Penal Code recognizes self-defense and the state of necessity as grounds for exclusion from criminal liability

Santo Domingo.- The newly enacted Penal Code explicitly and in detail incorporates various causes for exclusion of criminal liability, among which are self-defense, the state of necessity, invincible error, coercion, and non-accountability due to mental disorders. According to Article 18, self-defense will be considered "the act aimed at simultaneously and proportionally repelling the current, imminent and unjustified aggression that is executed or is in the process of being executed against oneself or another person." In Article 19, it delves even further by detailing specific situations where legitimate self-defense is presumed. These include: rejecting forced entry into an inhabited house, acting against anyone caught inside the dwelling, and acting against the perpetrator of a violent robbery at the scene. These presumptions strengthen people's right to protect themselves within their home or against acts of direct violence.

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Likewise, Article 20 contemplates the state of necessity as another cause for criminal exclusion. According to this article, anyone who, faced with a current or imminent danger that threatens them or another person, incurs a typical action or omission to avoid that danger, will not be criminally liable, provided that certain conditions are met. These are: that the danger has not been intentionally provoked, that the harm caused is not greater than that which is intended to be avoided, that there is no other practicable and less harmful means, and that the person has no legal obligation to assume the risk. The new penal code also provides for other situations in which criminal liability is excluded. These include non-accountability due to total psychic disturbance, as stated in article 15, which nullifies discernment or control of actions. If the disturbance is only partial, this condition will be taken into account when imposing the corresponding sentence. On the other hand, Article 16 establishes that those who act under duress, irresistible force, or reflex action shall not be held criminally liable, since in such circumstances there is no full voluntariness over the conduct displayed. This set of provisions demonstrates a guarantor, proportional, and modern vision of Dominican criminal law, placing at the center of its legal philosophy respect for the fundamental rights of individuals and the individualization of criminal conduct according to the particular circumstances of each case.