Legal inaccuracies in the typification of the crime of instigation to suicide in the Ecuadorian criminal context

Abstract

This scholarly article undertakes a legal analysis of the offense of incitement to suicide, as codified in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code of Ecuador. The research aims to examine and critically assess the legislative intent and rationale behind the classification of this offense within an arguably inappropriate section of the aforementioned legal instrument. The principal objective is to identify, through a doctrinal and systematic analysis of the constitutive elements of the offense, the actual legally protected interest (bien jurídico) underlying the criminalization of incitement to suicide, as currently recognized by the prevailing penal framework. Additionally, the article addresses the flawed typification of the offense in the Ecuadorian penal code, employing both deductive and descriptive methodologies. This approach leads to the conclusion that the objective elements of the offense are incorrectly framed in the normative text, as it fails to clearly establish the correct protected legal interest—namely, the inviolability of life, as opposed to personal integrity. The research also identifies significant issues in the legislative drafting of the provision, particularly concerning its wording and the delineation of the modes of commission, which have been inadequately addressed or entirely overlooked by the legislator.