Santo Domingo.-  Supreme Court justice Darío Fernandez Espinal has tendered his resignation to the National Magistrate Council, affirming that he’ll turn 75 years of age in five months.

The resignation by Fernandez is the first ever by a sitting Justice in recent history, and comes in the form of a letter sent to president Leonel Fernandez, who heads the Council.

Fernandez Espinal cited the Constitution’s articles on the Justices’ mandatory retirement at 75, and noted that it’s more feasible to resign now than to be pushed out next year.

He said he will adhere to the Judicial Career Law’s Pensions and Retirements System, which stipulates that the resignation will take effect on the date in which a substitute assumes his post.