Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez fired the entire Supreme Court in an attempt to end a political crisis and declared a state of emergency in the capital, Quito, to quell protests.
"The magistrates of the current Supreme Court are declared dismissed," former army colonel Gutierrez said in a surprise television address to the nation.
He also declared the Andean mountain capital in a state of emergency, which restricts rights of assembly and expression. Thousands of people have staged mainly peaceful demonstrations against the government in Quito in recent days.
It was the second time Ecuador's Supreme Court has been fired in four months.
In December, a short-lived pro-government congressional majority dismissed an earlier court at the behest of Gutierrez, who argued it was biased against him. The opposition accused him of behaving like a dictator and the president's attempts to end the subsequent congressional deadlock failed.