PANAMA. - The president judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Dominican Republic, Henry Molina, assured that transnational crime directly affects the structures and rules of the Rule of Law, constituting a threat to the integrity of institutions "and the security of our societies".
Judge Molina, who also holds the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit (2023-2025), expressed himself in these terms while participating in the launching ceremony of the Program of Assistance against Transnational Organized Crime- PAcCTO 2.0-, high-level sessions, cycle of shared justice policies, an activity held in Panama City.
He also assured that by cooperating on both sides of the Atlantic, it will be possible to attack problems in all segments of the criminal chain and their treatment, from the management of penitentiary systems to the prevention of corruption and money laundering, for which he said it is necessary to design and review tailor-made strategies to improve judicial services and the state response.
"This new edition of PAcCTO has an additional value in that it expands its geographic scope to Caribbean countries. For the Central American and Caribbean Judicial Council, of which the Judicial Branch of the Dominican Republic currently holds the pro tempore presidency , this Caribbean dimension is especially important, as it will allow us to fine-tune cooperation with our neighboring countries," explained Molina.
He expressed great hopes for the initiatives that can be achieved in the coming years, thanks to the technical assistance provided by PAcCTO, especially in criminal management for highly complex crimes in all their phases.
Among these achievements, he cited methods for the selection of judges in charge of organized crime cases, the best way to evaluate complex evidence, including electronic evidence, the consolidation of an Ibero-American bank of good practices in specialized jurisdiction, as well as an Ibero-American diagnosis of the regulatory framework for the fight against organized crime.
Among other goals to be achieved, he pointed out the opportunity to incorporate organized crime sentences into the Ibero-American Plan of Judicial Statistics, as well as to discuss the best ways to connect the Judicial Branch with public ministries, penitentiary administrations and other institutions related to the judicial process of organized crime.
"With the support of the PAcCTO, all these and other initiatives can be developed by the Ibero-American Judicial Summit in its XXII Edition, for which we will be working between now and 2025," explained Henry Molina.
Also participating in the high-level sessions of the cycle of shared justice policies being held March 12-13 in Panama are Enrique Gil, secretary general of the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (Comjib); Eduardo Casal, president of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (Aiamp); Catarina Sarmento, Minister of Justice of Portugal; David Vilas, Director General of International Legal Cooperation, Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts of Spain; and José de la Mata, President of the BoRP of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), among others.
About PAcCTO
The Assistance Program against Transnational Organized Crime (PAcCTO) is an international cooperation program financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to security and justice in Latin America by supporting the fight against transnational organized crime.
