2021-01-01 | JPRM-2021-007-A

JPRM-2021-007-A — Thematic Index of Files Classified as Reserved

The Monetary and Monetary Policy Board of Ecuador issued Resolution JPRM-2021-007-A to establish a thematic index of documents classified as reserved, thereby defining the scope of confidential information exempt from public access. The resolution mandates that such information remains classified for fifteen years and outlines specific categories, including monetary policy decisions, international reserves, and internal security reports, while strictly prohibiting unauthorized disclosure by board members and officials. It further authorizes the Board President to lift reservations via motivated administrative resolution and imposes administrative, civil, and criminal liabilities for any unauthorized dissemination of the protected information.

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RESOLUTION NO. JPRM-2021-007-A THE MONETARY AND MONETARY POLICY BOARD

CONSIDERING:

That, numeral 2 of Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador establishes that all persons have the right to: “2. Freely access information generated by public entities, or by private entities that manage State funds or perform public functions. There shall be no reservation of information except in cases expressly established by law. In the event of a violation of human rights, no public entity shall deny information”;

That, Article 82 of the aforementioned norm contemplates the principle of legal certainty, which is based on respect for the Constitution and the existence of prior, clear, public legal norms applied by competent authorities;

That, Article 226 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes that public servants and persons acting by virtue of a State power shall exercise only the competencies and faculties attributed to them in the Constitution and the Law;

That, Article 227 of the same, states that the Public Administration constitutes a service to the community that is governed by the principles of effectiveness, efficiency, quality, hierarchy, coordination, planning, transparency, among others;

That, Article 47.1 of the Organic Code of Monetary and Financial Affairs, reformed, creates the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board as part of the Executive Function, responsible for the formulation of monetary policy, the highest governing body of the Central Bank of Ecuador, and determines its composition;

That, Article 47.6 of the Organic Code of Monetary and Financial Affairs, in its final clause, establishes that for the fulfillment of its functions, the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board will issue norms in matters within its competence without being able to alter legal provisions;

That, Article 47.7 of the aforementioned Code provides that the acts of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board enjoy the presumption of legality and are

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expressed through resolutions, which may be qualified as reserved;

That, Article 55.2 of the aforementioned Code states that “No person who serves or has served as an official or member of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board may use, reveal, or disseminate non-public information, when they have obtained or become aware of it in the exercise of their functions, except when it is necessary to comply with the requirement of a competent authority”;

That, the seventeenth general provision of the aforementioned Code provides that: “State institutions, their agencies, dependencies, and persons acting by virtue of a State power may exchange without any restriction the information they possess, and that is necessary for the fulfillment of their objectives. Personal information is reserved and will not lose such status by exchange with other State institutions, to whom such reservation will be transferred”;

That, literal b) of Article 17 of the Organic Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information states that: “The right to access public information does not proceed, exclusively in the following cases: (…) b) Information expressly established as reserved in current laws”;

That, the first and fourth clauses of Article 18 of the aforementioned Organic Law establish that “(…) Information previously classified as reserved will remain with such character for a period of fifteen years from its classification. Reserved information will be declassified when the causes that gave rise to its classification cease. The reservation period on certain documentation will be extended as long as the causes that gave rise to its classification remain and are justified (…) Public institutions will prepare a thematic index of files classified as reserved on a semi-annual basis. In no case will the index be considered as reserved information. This index of reserved information will detail: date of resolution and period of validity of this classification”;

That, the final clause of Article 22 of the Organic Law of Public Service establishes as a duty of public servants to safeguard and care for the documentation and

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information that, by reason of their employment, position, or commission, they have under their responsibility and to prevent or avoid its improper use, theft, concealment, or destruction;

That, Article 5 of the Law on Electronic Commerce, Electronic Signatures and Data Messages establishes the principles of confidentiality and reservation for data messages, regardless of their form, medium, or intention; as well as the sanctions. Any violation of these principles, particularly those related to electronic intrusion, illegal transfer of data messages, or violation of professional secrecy, will be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of said law and other norms governing the matter;

That, Article 10 of the Regulation to the Organic Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information determines that “Institutions subject to the scope of this regulation will keep an ordered list of all files and information considered reserved, in which the date of the reservation resolution, reservation period, and the reasons that justify the reservation classification will be recorded. This list will not be classified as reserved under any concept and will be available on the website of each institution.”;

That, Articles 13 and 14 of the Regulation on the Operation of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, approved by Resolution No. JPRM-2021-001-A, of November 4, 2021, establish the regulation regarding the presentation and filing of topics with a reserved character.

