U.N. judicial envoy seeks urgent visit to Ecuador

GENEVA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A U.N. investigator on Friday issued an unusual public appeal to Ecuador to allow an urgent probe of President Lucio Gutierrez's decision to fire the country's Supreme Court.

In a statement, Leandro Despouy, U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said the move "appeared to constitute grave interference by the executive and legislative into the judicial sphere".

In December, Ecuador's Congress voted to replace the country's highest court after Gutierrez accused judges of favouring opponents who were behind a botched November attempt to impeach him for misusing public funds.

This would be a violation of the independence of the judiciary, a principle enshrined in the constitution and a key requirement of the rule of law and democracy, Despouy said.

Reuters