After the election process is completed, there is a five-day period for the process of challenges, before the Electoral Committee officially declares the new Judicial Branch councilors as winners.
The Electoral Committee proclaimed tonight who were the judges elected to the new Council of the Judiciary (CPJ) for the period 2021-2026.
The new members of the CPJ are magistrates Modesto Martinez, representing the judges of the Courts of Appeal and equivalent courts; magistrate Bionni Zayas, of First Instance and magistrate Octavia Carolina Fernandez Cury, of Peace.
Also the substitute counselors Karen Josefina Mejía, of the Appellate Courts; Luis Adriano Tavarez Marte, of Primary Instance and Leonardo Antonio García Cruz, of Peace.
Of the 767 judges who are eligible to elect their peers, 746 exercised their right to vote. In addition, of those 746 judges who voted, 31 did so virtually, so 715 went to the Supreme Court of Justice headquarters.
Likewise, the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice chose Justice Blas Fernández Gómez as their representative and Justice Anselmo Alejandro Bello Ferreras as his substitute before the Judicial Power Council.
Justice Manuel Ramón Herrera Carbuccia, first substitute for the president of the Supreme Court of Justice and president of said committee, affirmed that this process is a celebration for governance due to its transparency.
«Aquí no hay nada que ocultar, a todo el mundo se les devolvieron los correos, a todo el mundo se le atendió de una forma u otra, es más hasta el día de ayer el secretario del Comité estuvo aceptando personas que no podían asistir por una enfermedad, por una vulnerabilidad”, indicó
In the election process that took place from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., representatives of the Institutionality and Justice Foundation (Finjus), Citizen Participation, Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (Adocco), the Academy of Sciences, the Dominican Bar Association (CARD) and the Justice and Transparency Foundation (FJT) were present as external observers.
The members of the Council of the Judiciary are elected in an election process in which, simultaneously, each category of the judiciary, in an assembly of peers, will elect the candidates of their category, in a personal and secret ballot.
By Resolution No. 014-2020, which contains the regulations governing the election process, the Electoral Committee will direct, organize and supervise the Assemblies of Peers for the election of the judges members of the Judicial Council and their substitutes, supervise compliance with these Regulations, ensure the transparency and ethics of the process, the rights and duties of the candidates and voters.
Interested persons were able to follow the development of this process from the Judicial Branch's YouTube platform.This measure is part of the Integrity axis for a reliable Justice, of the Strategic Plan Vision Justice 20-24, whose concept is based on transparency, compliance with the institutional integrity system and accountability, in order to generate conditions of trust in the justice administration system.
The Electoral Committee is presided over by Magistrate Manuel Ramón Herrera Carbuccia, first substitute for the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and member of the Third Chamber, and composed of Magistrate Yadira de Moya Kunhardt, representing the judges of the Courts of Appeal, Magistrate Bayoan Arturo Rodríguez Portalatín, for the judges of First Instance and Magistrate Raquel Astacio Mercedes, for the Justices of the Peace, accompanied by the Director of the National School of the Judiciary, Dr. Dariel Suárez, who represented the judges of First Instance and the judges of Peace, accompanied by the Director of the National School of the Judiciary, Dr. Dariel Suárez, who represented the judges of First Instance and the judges of Peace. Dariel Suárez, who acted as secretary.
The Judicial Council is the constitutional body of administration and discipline of the Judicial Branch of the Dominican Republic.
Its general powers are to direct and administer all aspects of budgetary, financial and administrative management of the Judiciary, as well as the Judicial Career System and the Judicial Administrative Career, as established by the Constitution and Law No. 28-11.
As the highest disciplinary body of the Judicial Branch, it is responsible for determining the level of responsibility and applying the corresponding sanctions to judges and other judicial servants for misconduct in the exercise of their functions, with the exception of judges of the Supreme Court of Justice.
The Judicial Council is composed of 5 members: the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, who presides; a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice, a judge of the Court of Appeals, a judge of First Instance and a Justice of the Peace.
