The executive vice-president of the Foundation for Justice and Institutionalism (FINJUS), Servio Tulio Castanos stated yesterday that his organization does not feel that the Supreme Court is independent, as stated by the chief justice yesterday. Castanos said that there is a widely-held public perception that on the inside of the Judicial system, the Justice Department or the Supreme Court, there is not enough independence of action nor does it work as hard as it should. Castanos conceded that the Dominican justice system has made slight progress, but the feeling within the population is still against the system because it still shows signs of weakness. The lawyer said that with some of the cases the justice system shows its independence but that in other instances it reveals its weaknesses
The director of FINJUS was referring to statements made by Supreme Court chief justice Jorge Subero Isa who told reporters that sentences are no longer “sold” by the court and that the court has “total independence”. Castanos pointed out that when there are accusations of misconduct, as in the recent case where the accused in the Higuey child molestation case were dismissed, the Department of Investigations of the Supreme Court is “neither sufficiently diligent or effective in its investigations.”