Santo Domingo.– The Ethical Conduct Committee of the Judiciary issued Resolution No. 01-2025, through which it formulates an ethical recommendation to Judge Rigoberto Sena for the judgments and reflections included in the motivation of his decision when imposing coercive measures in the case of alleged fraud in the National Health Insurance (
Senasa), considering that these expressions are not part of the deliberative scope of a judicial resolution.
The resolution was adopted on December 22, 2025, following a meeting of the Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, Luis Henry Molina Peña, along with magistrates Nancy Idelsa Salcedo Fernández, Justiniano Montero Montero and María Gerinelda Garabito Ramírez.
The body acted ex officio after the public and media impact generated by the decision of magistrate Sena, judge of the Instruction Court of the National District, in a process of high social relevance
The Committee explained that the allusions to biblical passages, quotes from the patriot Juan Pablo Duarte, references to Leo Tolstoy and former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica, included in the reasoning of the ruling, constitute obiter dicta, that is,
personal opinions of the judge that are not directly related to the ratio decidendi of the case. In its opinion, these expressions exceeded the principles of prudence, moderation and responsibility that should govern the exercise of jurisdiction.
The Committee’s action occurred
following journalistic publications that reproduced excerpts from the judicial decision, including a note from Listín Diario, which later clarified, through an erratum, that the content disseminated was not an opinion article by the magistrate, but rather fragments of his judicial ruling. In that sense, the Committee specified that the judge is not ethically responsible for the publication made by the media outlet.
As part of the preventive and pedagogical process, magistrates Nancy Salcedo Fernández and Justiniano Montero held an ethical dialogue with judge Rigoberto Sena on December 19, 2025. During the meeting, the magistrate expressed being passionate about Law and judicial ethics, assured that he avoids media exposure and acknowledged that, if faced with a similar case in the future, he would omit those types of references, although he affirmed that his decision was strictly based on legal grounds
The Committee reiterated that it is not a sanctioning body, but an instance of ethical supervision aimed at preserving the institutional image of the Judiciary and strengthening citizen trust. In that sense, it urged all judges and judicial servants to strictly observe the values and principles of the Code of Ethical Conduct, both in their public and private actions and in the drafting of their decisions, in accordance with the prudence, moderation and responsibility required by the judicial function.
