Evidentiary Assessment in Judgments on the Merits Upon Admission of Cassation Appeals in Contentious-Administrative Matters and its Impact on the Dispositive Principle.

Abstract

This research scrutinizes the purview of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador in conducting evidentiary appraisals when rendering judgments on the merits within administrative litigation. It critically analyzes the doctrinal friction between the review of legality and the dispositive principle from an evidentiary standpoint.

A notable juridical tension emerges when the cassation court reweighs the evidentiary corpus to issue a substantive ruling, thereby risking interference with the dispositive principle while exercising plenary jurisdiction. Although adjudication on the merits necessitates a factual re-examination, it inherently carries the risk of overstepping the evidentiary boundaries delineated by the parties. Consequently, a rigorous technical demarcation is imperative to preclude procedural arbitrariness and safeguard litigant autonomy.