Judiciary approves the confidence exam to select national judges

The Plenary of the Judiciary Council approved the Methodology for the Application of the Trust Exam for the public competition of merits and opposition, citizen challenge, and social control for the selection and appointment of the judges of the National Court of Justice. The decision is contained in Resolution 229-2026, approved unanimously in Ordinary Session No. 165-2026 on November 5, 2026, and published in the Fourth Supplement of the Official Registry No. 404, on Friday, November 6, 2026. The instrument establishes how the assets, conduct, and credibility of those aspiring to join the leadership of the Judicial Power will be measured.

The resolution is based on Article 181 of the Constitution of the Republic and Article 264, numbers 1 and 10, of the Organic Code of the Judicial Function, and develops the Competition Regulations issued via Resolution 109-2026, of July 3, 2026, published in the Fifth Supplement of the Official Registry No. 322, of July 9, 2026. Furthermore, it is articulated with the Regulations for the application of the trust exam (Resolution 220-2026, of October 15, 2026, Fifth Supplement of the Official Registry No. 391, of October 16, 2026) and with Resolution 06-2026 of the National Court of Justice, which clarified the legal nature and limits of this test.

The approved text bears the code DNH-SAT-ME-006, version 1.0, 70 pages, was prepared by the National Directorate of Human Talent and received methodological validation from the National Directorate of Planning (Memorandum No. CJ-DNP-2026-2168-M, of November 4, 2026) and from the General Directorate (Memorandum No. CJ-DG-2026-7918-M, of November 5, 2026). The methodology applies only to those who passed the merits phase of the competition.

Asset Evaluation: 26 documents and graded findings

This component analyzes the economic, financial, and asset situation of each applicant by contrasting what was declared with public records, financial entities, and control bodies. Applicants have a period of 15 days to upload the mandatory documentation:

• Sworn asset declaration before a notary and a certificate of assets and liens from the Property Registry.
• Cadastral appraisal certificate and property tax certificate, and a unique vehicle certificate from the National Transit Agency.
• Certificates from the Internal Revenue Service, the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute, and the Superintendency of Companies, Securities, and Insurance.
• Sworn declaration of the non-existence of capital in tax havens, as required by Article 77, numeral 10, of the Organic Code of the Judicial Function.

Inconsistencies are classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Up to five mild findings are tolerable if they are isolated; six or more result in “NON-COMPLIANT”; a single severe finding determines the same result, and the absence of a mandatory document produces “NO RESULTS”.

Conduct and Credibility: Four Tests and Two Physiological Tools

The behavior assessment is applied in person and in groups, lasting up to two hours, using one or more psychometric instruments: the HCS integrity test (90 items, 13 dimensions), the BFI-2 (60 items), the 16PF-5 questionnaire, and the TRUST 2.0 inventory. The criteria are integrity, reliability, ethical conduct, professional responsibility, and probity; asset transparency is reserved for the asset evaluation, in accordance with Resolution 06-2026.

The credibility assessment is applied individually and uses polygraph evaluation—with polygraphers certified by the American Polygraph Association—or voice stress evaluation, with analysts certified by the National Institute for Truth Verification. Applicants must arrive 90 minutes in advance and hand over electronic devices.

70-Point Cut-off Score and Exclusion from the Competition

Each behavior criterion is worth 20 points out of 100. The result is “COMPLIANT” with 70% or more, valid protocols, and at least 14 points in each criterion; a score lower than 14 in one criterion, or less than 70%, results in “NON-COMPLIANT”. The final result is only “PASS” if all three evaluations record “COMPLIANT”; any “NON-COMPLIANT” or “NO RESULTS” excludes the applicant. The final report is validated by the General Directorate and approved by the Plenary, and the results are kept for seven years.

Single Reconsideration and Data Reservation

Reconsideration is an exceptional mechanism, granted only once and within three days of notification, and it cannot be used to remedy omitted information. It is applied through a semi-structured interview for behavior and through polygraph or voice stress for assets and credibility, always with an evaluator different from the initial one. The decision is final and not subject to appeal, and sensitive data is kept under strict confidentiality.

The resolution was signed by president Mercedes Johanna Caicedo Aldaz and members Magaly Camila Ruiz Cajas, Damián Alberto Larco Guamán, Fabián Plinio Fabara Gallardo, and Alfredo Juvenal Cuadros Añazco, with certification from the general secretary Marco Antonio Cárdenas Chum.

The weight of this methodology is twofold: it technically defines who may join the National Court of Justice, a body of 21 judges with nine-year terms and six specialized chambers, and it establishes for the first time measurable thresholds, grounds for exclusion, and means of appeal for a suitability filter that, until now, was applied without detailed public parameters. Applicants who do not pass this phase will be excluded from the competition without the possibility of proceeding to the subsequent stages.

Source: Official Registry, Fourth Supplement No. 404, Friday, November 6, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-6 (official reference: Resolution 229-2026).