SEGURIDAD JURÍDICA Y AUSENCIA DE INSCRIPCIÓN OBLI-GATORIA DE LAS PROMESAS DE COMPRAVENTA EN ECUADOR

Abstract

This article analyzes the legal problems arising from the lack of registration of preliminary purchase agreements in the Ecuadorian real estate registry system and its impact on the constitutional right to legal certainty. The research examines how the absence of registration creates uncertainty for prospective buyers regard-ing potential acts of disposition by the prospective seller during the term of the preliminary agreement. Using a qualitative methodology of doctrinal and norma-tive analysis, the legal nature of the preliminary agreement, the current Ecuado-rian registry system, the principle of legality in registration, and its effects on le-gal certainty are examined. The study demonstrates a normative tension between the principle of freedom of contract and the mechanisms of registration, highlight-ing that Article 25 of the Registry Law does not expressly include preliminary purchase agreements within the catalog of registrable acts. This legislative omis-sion violates the right to legal certainty by preventing third parties from knowing about the existence of prior commitments on real estate, fostering phenomena of double sales, the creation of liens and encumbrances that affect the rights of pro-spective buyers.