As the country prepares to return to normal after a very long Christmas and New Year holiday period, President Luis Abinader published Decree 1-26 on 5 January 2026 designating a new presidential legal advisor and the new Minister of Justice.
The government’s top legal team will now be led by former Supreme Court president Jorge Subero Isa who in the first executive act of the year was appointed the Legal Advisor to the Executive Branch. He will replace Antoliano Peralta Romero who had been the presidential legal advisor since the start of the Abinader government in August 2020. Peralta will be the country’s first Minister of Justice, a position created in a reshuffling of judicial and legal roles of the government.
For Subero Isa it is a return to paid public service. He had been assisting the President as head of the commission for jail reform. In his new role, he will provide direct legal counsel to the Presidency and is now in charge of ensuring that all government actions maintain constitutional and regulatory harmony.
Subero Isa had served as president of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Council of the Judiciary for 14 years, from 1997 to 2011. Beyond his public service, Subero Isa is a university professor, lecturer, and author of numerous legal works, specifically in the fields of constitutional and administrative law.
The decree taps Antoliano Peralta Romero to serve as the Minister of Justice. This appointment activates provisions within Law No. 80-25, the Organic Law of the Ministry of Justice, which was enacted in August 2025.
With this designation, the government moves forward in consolidating the new ministry, which is designed to play a key role in coordinating the justice system and upholding the rule of law.
Throughout his career, Peralta has distinguished himself as a litigator and consultant for public and private entities, with a specialization in electoral law. He has also held leadership positions in legal associations, serving as vice president of the Dominican Bar Association and secretary general of the Dominican Association of Lawyers.
Peralta holds a doctorate in law from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and a Master’s degree in Administrative Law and Municipal Management from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain.
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Presidency
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
CDN
6 January 2026