DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

President Luis Abinader and President of the CNM, Luis Henry Molina / Diario Libre

President Luis Abinader is set to preside the reshaping of the Dominican Republic’s highest court, with the power to renew virtually the entire Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) bench over the next six months, Diario Libre reports.

The National Council of the Magistracy (CNM), which Abinader chairs, is charged with evaluating and appointing 16 of the 17 of the SCJ judges. This process gives the current administration, whose party holds three of the CNM’s eight votes, significant influence over the future of the judiciary.

The first round of critical judicial evaluations begins in October 2025. The CNM will assess four judges appointed in July 2017 whose original seven-year terms technically expired in July 2024. These judges have been serving more than a year past their...