Corruption in Ecuador accused Ecuador of violating the due process of 27 Supreme Court justices dismissed by Congress in 2004. In 2015, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) stated that “judicial independence is seriously compromised” in Ecuador. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in 2014 that an $18 billion pollution judgment against Chevron by an Ecuadoran court in 2011 had been the product of corruption. Attorney Steven Donziger and his legal team, according to Kaplan, had “used bribery, fraud and extortion” to win the case for his clients, a group of Ecuadoran villagers. Evidence showed that the ruling issued by Ecuadoran judge Nicolas Zambrano
LGBT rights in Ecuador 29 June 2018. The judges ordered the Civil Registry to immediately begin registering same-sex marriages. However, the Civil Registry has announced its intention to appeal the decision. On 28 July 2018, the president of the Supreme Court, Alfredo Ruiz, said that a majority of judges are in favour of the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and confirmed that the Court will vote to legalise it. Article 68 of the Ecuador Constitution states: "La adopción corresponderá sólo a parejas de distinto sexo". An unofficial English language translation of this provision states: "Adoption shall only be permitted for different-gender couples." The Constitution is