The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), Henry Molina, reported that the Dominican justice system is immersed in a profound transformation process which seeks to protect the rule of law and “guarantees up-to-date justice, that respects and promotes the dignity of people.”
When dictating the conference “Justice for today and dignity for people: a shared commitment”, organized by the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences and the School of Law of the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), in the context of the Chair “Dr. Manuel Bergés Chupani”, He stressed that the independence of judges means that they must act under the rules of law and not under external pressure.
Judge Molina stated that, in the legal system of the Dominican Republic, judges are obliged to follow a hierarchical order of norms, where the Constitution and the laws have absolute priority over other provisions of lower rank, which guarantees that their decisions are based solely on what the Law dictates.
“An efficient justice system is essential for institutional development and to ensure that people's rights are protected. It is a key pillar for attracting investments, improving the competitiveness of our country and promoting human development in all its dimensions, that is, for the functioning of the Republic,” said Henry Molina, who also chairs the Judicial Power Council.
He also stated that, on the path to achieving up-to-date justice, maintaining judicial independence and trust in Dominican justice, there have been great challenges, but significant progress has also been made.
“A clear example is the increase in public confidence in our justice system, reflected in our rise in the Rule of Law Index. from the World Justice Project, the country has risen year after year, increasing eight positions in the ranking global; while most countries in the region are declining," said Judge Molina.
He said that justice must be efficient and transparent to maintain its legitimacy, which is why the Judiciary is striving to create a justice system that is close, efficient and in dialogue with citizens, because only in this way can it fulfill its essential mission of putting human dignity at the center and protecting rights.
Introducing the speaker, Judge Francisco Ortega Polanco, Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of the aforementioned university, highlighted the contributions of Chief Justice Henry Molina to the Dominican justice system.
"The adaptation of judicial processes to the reality of ICTs, online life and the slogan of justice up to date to guarantee the dignity of people in their daily and real implementation are concrete expressions of the work that Judge Henry Molina has had to do to adapt the justice system of this society to this era," said Ortega.
The event was attended by the presiding judge of the Constitutional Court, Napoleón Estévez Lavandier; the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, Pilar Jiménez, Justiniano Montero and Vanessa Acosta; the counselors Bionni Sayas and Octavia Fernández; the academic vice-rector of UNPHU, Patricia Matos; as well as jurists, officials of the Judicial Branch and students of the aforementioned higher education institution.