In her op-ed commentary in today’s El Caribe newspaper, lawyer Marisol Vicens Bello focuses on important matters that are pending for the Supreme Court (SCJ) to rule on. She acknowledges that internally, the Supreme Court has succeeded in modernizing its structures and work methodologies, in addition to the RD$980 million new SCJ facility. Now, she says, it is time for the Supreme Court to project the modernization externally and change the image that citizens have of the justice system. She mentions that surveys about the perception of justice indicate that most people think that only the poor get punished, while the wealthy are exempt. “This perception will only change when citizens can observe the contrary,” she points out. She comments on how the Judicial Branch has several cases in process involving influential people accused of corruption, banking collapse, drug smuggling and human trafficking. “To carry out impartial judgments ending in definite sentences that are executed is the key to start erasing the effect of so many years of impunity,” she writes. “Our SCJ should be able to rule on all matters entrusted to them, especially those that are irritating to the powers that be. To reach decisions in cases that affect political, economic and social interests is not easy, but it is precisely what justice is all about. Cases such as these will rarely have the judges’ unanimous vote, and thus the importance of making obligatory the written explanation of the reasons of the dissident vote,” she writes.
She lists several of the cases pending:
The recourse for violation of the Constitution against the resolution of the Central Electoral Board in the case of the PRD presidency;
Case of the increase of the exchange commission by the Monetary Board
The violation of the Constitution by the Law of Political Primaries, among others.