The president of the Constitutional Court, Milton Ray Guevara, affirmed that the demand represented by consensus among the judges of the TC constitutes a vaccine against arbitrariness and is a guarantee of internal democracy in the jurisdictional decision processes of this court.
Ray Guevara expressed himself in those terms when participating as the main panelist in the discussion entitled “Ten years of the Constitutional Court: balance and perspective”, sponsored by the Dominican Institute of Constitutional Law (IDDEC), the Hostos Center for Constitutional Studies and the Legal Bookstore International, along with prominent international jurists..
During his speech, the president of the TC emphasized that the achievements made by the high court have been possible thanks to the spirit of consensus and dialogue promoted by the voting system designed by the constituent, which requires the presence and vote of 9 of 13 judges to meet, validly deliberate and make decisions under rigorous scrutiny.
“Let us think about the consequences for stability and legal certainty that decisions as relevant as those issued by the Court, which, in addition, constitute binding precedents for all public powers and State bodies, are decided with 7, 5 or 3 votes. in favour,” he stressed.
Why change?
In his speech, in which he reviewed major milestones of the TC, Ray Guevara stressed that the voting system has contributed to shielding the legitimacy of the TC, pointing out that in it the dissident criteria have significant weight and have served to deepen and improve criteria that contribute to the strengthening of constitutional justice.
“Why change what has been shown to work well? Who would benefit from this change of majority: litigants, drug traffickers, organized crime, law dealers, or private economic interests, or those who want to destroy Dominican nationality and dissolve our national identity?” questioned the presiding magistrate.
The discussion “Ten years of the Constitutional Court: balance and perspective”, held virtually and broadcast live through the social platforms of the coordinating entities and the TC, was attended by prominent international jurists who praised and commented on the achievements of the high court in its first decade of operation.
Weighting of international experts
The Spanish jurist José Luis García Guerrero, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, highlighted “the complete merger that the TC has achieved with the Dominican people” as a result of continued institutional work over the years. . On her side, Colombian professor Magdalena Correa Henao affirmed that “there is no doubt that the Dominican Constitutional Court has fulfilled its task.”
