Quevedo & Ponce - Legal News

The Organic Law of National Solidarity reinforce the restrictions applicable to Simplified Joint Stock Companies (S.A.S.) by expanding the list of prohibited activities — including mining and strategic sectors — to ensure that these entities remain focused on ventures with lower regulatory risk. Additionally, it introduces the Sports Joint Stock Company, a new legal form designed to professionalize the management of sports clubs and teams, subject to strict controls to prevent illicit activities.

The new Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters between Ecuador and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, published in the Second Supplement of the Official Register No. 63 (June 19, 2025), strengthens efforts to combat smuggling, counterfeiting, and commercial fraud. Through information exchange and coordinated surveillance mechanisms, it also reinforces the protection of intellectual property rights, benefiting authorities, operators, and rights holders.

In Ecuador, lease agreements can be verbal or written, but the law requires a formal contract before a notary if the monthly rent exceeds the unified basic salary. Knowing these legal conditions is essential to protect both landlords and tenants and avoid legal risks.

Ecuador has taken a decisive step by enacting the new Organic Law on Intelligence, which aims to strengthen the State’s capacity to combat organized crime and threats to national sovereignty. However, the legal framework adopted raises serious concerns from a constitutional and human rights perspective.

The Companies Act allows to request the exclusion of a company from a massive dissolution resolution if the grounds for dissolution have been remedied and the resolution has not been registered before the Mercantile Registry. This alternative avoids to initiate a reactivation process and enables the company to maintain its legal standing. This article explains the circumstances under which this option may be exercised and the requirements that must be complied.

Within the framework of Ecuador’s intellectual property system, Traditional Specialties Guaranteed (TSG) represents a strategic legal mechanism for the protection of agri-food products with proven cultural value and traditional heritage. This tool provides official recognition of the authenticity of traditional production methods, without requiring a specific territorial link.

Arbitration in Ecuador is an effective alternative for resolving disputes, highlighting benefits such as celerity, confidentiality, and the ability to choose expert arbitrators, making the process more efficient and specialized than ordinary courts.

The Superintendency of Personal Data Protection (SPDP) has issued recent statements regarding the use of biometric data for workplace attendance control and the obligation to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) in savings and credit cooperatives. These criteria reinforce the need to protect sensitive data, require impact assessments, ensure free consent, and establish that cooperatives must immediately appoint a DPO to comply with current regulations and avoid sanctions.

Since April 30, 2025, in Ecuador the inclusion of specific personal data protection clauses is mandatory in all contracts involving the processing of personal data pursuant to Resolution No. SPDP-SPD-2025-0006-R. This new legal requirement applies to both public and private entities and non-compliance may result in severe sanctions.

Frisby, one of Colombia’s most popular fast-food chains, is currently facing a complex legal dispute in Europe that has garnered the attention of businesses, media, and the general public.

Metropolitan Ordinance No. 096-2025 establishes a special regime in Quito for the extinction of tax and non-tax debts not exceeding one unified basic salary, and for the full remission of interest, fines, and surcharges on overdue obligations, provided certain requirements are met and payment of the capital is made by June 30, 2025. This measure aims to facilitate the economic regularization of taxpayers and local entities.

The Constitutional Court, through Judgment 878-20-JP, determined that the rights of a judge on maternity leave were violated when her leave was suspended following the death of her child.