The contest aims to promote a context of institutional integrity in the judicial sphere and in the Dominican society, under a vision that the best way to profess and defend a framework of sustainable improvement over time is to assume public administration in the orbit of ethics.
Judge Elaine del Pilar Lluberes Heredia, judge of the Justice of the Peace of Independencia, won the first place at the national and international level of the XVIII version of the International Essay Contest on the Ibero-American Code of Judicial Ethics, being the first time in the history of the award, which dates back to 2010, that the prize at the international level is decided in favor of a Dominican applicant.
The awards ceremony was held by the Judicial Power Council, whose essays presented addressed the theme: "The Gender Perspective in the Application of Judicial Ethics".
The essay for which Judge Lluberes Heredia received the award is entitled "Essential requirements for the implementation of the gender perspective in the Ibero-American judicial systems, in accordance with the twentieth opinion of the Ibero-American Commission on Judicial Ethics and its compliance by the Dominican Judicial Branch", and competed with works submitted by 10 countries.
The second and third place winners are attorneys Brianda María Trujillo-Flórez Estrada", with the essay entitled "Juzgar con igualdad: integrando la perspectiva de género en la justicia dominicana", and Jennifer Melissa Sepúlveda Molina, who addressed the topic in question with the title "La perspectiva de género en la ética de la función judicial: alcance, logros y retos.
The award ceremony was led by Justice Justiniano Montero, judge of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and commissioner to the Ibero-American Commission on Judicial Ethics (CIEJ); Councilor Octavia Carolina Fernández, representing the Judicial Council; and Dr. Gervasia Valenzuela Sosa, Technical Director General of the Judicial Branch.
Judge Montero indicated that the contestseeks to ensure that the topic of ethics has an important validity and is a component of integrity that impacts not only the Judicial Branch, but society in general.
He also expressed his satisfaction with the participation of the people who wrote about ethics, while noting that this year's theme addressed the gender perspective, and the winners are precisely three young women.
"Without ethics, society becomes darker every day, without ethics public trust in public officials diminishes, without ethics a society is simply condemned to disappear in terms of values and principles, I believe that we, the members of the Judiciary, have to speed up the way, in order to strengthen with this type of initiative," said Judge Montero.
On her part, Councilor Fernandez valued the importance of the contest that serves to energize the subject of ethics and assured that if there is an institution that should have ethics as a standard, it should be the Judiciary. "Ethics is a living issue, an issue that deserves that the person who works on these issues, then take it by the hand and can make ethics a standard," she said.
Dr. Valenzuela emphasized that the body she directs as responsible for the entire management of the contest is satisfied with the dynamism of this XVIII version and hopes that it will be surpassed next year.
"And to reach not only the internal part of the Judicial Branch but also the external participation that is so important, to try to make the greatest effort externally, so that such an important ethic is felt in the legal community that receives the services of the Judicial Branch," he said.
Likewise, Judge Lluberes Heredia affirmed that ethics should not be seen in an abstract manner, but should be practiced on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, Trujillo-Flórez Estrada considers that it is important to apply the gender perspective to guarantee the right to equality. Likewise, Sepúlveda Molina expressed her gratitude for the evaluation of her essay and described the experience as very enriching.
About Judge Lluberes Heredia
Graduated from the Law School of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), Cum Laude, 2015. She joined the Judiciary in 2016 as a clerk of the Justice of the Peace Court of Santo Domingo West, in 2017, she moved to the labor court of Santo Domingo West and in 2018 assistant attorney of the Labor Court and then the Civil Court of the same municipality. In 2018 she enters the Program for Aspiring Justices of the Peace of the National School of the Judiciary, where she studies a Master's Degree in Judicial Law. She is currently Judge of the Peace Court of Jimaní, Department of Barahona.
The Jury
The jury was composed of retired judges who value the subject of judicial ethics, these are: Eglis M. Esmurdoc, Edgardo Hernández Mejía, Engracia Velásquez Fuentes, Xiomara Altagracia Silva and Rafael Sigfredo Cabral.
The main objective of the Essay Contest on Judicial Ethics is to promote ethics in judicial spaces as a tool for managing change in transparency and the exercise of good governance in the judicial sphere, in order to achieve excellence in the performance of its functions, which strengthens the confidence of citizens and helps social cohesion. This contest is in charge of the Ibero-American Ethics Commission, as a permanent support body within the framework of the Judicial Summit, as an international forum for debate and monitoring of judicial problems in the region, which includes Brazil and Portugal.
