The Association of Dominican Prosecutors (Fiscaldom) and the former attorney general Radhames Jimenezyesterday opposed the elimination of article 174 of the Constitution, proposed in the draft reform of the Magna Carta, stating that this would not only reduce the autonomy of the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (CSMP), but would also “dismantle the career of the Public Prosecutor’s Officetaking it back 20 years in time.”
Article 174 of the Constitution establishes that the internal governing body of the MP is the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will be composed of five members: the Attorney General, who will preside over it; a Deputy Attorney General of the Attorney General elected by his peers; a General of the Court of Appeal elected by his peers; a Public Prosecutor or his equivalent elected by his peers; and a Comptroller elected by his peers.
In separate statements, the union that represents prosecutors and the former attorney general also agreed that the internal governing body of the MP should not be relegated to an adjective law because it would lose its autonomy.
You can read: Reform proposal will be taken to the provinces
“It is worrying that, speaking of guarantees of the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Officeparadoxically, there is an attempt to undermine the constitutional autonomy enjoyed by its governing body,” said in a statement the attorney general before the Court of Appeal of the National District and coordinator of Ficaldom, Francisco Rodriguez.
He explained that the elimination of the constitutional basis of the CSMP as an extra-power body, established in parallel to the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) due to its importance and equal hierarchical structure, “would delegate its existence to the legislative and partisan will, which would mean a step backwards in terms of institutional protection.”
He regretted that not a single prosecutor or representative of the associations that group them together was invited to the meeting he held in the National Palace with 50 lawyers the Legal Consultant of the Executive Branch to analyze the reform project, leaving them totally excluded from a process in which their institution (MP) is supposed to be one of the main protagonists.
“This project destroys the independence and autonomy that has been achieved in all these years since the establishment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and violates acquired rights and constitutional principles, attempting to tailor a suit to the current Government,” said the PROSECUTOR.
He called on all his MP members to remain vigilant and attentive to the union’s call to “firmly and with dignity defend our institutions.”
Radhamés’s proposal
According to former Attorney General Jiménez, President Luis Abinader’s constitutional reform project shows that none of the proposals are necessary at this time, and that “on the contrary, they threaten legal certainty and the predictability of the rules.”
He said that the aim is to strengthen the independence of the MP and that there is no need to modify the Constitution.
“It would be enough to simply introduce a paragraph in the organic law that says: ‘The Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office will select a shortlist of three general attorneys from the courts from the career and will send it to the incoming President of the Republic so that he can choose from them who would be the general attorney,'” he said.
