Spanish
Santo Domingo.- The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, stated this Friday that the National Congress will approve the Penal Code project before July 26. He added that, starting Monday, the bicameral commission studying the legislative piece will enter into permanent session to expedite its review.
This regulation has been under debate for more than 20 years in the Dominican Republic and has been rejected in multiple previous legislatures, mainly due to disagreements around issues such as the grounds for abortion, femicide, and corruption.You may be interested in: http://Exempleado del Jet Set entrega celular con pruebas al Ministerio Público
“Very soon the commission will have a report. I can assure you that the country will have a Penal Code in this legislature. I have no doubts, because there is a strong consensus among legislators, both senators and deputies, that this piece must be approved,” expressed Pacheco, prior to participating in a tribute to the National Hero Delio Gómez Ochoa, organized by the Chamber of Deputies.
The first ordinary legislature of 2025 began on February 27th and is expected to conclude on July 26th, unless an extraordinary session is convened to continue with the priority projects in both chambers. This gives lawmakers about 40 days to analyze and agree on the 419 articles of the Penal Code, of which 43 have been approved to date. The bicameral commission is made up of 32 legislators, including senators and deputies. So far, it has held several meetings to advance the review of the text. Regarding the political distribution, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) dominates the correlation of forces with 20 members, followed by Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), with five, and the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), with two. Among the minority parties, the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) has two representatives, while Dominicanos por el Cambio (DxC), the Quisqueyano Christian Democrat Party (PQDC) and Alianza País (ALPAIS) each have one member. This composition allows the PRM to have a sufficient majority to approve the new Penal Code without delay.
