Professor Oswaldo Ruiz-Chiriboga gave an interview with Counterpunch on 12 October 2018 discussing recent constitutional reforms in Ecuador. In a departure from the normal rules on constitutional amendment, President Lenin Moreno called a referendum by presidential decree. The resulting institutional reform brought in a transitory arrangement in the name of ensuring the transparency of non-elected government positions. The transitory measures are handled by a body selected at the discretion of the President, known as the Citizens' Participation Council (CPCCS by the Spanish acronym). The changes include, inter alia, the dismissal of all members of the Constitutional Court.
Discussing the transitory arrangement Ruiz-Chiriboga emphasizes: "The ‘transitory’ CPCCS is also a de facto tribunal – created after the facts it was investigating. ... [T]hese kinds of de facto tribunals are against international human rights law. This whole procedure to purge ‘Correistas’ from the state is not proper in any way. The proper way would have been impeachment procedures if they had a case against specific people."