Spanish
Santo Domingo. — The International Association of Penal Law, Dominican Group (AIDP-GD), and the Association of Lawyers of Espaillat Province (AAPE) filed a direct action of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court against more than fifty articles of the new Dominican Penal Code, enacted through Organic Law 74-25 on August 3, 2025.
Organizations and jurists maintain that the new regulatory body contains provisions that violate fundamental rights and principles enshrined in the Dominican Constitution and in international human rights treaties ratified by the country.
The appeal was filed by the jurists Pedro Virginio Balbuena Batista, Juan de Jesús Santos Santos, Emery Colombi Rodríguez Mateo and Elio José Delgado Vales, representing both entities, who have active legitimacy recognized by the Constitutional Court itself to act in defense of the constitutional order. "Our interest is to contribute to ensure that this Criminal Code, which will govern the country's criminal policy, does not serve to violate people's fundamental rights, but rather a tool to combat crime, while respecting the constitutional order," said Balbuena, who led the group of litigating jurists and is coordinator of the Litigation Commission of the AIDP-GD. You can also read: MOPC announces construction of overpass in Charles de Gaulle with La Victoria According to the document, the challenged articles —which include, among others, numbers 2.10, 24, 49, 68, 142, 170, 214, 260, 284, 303 and 388— contravene articles 4, 6, 38, 39, 40, 44, 49, 56, 64, 65, 69, 74, 110 and 149 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, violations of the American Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and UN conventions on organized crime and the rights of the child are invoked, all with constitutional hierarchy according to article 74.3 of the Dominican Constitution. "The new Penal Code introduces many important innovations to Dominican repressive law, but we believe that some of its provisions conflict with the Constitution," reiterated Balbuena. Associations allege that the new Penal Code disregards basic principles of modern criminal law, including legality, proportionality, humanity, and resocialization of punishment, by including vague criminal offenses or disproportionate sanctions that could open the door to arbitrary interpretations. In their filing, the plaintiffs recall that the Constitutional Court, in precedents such as judgment TC/0092/19, has established that indeterminate criminal offenses violate the principle of legality by not clearly describing the prohibited conduct or the corresponding sanctions. The resource also argues that several articles of the Penal Code clash with the constitutionality block, a concept that integrates the Constitution, international human rights treaties, and the fundamental principles recognized by Dominican jurisprudence.
The appeal was filed by the jurists Pedro Virginio Balbuena Batista, Juan de Jesús Santos Santos, Emery Colombi Rodríguez Mateo and Elio José Delgado Vales, representing both entities, who have active legitimacy recognized by the Constitutional Court itself to act in defense of the constitutional order. "Our interest is to contribute to ensure that this Criminal Code, which will govern the country's criminal policy, does not serve to violate people's fundamental rights, but rather a tool to combat crime, while respecting the constitutional order," said Balbuena, who led the group of litigating jurists and is coordinator of the Litigation Commission of the AIDP-GD. You can also read: MOPC announces construction of overpass in Charles de Gaulle with La Victoria According to the document, the challenged articles —which include, among others, numbers 2.10, 24, 49, 68, 142, 170, 214, 260, 284, 303 and 388— contravene articles 4, 6, 38, 39, 40, 44, 49, 56, 64, 65, 69, 74, 110 and 149 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, violations of the American Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and UN conventions on organized crime and the rights of the child are invoked, all with constitutional hierarchy according to article 74.3 of the Dominican Constitution. "The new Penal Code introduces many important innovations to Dominican repressive law, but we believe that some of its provisions conflict with the Constitution," reiterated Balbuena. Associations allege that the new Penal Code disregards basic principles of modern criminal law, including legality, proportionality, humanity, and resocialization of punishment, by including vague criminal offenses or disproportionate sanctions that could open the door to arbitrary interpretations. In their filing, the plaintiffs recall that the Constitutional Court, in precedents such as judgment TC/0092/19, has established that indeterminate criminal offenses violate the principle of legality by not clearly describing the prohibited conduct or the corresponding sanctions. The resource also argues that several articles of the Penal Code clash with the constitutionality block, a concept that integrates the Constitution, international human rights treaties, and the fundamental principles recognized by Dominican jurisprudence.
Altered Coherence
