The Council of the Judiciary issues new regulations for judicial depositaries

The Plenary of the Judiciary Council issued the Comprehensive Regulation for the Exercise of the Functions of Judicial Depositories, which details their powers, appointment requirements, bonds, fee setting, operating expenses, control, and monitoring. The regulation is contained in Resolution 193-2026, published in Official Registry No. 378 on Monday, September 28, 2026, and is effective from its issuance and publication, with the exception of Article 11.

The regulation was unanimously approved in Extraordinary Session No. 136-2026 on September 16, 2026, and signed by the president of the Judiciary Council, Mercedes Johanna Caicedo Aldaz, along with members Magaly Camila Ruiz Cajas, Alfredo Juvenal Cuadros Añazco, Damián Alberto Larco Guamán, and Fabián Plinio Fabara Gallardo, and the general secretary Marco Antonio Cárdenas Chum. The resolution is based on Article 178 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, which recognizes judicial depositories as auxiliary bodies of the Judicial Function, and Article 312 of the Organic Code of the Judicial Function, which requires them to post a bond.

The text repeals the Regulation for the Operation of the Offices of Bailiffs and Judicial Depositories and Rules for the Fixing of Fees corresponding to Judicial Depositories, issued by Resolution of October 1, 2008, and published in Official Registry No. 453 on October 24, 2008. The Council’s competence to regulate the bond was confirmed by the Attorney General of the State through Official Letter No. 15345, dated February 18, 2026.

Appointment, requirements, and disqualifications

The regulation establishes that the judge shall appoint as depository the person proposed by the requesting party; if there is no proposal, the judge may resort to the depositories appointed by the Judicial Function or conduct a draw from the Council’s bank list in the SATJE system. Applicants must prove suitability and financial solvency, be domiciled in Ecuador, and declare under oath that they have no personal interest in the case.

The following, among others, are disqualified:

• Those who maintain a direct interest in the case or a kinship up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity with the judge or the parties.
• Those who have final convictions for crimes against public administration, money laundering, illicit association, or crimes against property.
• Those who are non-rehabilitated insolvent debtors or have been removed from similar positions for serious non-compliance.

Legal entities must present the public instrument of incorporation with a corporate purpose related to the storage and administration of assets, an updated RUC (Taxpayer Registry), and a tax compliance certificate.

Bond and proportional modulation

The bond is mandatory for taking office and may consist of insurance policies, deposit certificates, bank guarantees, mortgages, pledges, or other immediately enforceable financial instruments. It must be presented for each process, as a single bond for multiple processes is not feasible, and must remain in effect until the order providing for the termination of duties and the approval of accounts.

The judge shall set a provisional bond according to the amount of the process and, after the expert appraisal, shall order it to be completed or adjusted to the real value of the assets within a maximum term of five days, under penalty of removal and immediate replacement. The failure to provide timely communication regarding the need to expand or replace the guarantee will result in the early termination of the deposit.

The regulation modulates enforceability in two scenarios: when the deposit falls upon public institutions or State entities with direct patrimonial liability, the obligation is substituted with a commitment act of custody and indemnity; and when movable assets have an appraisal lower than one Unified Basic Salary (SBU), a sworn statement from the depositary shall suffice.

Fees, expenses, and early auction

Fees shall be set by the judge based on the appraisal of the asset and a percentage of the SBU, ranging from 25% for assets up to USD 1,000 up to 800% for amounts exceeding USD 10,000,000. Payment shall be made within the first five days of the corresponding month, in arrears, and may not exceed eight monthly unified basic salaries, except for percentages linked to the production of administered assets.

For productive assets, such as rental properties, farms, or industrial companies, the depositary shall receive up to 10% of the net product or monthly net profit. Expenses for warehousing, garage, maintenance, security, conservation, or grazing have caps: up to 1% of the money or appraisal and a maximum of four SBU for money and jewelry; 2.25% for livestock; and 0.5% for real estate, not exceeding four SBU. For vehicles, ships, or aircraft, the value is freely negotiated.

If the sum of these expenses reaches 20% of the commercial appraisal of the asset, the depositary must immediately request an early auction from the judge. Operational, logistical, transport, and machinery removal expenses in an attachment or seizure shall be covered in advance by the party requesting the measure.

Control, registration, and implementation deadlines

Depositories must inform the judge every quarter regarding the status, location, and custody of the assets, and present accounting records when managing assets intended for production or rent. Non-compliance declared by the jurisdictional authority will result in the loss of fees for that period and will be recorded in the SATJE, generating an active alert for two years, or a permanent one in case of recidivism.

The regulation also establishes implementation deadlines:

• Thirty days to compile and update the list of depositories appointed by the Judicial Function in the SATJE.
• Ninety days for those depositories to submit an inventory of warehouses and storage spaces to the Provincial Directorates.
• Up to ninety days, from the implementation of the electronic case file module of SATJE 2.0, for the technological adaptations of the registry.

The School of the Judicial Function must offer permanent training to judges on the content of the regulation.

The new regulation unifies into a single body the rules for the management of seized or sequestered assets and money throughout the country, with explicit caps on fees and expenses, mandatory guarantees per process, and an alert system to prevent non-compliant depositories from being appointed again. For the parties in litigation, the change implies greater predictability in storage costs and a faster auction mechanism when the conservation of the asset becomes onerous.

Source: Official Registry No. 378, Monday, September 28, 2026, Judicial Function and Indigenous Justice — Council of the Judiciary, pp. 41-57 (official reference: Resolution 193-2026).