The president of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), Jorge Subero Isa, assured that during his term in office the Judicial Branch has achieved total independence, without any political, economic or social factors affecting its decisions. He made this pronouncement during a visit to Listin Diario. Subero stated that sentences are no longer ‘sold’ by judges because when the SCJ detects such irregularities, those responsible are punished by losing their positions in court. He claimed that international organizations believe that the DR is a model of judicial reform. He considers that judges cannot state that they are acting under political or economic pressure because there are no indications that this is happening.<\/p>\n
Subero said that his department is investigating the case of the Higuey judge Ramon Emilio Sanchez Carpio who released the religious members who were being investigated in the San Rafael de Yuma orphanage sexual abuse scandal. Subero Isa said that the case, which is at the appeal stage, is under investigation to determine the reason the judge determined there was not sufficient proof to merit a criminal court case against the religious members in charge of the orphanage. He said all Higuey judges are under investigation for complaints, many of which have been very well documented, stated the president of the Supreme Court of Justice.<\/p>\n
He also said that he is in favor of US government officers or soldiers who have committed crimes in the DR being judged in their own country. This agreement was signed on 13 September by then President Hipolito Mejia and US Ambassador Hans Hertell.<\/p>\n
Subero indicated that there is a big difference in terms of capacity and training, knowledge and skills, between judges who graduated from the National Judicial School and those who did not study there. In 2006, the SCJ is planning to train some 3,988 people, including judges, public defenders, investigators, and judicial workers, in the interest of improving the qualifications of all Judicial branch staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), Jorge Subero Isa, assured that during his term in office the Judicial Branch has achieved total independence, without any political, economic or social factors affecting its decisions. He made this pronouncement during a visit to Listin Diario. Subero stated that sentences are no longer ‘sold’ by … <\/p>\n