839.00/2636
The Commissioner in the Dominican Republic (Welles) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 25.]
Sir: With reference to my despatch No. 22 of September 26, with which I transmitted a copy of the conditions placed upon the exercise of the Provisional Government by the members of the Commission, I have the honor to inform you that these conditions were later modified by the addition of the following paragraphs No. 5 and No. 6, to be added to Article (e) of condition No. 2:
- 5.
- Stipulation of thirty-five years as a minimum age for the Justices of the Supreme Court and of thirty years for the minimum age of the Judges of the Courts of Appeals.
- 6.
- Appointment for life, except in the event that they may be
removed for cause determined by the Chamber of Deputies and
approved by the Senate, of the following:
- (a)
- The Justices of the Supreme Court;
- (b)
- The Judges of the Courts of Appeals whenever they may be elected to the same position in two consecutive periods of four years each.
The present Constitution provides that the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Judges of the Courts of Appeals are to be elected by the Senate every four years from lists prepared by the Electoral Colleges. Inasmuch as this system made it possible for each incoming Executive to obtain the appointment to the Supreme Court and to the Courts of Appeals of judges belonging to the same political party as that to which the Executive belonged, the possibility of obtaining an impartial Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals was remote. After considerable discussion, the members of the Commission finally accepted my recommendation that the principle of life tenure of office by the Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of the Courts of Appeals be inserted in the Constitution of the Republic.
I have [etc.]