The lack of sentencing decrees by the Supreme Court (SCJ), particularly on issues of national interest, could well create ripples all along the judicial train according to former Central Electoral Board president Cesar Estrella Sahdala. Estrella refers specifically to the case of the PRD presidential fiasco that is currently in the SCJ. As one of the three main Dominican political parties, the PRD is in the throes of a bitter debate as to just who is the party president. The ousted president challenged the president picked by former President Hipolito Mejia once he announced his intent to seek reelection. The up-coming municipal and congressional elections place even more pressure on the court to decide the case. While Estrella Sahdala complains about the slowness of the decisions, current Supreme Court chief justice Jorge Subero Isa says that procedural issues are slowing the progress of the court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the issue presented by the PRD.
Hoy newspaper’s page 2 Que se Dice columnist points out that the high court needs more than a splendorous new building. The Fernandez government recently inaugurated a RD$1 billion Supreme Court building.