Judicial Council
COUNCIL JUDGES
Luis Henry Molina Peña
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice and of the Council of the Judiciary.
Law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). Postgraduate studies in Constitutional Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Luis Henry Molina Peña
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice and of the Council of the Judicial Branch
Law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). He completed postgraduate studies in Constitutional Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
He has an extensive track record in state institutions, highlighting his management, considered a regional model, in the creation and implementation at the forefront of the National School of the Judiciary (ENJ), an entity to which he arrived after winning the first public competition to elect the new director and held this position for 12 consecutive years, from 1998 to 2010.
His career in the legal field began at the age of 18 as a clerk at the Superior Land Court and later at the Dominican Center for Legal Advice and Research (Cedail), an institution of the Dominican Episcopal Conference. At the age of 20 he began his work as an associate lawyer of the firm Pellerano & Herrera where he worked in the litigation area and organized the structure of collection services of the office.
He served as executive director of the Commission for the Implementation of Criminal Procedure Reform (Conaej), as the first secretary general of the Ibero-American Network of Judicial Schools (Riaej), created by the Summit of Presidents of Ibero-American Supreme Courts and Tribunals; he has contributed to the creation of the networks of judicial schools of the Mexican states (Rejem) and the Argentine provinces (Reflejar), within the framework of the Euro Social Project of the European Union, he also served as Coordinator of the E-justice Project: Justice in the knowledge society, of the XIII Ibero-American Judicial Summit.
Luis Henry Molina Peña has been a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra and at the Universidad Iberoamericana (Unibe), in the Master of Constitutional Law. After remaining for 12 years as director of the National School of the Judiciary (ENJ), and holding several public positions, in April 2019 he was appointed by the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM), president of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Blas Rafael Fernández Gómez
Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, Counselor of the Judicial Branch
He received his law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. On June 24 of that year, he was appointed by the Senate of the Republic as Justice of the Peace of the First District of the Municipality of La Vega...
Blas Fernández Gómez
Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, Counselor of the Judicial Branch
He received his law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. On June 24 of that year he was appointed by the Senate of the Republic as Justice of the Peace of the First District of the Municipality of La Vega and promoted on September 16, 1982 to Judge of the Civil, Commercial and Labor Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the Judicial District of La Vega.
He left the judiciary in April 1985 and dedicated himself to the professional practice, also occupying several functions, such as: Alternate to Syndic and Acting Municipal Syndic of La Vega, Regional Manager Central Zone of the Institute of Price Stabilization (INESPRE), Legal Consultant of the Banco de Reservas in La Vega, Regional Manager of the Passport Office of La Vega. Former President of the Rotary Club of La Concepción de La Vega, Inc. and of the Patronato Pro-Ayuda del Cuerpo de Bomberos de La Vega, Inc, Member of the School of Leaders of the Cursillos de Cristiandad Movement, Member of the Management Committee of the Monsignor Panal Foundation of La Vega, Professor of Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Tecnológica del Cibao (PUCATECI) and at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), Coordinator of the Needs Committee and Member of the Training Commission of the Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura (National School of the Judiciary).
He re-entered the Judiciary on June 10, 1998 as Judge of the Civil, Commercial and Labor Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the Judicial Department of La Vega, later becoming Second Judge Substitute for President, First Judge Substitute for President and Acting Presiding Judge of that Court on several occasions. In the month of June 2014, he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Third Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of Appeal of the National District and on several occasions Acting President of that Court, from where he became Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice in the month of July 2017. He was elected in the Council of the Judiciary since April 2021, representing the Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Modesto Martínez Mejía
Court of Appeals Judge or its equivalent
Judge Modesto Martinez is a Doctor in Law, graduated from the Dominican University Organization and Method (O&M). He joined the Judiciary on April 14, 1998, serving as Judge of the Eighth Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District.
Modesto Martínez Mejía
Court of Appeals Judge or its equivalent
Judge Modesto Martinez is a Doctor in Law, graduated from the Dominican University Organization and Method (O&M). He joined the Judiciary on April 14, 1998, serving as Judge of the Eighth Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District.
