[JURIST] Ecuador's high court on Thursday rejected an attempt by President Alfredo Palacio [BBC profile] to seek a referendum on his political reforms. Palacio, a political independent in office for only seven months, has no support in the Ecuador Congress [official website] and has faced substantial opposition to his efforts to rewrite the country's constitution. Palacio assumed the presidency after Congress ousted his predecessor [JURIST report], Lucio Gutierrez, in April. Before taking his case to court, Congress had twice rejected Palacio's attempts at reform and he went to the high court in an effort to bypass the legislature entirely. The Financial Times has more.