Senate President on Promulgation of the Penal Code: “Today the country should be celebrating”

Santo Domingo. – The President of the Senate, Ricardo de los Santos, valued the promulgation of the new Dominican Penal Code by President Luis Abinader as a historic milestone, on the morning of this Monday in the National Congress.

"Today the country should be celebrating," said De los Santos, referring to the presidential decision to enact the new code that had been under discussion in the National Congress for more than 25 years. He assured that the old legal framework, in force since 1844 and based on one from 1811, no longer met the needs of the present times. During his statements, he highlighted that this new penal instrument represents a great step forward in justice and human rights, as it incorporates more severe sanctions for crimes that, according to him, were not previously properly penalized, such as the use of the so-called "devil's acid", contract killing, kidnapping, and femicide.

"Anyone who kills a woman, regardless of whether there is a sentimental relationship or not, will be considered femicide. And that entails minimum sentences of between 30 and 40 years," he specified.

Regarding the entry into force, he explained that the new Criminal Code contemplates a period of one year before beginning to be applied, during which time adjustments or improvements could be made. "It can still be fixed. We have always said that everything man does is perfectible," he added. When asked about the criticisms from some sectors, including the announcement of a pot-banging protest by abortion groups, the Senate president defended the content of the new code and clarified that it does include grounds for allowing abortions, specifically in cases where the mother's life, the fetus's life, or both are in danger, as well as when the fetus is incompatible with life. "We are talking about two causes that are clearly in article 611. To include the cause for violation, the Constitution would have to be modified."

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Finally, he thanked all the legislators, regardless of party affiliation, for supporting the approval of the Code, and reiterated his recognition of President Abinader for signing it. "After so many years, the Dominican people now have a modern, more just, and more humane code," he concluded.