That, it is necessary to issue the internal regulations of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, in order to safeguard the integrity and sensitivity of its information and establish a catalog of reserved documents;

That, the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, in an extraordinary session by technological means, on December 17, 2021, reviewed the proposal sent via Memorandum No. BCE-BCE-2021-0225-M of December 15, 2021, by the General Manager of the Central Bank of Ecuador to the President of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board; as well as, the Legal Report No. BCE-CGJ-079-2021 of December 14, 2021; and,

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In the exercise of its functions and in accordance with Article 47.7 of the Organic Code of Monetary and Financial Affairs, the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board issues:

THEMATIC INDEX BY DOCUMENT SERIES OF FILES CLASSIFIED AS RESERVED OF THE MONETARY AND MONETARY POLICY BOARD

Art. 1.- The thematic index by document series of the documents classified as reserved of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, excluded from the right of access to public information, provided for in the Organic Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information, is the following:

  1. Reports, documents, analyses, and in general documentation that serve as a basis for decision-making to preserve the integrity and sustainability of the dollarization monetary system and the financial system;
  2. Information sent with a reserved character by the Central Bank of Ecuador, control agencies, and other public institutions;
  3. Any report, document, analysis, and in general documentation related to its management scope, which is expressly qualified as reserved by the Board;
  4. Reports, reports, and analysis documents relative to the investment of International Reserves;
  5. Internal reports and reports that serve as a basis for decision-making that fall within the State's monetary policy;
  6. Reports, reports, and analysis documents relative to the management of the commercialization of gold and non-monetary gold;
  7. Reports on the level of exposure of information security risks of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board and its incidents;
  8. Reports, documents, analyses, and in general documentation related to the policy of the operations of the Central Bank of Ecuador;
  9. Reports, documents, analyses, and in general documentation related to the policy of the management of physical payment means;
  10. Reports, documents, analyses, and in general documentation related to the national payment system, which includes the central payment system and auxiliary payment systems;

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  1. Information produced or held in the files of the members of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board and its officials, contracted under any modality;
  2. Memorandums, emails, their attachments or attached documents, and other internal communications related to the documents detailed in this; and,
  3. Resolutions that are issued with the character of reserved.

Art. 2.- Understand that all documents and information that are considered reserved by Law are incorporated into the thematic index.

Art. 3.- The information included in the preceding list, in any format or medium, will lose the quality of reserved after fifteen (15) years have passed from its date of preparation or receipt.

Art. 4.- The President of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board is authorized and empowered to transmit or deliver reserved information to third parties, when he deems it necessary; or, to lift the reservation of information classified as such, in accordance with current legal regulations. To lift the reservation of the information described in this instrument, an Administrative Resolution, duly motivated, will be required, without prejudice to the faculty provided for in the last clause of Article 18 of the Organic Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information. In accordance with what is provided in Article 6 of the Organic Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information, reservation cannot be invoked when it concerns investigations carried out by competent public authorities, related to the violation of the rights of persons established in the Constitution of the Republic, in declarations, pacts, conventions, international instruments, and the internal legal order.

Art. 5.- The dissemination by any means or act of the reserved information will give rise to the exercise of pertinent legal actions; as well as, the determination of corresponding administrative, civil, and criminal responsibilities.

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Art. 6.- The members of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board are prohibited from reproducing, transmitting, revealing, or in general using for personal benefit or that of third parties, even for informational or academic purposes, the information declared as reserved by the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board and the information declared as reserved by the entities of the Central and Institutional Public Administration. In accordance with Article 55.2 of the Organic Code of Monetary and Financial Affairs, no person who serves or has served as an official or member of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board may use, reveal, or disseminate non-public information, when they have obtained or become aware of it in the exercise of their functions, except when it is necessary to comply with the requirement of a competent authority. At all times, the necessary security measures must be adopted to protect and guarantee the reservation of the information or documentation. GENERAL PROVISION.- The reports, criteria, or any document produced, which relates to information classified as reserved, acquires the same condition of reservation. TRANSITORY PROVISION.- The Central Bank of Ecuador, within a period of three (3) months, will update its “Thematic Index, by Document Series, of Files Classified as Reserved”, in accordance with current regulations, which will be brought to the knowledge of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, in its capacity as the Highest Governing Body. REPEALING PROVISION.- Repeal any act or instrument of equal or lower hierarchy signed prior to this resolution that opposes this resolution. FINAL PROVISION.- This resolution will enter into force from the present date, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Register. It is entrusted to its publication on the institutional website of the Central Bank of Ecuador, to the Document Management and Archive Directorate, in accordance with Article 47.7 of the Organic Code of Monetary and Financial Affairs.

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NOTIFY.- Given in the Metropolitan District of Quito, on December 17, 2021.

TATIANA MARIBEL RODRÍGUEZ CERÓN PRESIDENT MONETARY AND MONETARY POLICY BOARD

The aforementioned resolution was processed and signed by Dr. Tatiana Maribel Rodríguez Cerón, in her capacity as President of the Monetary and Monetary Policy Board, in the Metropolitan District of Quito, on December 17, 2021.- I CERTIFY.

MARÍA ALEXANDRA GUERRERO DEL POZO ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY MONETARY AND MONETARY POLICY BOARD