[JURIST] Acting at the instance of President Lucio Gutierrez, the Ecuadorian Congress has narrowly voted to dismiss all 31 members of the country's Supreme Court on grounds that the institution had become too politicized. The mass dismissal, approved by 52 of the Congress's 100 members, is being sharply criticized by opposition politicians as unconstitutional and likely directed at permitting the return to Ecuador of former President Abdala Bucaram, who fled to Panana in 1997 to avoid corruption charges. A new slate of judges is scheduled to be appointed later today. BBC News has more. From Quito, El Comercio has local coverage in Spanish.