Former Supreme Court judge Julio Anibal Suarez says that the problems of corruption and loss of credibility affecting the Dominican judiciary can be attributed to politicization and lack of supervision of the judges.
Speaking on El Despertador on Channel 9 yesterday, Tuesday 8 December 2015 Suarez said that the National Magistrates Council was also politicized and controlled by one political party, which has repercussions on the way justice is handled. He said that if the deans of the university law schools and the president of the Dominican College of lawyers were represented in that body, the composition of the Supreme Court of Justice would be different and much of what is criticized for happening in the judiciary today could be avoided.
He said the same Magistrates Council had selected him and other judges in 1997, but at the time the Council was made up by representatives of several political parties and there was a consensus. The judges did not have any commitments to anyone, he said.
He said the lack of credibility currently affecting the judiciary was also reflected in the elimination of the terms of the judges that was removed in the 2010 Constitution. Supreme Court Justices are now elected for seven years and to stay on the job they are obliged to respond to calls received from political sectors, because they will evaluate their work when their term is completed.
Suarez said that the main reason that former President Leonel Fernandez changed the 2010 Constitution was to dismantle the Justice system, to undermine the independence of the judiciary that he said has never been independent because there are still some minds that fear the other branches of government.
The former magistrate of the Supreme Court commented on the corruption allegations involving several judges, including Judge Awilda Reyes, who has been denounced for accepting RD$350,000, to which she has admitted, as well as for issuing a receipt. She is one of six judges being investigated for corruption by the Attorney General Office.
Suarez said that the current loss of credibility would not be resolved by replacing Supreme Court president Mariano German because it is a situation that is prevalent in the courts.
He observed that the lack of independence in the judiciary allows the government to violate the law, including not allocating to the judiciary the percentage ordered by the law itself. “But the Supreme Court of Justice keeps silent, because it is not independent. ”
Suarez said that the Judicial Branch Council needed to be reformed, including the way its members are elected. At present, the candidates carry out multi-million peso campaigns and when they are elected they do not have moral strength and authority in front of the judges.
As reported in Diario Libre today, Wednesday 9 December 2015, District Attorney Yeni Berenice stated: “This is not about Awilda, it is a cartel with implications way beyond the criminal jurisdiction and many other jurisdictions that have not been mentioned but are at the same level or even worse.”
In today’s edition, Wednesday 9 December 2015, El Dia reports statements by Attorney General Francisco Dominguez that more scandals in the judiciary are due to be revealed. He mentioned the judiciary’s administrative and real estate court systems.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court of Justice judges Francisco Ortega and Frank Soto told El Dia journalists that all is normal in the Supreme Court of Justice.
El Ministerio Público cree habrá más escándalos en la Justicia
http://www.7dias.com.do/opiniones/2015/12/05/i201577_problema-justicia.html
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/justicia/fiscal-del-distrito-nacional-dice-que-hay-jurisdicciones-peores-que-la-penal-ME2116068