La Convalidación de los Actos Administrativos en la Legislación Ecuatoriana

The validation of administrative acts represents an essential legal tool in modern administrative law; far from being purely technical, its proper regulation and application have profound implications regarding legal certainty, institutional effectiveness, and, above all, the protection of citizens' rights on public administration. In many ways, it is a corrective value that allows the system to remain fair and functional without losing sight of the principles of legality and due process. This work has been built with a qualitative methodology, starting with a rigorous analysis of the current legislation, the specialized doctrine, and the relevant jurisprudence. Added to this are valuable contributions obtained through interviews with legal operators who, from the practical level, face the challenges involved in validation daily. Their testimonies reflect a technical domain of the subject and the genuine concerns generated by normative ambiguity in its application. One of the most relevant findings of the investigation is the existence of important gaps in the Organic Administrative Code (COA). The lack of clarity between remediable and non-remediable defects and the absence of objective criteria on the time limits and formal requirements for the statement of reasons to be met by a validated act is particularly worrying. This lack of definition has led to different interpretations by the interviewees, generating considerable uncertainty among the actors in the system. Because of this, we propose three lines of action that could make a significant difference. First, a substantial revision of Article 110 of the COA, incorporating reforms of defined concepts and parameters that make it possible to determine clearly when an act can be validated and under what conditions. Second, the design of administrative protocols that standardize the validation procedure provides security for officials and administrators. Finally, training programs continue to be implemented for judges and public servants to strengthen their ...