DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

In a landmark ruling, the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic has declared a law regulating the use of public force in embargo proceedings unconstitutional. The decision, which follows a direct action of unconstitutionality, puts an end to a legal framework that had been widely criticized for enabling abuse. Yet, the ruling says that Congress needs to pass a new law, and thus the old law will still be in effect for two years.

The court’s decision, outlined in Sentence TC/0743/25, found that Law No. 396-19 violated several key constitutional principles. The law had empowered the Public Ministry to authorize and direct the use of public force for seizing movable and immovable property, a role the court determined was unconstitutional.

According to the ruling, the law was fundamentally flawed for two main reasons. First, it failed to follow the proper legislative procedure...