International Advisory Committee – Flavio Darío Espinal is a former Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United States of America and the Organization of American States (OAS), in which he also held the positions of Chair of the Permanent Council, Chair of the Committee on Legal and Political Issues, and Chair of the Committee on Hemispherical Security. He was also co-coordinator of the civil society initiative in the process of the “Summits of the Americas.” He is also a former Legal Counsel to the President of the Dominican Republic. Mr. Espinal has also been Dean of the Law School of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in the Dominican Republic where he also was director of the University Center for Social and Political Studies and director of the Center for the Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts. He is currently professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law in said institution.

He holds a Law degree (Summa Cum Laude) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), a M. A. in Government from the University of Essex, England, and a PhD in Government from the University of Virginia, U.S. During his studies he received several scholarships from institutions of international prestige, such as the Fulbright program, the Bradley Foundation, the Dupont Foundation, and the Institute of World Politics. He was a member of the Commission of Jurists who prepared the draft of the Constitution adopted in 2010 as well as a member of the Commission of Jurists in charge of drafting legislation to put in place a set of new institutions created by the Constitution. He is a founder member of Fundación Institucionalidad y Justicia, Inc. (FINJUS), the leading non-governmental organization in the Dominican Republic devoted to the promotion of judicial and institutional reform. His book Constitutionalism and Political Processes in the Dominican Republic received the National Essays Award “Pedro Henríquez Ureña” 2001-2002. He has also published numerous articles and essays on political, constitutional, and international issues.

He writes a biweekly column in the newspaper Diario Libre. He is the managing partner of FDE LEGAL, a law firm.