In February 2001 he was promoted as Judge of the First Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District. In July 2007 he was transferred as Judge of the Second Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District.
In May 2013 he was transferred as Judge of the First Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District. While in October 2013 he was transferred as Judge of the Third Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District; in March 2015 he was transferred as Judge of the Court of Appeals for Children and Adolescents of the National District, a position he holds until his election as member of the Council of the Judiciary.
He has taken legal training courses, among which the following stand out: Didactics, the Tenancy Contract, Study of the Land and Judicial Law. Reform: The Public Law Center, among others. He teaches at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA) and Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU).
He is the author of El abogado penalista, 2001; El juicio en materia penal, 2004 and El Salto: La redención, 2018.
In March 2021, he was elected as a member of the Council of the Judiciary (CPJ) representing judges of appellate courts and their equivalents.
Bionni Zayas Ledesma
Judge of First Instance or its equivalent
She has a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and graduated from the training program for aspiring Justice of the Peace (2006-2008). She joined the Judiciary on April 7, 2008, as Justice of the Peace Court of the Second District of La Vega.
Bionni Zayas Ledesma
Judge of First Instance or its equivalent
She has a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and graduated from the training program for aspiring Justice of the Peace (2006-2008). She joined the Judiciary on April 7, 2008, as Justice of the Peace Court of the Second District of La Vega.
On June 01, 2010 she was promoted as Judge of the First Court of Instruction of La Vega; in October 2010 she was transferred as Substitute Judge of the President of the Collegiate Court of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of La Vega, position she holds until the moment of being elected on March 19, 2021 as Councilor of the Judiciary in representation of the judges of First Instance. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the National School of the Judiciary (2015-2016).
He is specialized in several areas, among which the following stand out: Specialized Judicial Training for members of the Judiciary and other judicial operators in Ibero-America. Barcelona, Spain; Master in Civil Procedure. Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD); Specialization in Expository and Argumentative Drafting of Judicial Decisions. National School of the Judiciary. Specialized training in Money Laundering and Extinction of Dominion. Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura; Diploma in Argumentation and Judicial Interpretation: Theoretical and Practical. Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura; Diploma in Judicial Argumentation and Interpretation: Theoretical and Practical. National School of the Judiciary.
She has participated in multiple national and international congresses, courses and seminars. She also studied Technical Journalism at the Instituto Dominicano de Periodismos (IDP) and Voiceover at Escuela Superior de Locución. Santo Domingo. She is also a graduate of English, French and Portuguese programs (ENJ, Alliance Française and UASD respectively).
In the March 2021 elections, she was elected by her peers as a member of the Council of the Judiciary, representing the judges of First Instance or their equivalent.
Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi
Justice of the Peace or equivalent
Judge Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Legal Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) and a Master's Degree in Constitutional Law and Constitutional Procedural Law, also from the UASD.
Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi
Justice of the Peace or equivalent
Judge Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Legal Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) and a Master's Degree in Constitutional Law and Constitutional Procedural Law, also from the UASD.
She joined the Judiciary on January 2, 2006 as Clerk III of the Fourth Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District. In addition, she participated in the Public Defender Training Program (2008-2009).
Her professional experience includes being Interim Coordinator of the Public Defense Department of La Vega, public defender appointed to the Judicial Department of the National District, assistant attorney of the Specialized Unit of Late Declarations of the Central Electoral Board and clerk of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District.
Since 2016 she entered the judiciary reaching the positions of Justice of the Peace (interim) of Castañuelas, Judicial District of Montecristi; Justice of the Peace of Villa Fundación, Judicial District of Peravia; Itinerant Justice of the Peace of the Presidency of the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of First Instance of Santo Domingo; Itinerant Justice of the Peace of the Coordinating Office of the Courts of Instruction of the National District, a position she held at the time of her election as counselor.
In March 2021, she was elected by her peers as a member of the Judiciary Council representing justices of the peace or their equivalent.
