Event Summary
On 28 January 2026, the Secretary General of the National Assembly, Giovanny Bravo, informed the public that the draft Organic Law Reforming the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code—submitted on January 15 by Assembly Member Camila León—was not admitted by the Legislative Administration Council (CAL), the body responsible for qualifying and processing legislative initiatives. As a result, the proposal will not be presented to or debated by the plenary of the Assembly.
The decision was adopted unanimously and, according to the institutional spokesperson, was based on political considerations, although these were not publicly detailed. This announcement comes amid strong criticism from civil society organizations and freedom of expression advocacy groups, which had expressed concern about the content and potential effects of the initiative. Likewise, hours before the announcement of this decision, it emerged that Assembly Member León had not held meetings with journalistic associations to socialize and explain the scope of the bill, which further deepened criticism regarding the lack of dialogue and transparency in the process of drafting the proposal.
Es la primera vez que, en el periodo legislativo 2025-2029, se archiva por unanimidad un proyecto de ley presentado por la bancada del movimiento oficialista ADN. Sin embargo, es importante considerar que en varios periodos legislativos se ha intentado reformar el art. 396 del Código Orgánico Integral Penal para dar una interpretación adicional a los conceptos de expresiones de descrédito o deshonra como contravenciones sancionadas por la ley.