity of ecological constitutionalism. To achieve this, a qualitative legal-dogmatic and hermeneutic approach was used, focusing on the analysis of doctrine and an in-depth study of the rulings of constitutional courts. Over the years, progress has been evidenced in the development of environmental rights, reflected in the incorporation of fundamental rights of nature such as precaution, non-regression, and full indemnification. In this manner, new principles adhering to nature are being developed. Nonetheless, interpretative inconsistencies, a lack of systematicity, and a tension between the biocentric approach and anthropocentric practices persist, limiting their effectiveness.