Huh?7 years ago(Modified)With a valid driver鈥檚 permit from the United States, Spain, OR FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY, it is legal to drive within the territory of the Republic of Ecuador for up to SIX MONTHS, as long as you present it together with your valid passport which shows your date of entry into Ecuadorian territory, and as long as it shows your legal stay in Ecuador (in case of foreign citizens). So in case of having an Ecuadorian policeman stating that 鈥渢hose foreign driver鈥檚 licenses are not valid in Ecuador鈥�, Ecuador鈥檚 Organic Law of Land Transport and Road Security (LEY ORGANICA DE TRANSPORTE TERRESTRE TRANSITO Y SEGURIDAD VIAL, as it is called in Spanish), on its Article 10 says 鈥�..those Ecuadorian citizens residing abroad, and foreigners who may be driving vehicles, within the national territory could drive with driver鈥檚 licenses issued by their country of residence. The Ecuadorian government acknowledges the validity of such documents, decals, driver鈥檚 licenses, international driver permits, foreign vehicle鈥檚 registrations and customs permits, issued in their countries in compliance with current international laws and requirements..鈥�
NOW鈥︹�︹�� IS IT REALLY LEGAL TO FILM A POLICEMAN or a MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES or any other PUBLIC SERVANTS THROUGH AUDIOVISUAL DEVICES? YES, it is COMPLETELY LEGAL and the reason is simple, all members of the National or Metropolitan Police or members of the Armed Forces are public servants, thus, DURING THEIR WORKING HOURS THEIR ACTS ARE OF PUBLIC INTEREST, moreover if such acts do happen on public roads or public places, so then, EVERY SINGLE PERSON, EITHER ECUADORIAN OR FOREIGNER has the right to film or record any policeman while he/she is at work, according to COIP鈥檚 (C贸digo Org谩nico Integral Penal, or 鈥淐omprehensive Organic Criminal Code鈥�) Article 471, as well as Articles 18, 66, 76, 77, 91 and 384 from the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION (as described further on) Moreover, in the specific case of foreigners, if a member of the Police presumes to state that foreigners do not have the same rights as the Ecuadorians and thus they cannot film or record, they (foreigners) should know that the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION鈥檚 Article 9 states 鈥�..foreign persons in Ecuadorian territory shall have the same rights and duties as those of Ecuadorians, in accordance with the Constitution..鈥�; while Article 11, numeral 2 says 鈥�..all persons are equal and shall enjoy the same rights, duties and opportunities, and no one could be discriminated based on their immigration status..鈥�; and in the other hand, LEY ORGANICA DE MOVILIDAD HUMANA鈥檚 Article 47 (Human Mobility Organic Law) states 鈥�..foreign persons, without regard of their immigrant status, will have the right to access justice and its guarantees in due course for the protection of their rights, according to what is written in the Constitution..鈥�
Therefore, for all individuals, for Ecuadorian or foreign citizenships, the right of filming and/or recording a member of any of the national police bodies or their Armed Forces, is legally authorized by the following articles of the Ecuadorian Constitution:
CONSTITUTION of ECUADOR Article 18.- All persons, whether individually or collectively, have the right to: 1. Look for, receive, exchange, produce and disseminate information that is truthful, accurate, timely, taken in context, plural, without prior censorship about the facts, events, and processes of general interest, with subsequent responsibility.
Article 66.- It is acknowledged and guaranteed to all persons:
6. The right to voice one's opinion and express one's thinking freely and in all of its forms and manifestations.
29. The rights of freedom also include:
d) That no person can be obligated to do something forbidden or to cease from doing something not forbidden by law.
Article 91.- The petition for access to public information shall be aimed at guaranteeing access to this information, when this information has been denied expressly or tacitly or when the information provided is incomplete or not trustworthy. It can be filed even if the denial to provide information is based on the secret, reserved, confidential nature of the information or any other classification. The reserved nature of the information must be stated prior to the petition by a competent authority and in accordance with the law.
Article 384.- The media system shall ensure the exercise of the rights of communication, information and freedom of expression, and shall strengthen public participation.
COIP (C贸digo Org谩nico Integral Penal, or 鈥淐omprehensive Organic Criminal Code鈥�). Art铆culo 471.- Filmings/recordings connected to an alleged law offense.- DO NOT REQUIRE JUDICIAL AUTHORIZATION. All audio recordings, video images or photographs connected to an alleged law offense, produced spontaneously at the same moment of its occurrence, by the means of telecommunication devices, security or surveillance cameras, by any technological means, by individuals on public places of public transit or in the cases in which is been broadcasted audio or video recordings produced by one of its participants鈥�
IN THE CASE THAT A POLICEMAN SAYS THAT A FILMING IS A VIOLATION OF HIS PERSONAL PRIVACY, ECUADOR鈥檚 LAW STATES AS FOLLOWS:
Ecuador鈥檚 criminal law has provisions in regards to the right of personal and family privacy. The one who violates such rights could be punished from one to three years of imprisonment, according to COIP鈥檚 Article 178 (C贸digo Org谩nico Integral Penal, or 鈥淐omprehensive Organic Criminal Code鈥�). However 鈥�..these laws are not applicable for the person who broadcasts audio or video recordings in which said person participates personally, nor when it is in regards of public information according to what is stated in the law..鈥�
HOWEVER, members of the any of the national police bodies are public servants and thus, DURING THEIR WORKING HOURS ALL OF THEIR ACTS ARE OF PUBLIC INTEREST, and therefore any filming or recording of a policeman during their working hours does not become a private act nor a violation of their privacy, according to COIP鈥檚 Article 471, and Articles 18, 66, 76, 77, 91 and 384 from the Constitution of Ecuador.
Finally, in case that a policeman decides to ignore the laws he/she is supposed to abide, and in case that he/she wants to seize the documents of a person who is driving with a foreign driver鈥檚 license, or even worst, if he/she presumes or attempts to arrest an Ecuadorian or foreign citizen because of being filmed during either of these events, the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION on its Article 11, numeral 9 says 鈥�..The State's supreme duty consists of respecting and enforcing respect for the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The State, its delegates, concession holders and all persons acting in the exercise of public authority, shall be obligated to redress infringements of the rights of individuals for negligence or inadequacies in the provision of public services..鈥� Likewise, Article 76, numeral 7, paragraph E states 鈥�..No one can be questioned, not even for purposes of inquiry, by the Office of the Attorney-General, by police force authority or any other authority, without the presence of a private attorney or a court appointed defense attorney, or outside the premises authorized for this purpose..鈥�
And above all, Article 77 says 鈥�..In any criminal proceedings where a person has been arrested and detained, the following basic guarantees shall be observed: - Whoever imprisons a person by infringing these regulations shall be punished. The law provides for criminal and administrative sanctions for the arbitrary detention that takes place as the result of the excessive use of the police force, in their abusive application or interpretation of the penalties or other regulations or for reasons of discrimination..鈥�
