DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Penal attorney Francisco Álvarez Martínez, has issued a stark warning, asserting that the recently enacted Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP) could trigger a wave of legal challenges before the Constitutional Court. Álvarez attributes this risk to what he describes as flawed deliberation, rushed amendments, and the controversial lack of a vacatio legis (implementation period) before its immediate enforcement, CDN reports.

The new rules for criminal cases are in effect as of Wednesday, 10 December 2025 nationwide.

The attorney’s remarks come amid widespread complaints about the code’s instant entry into force. The reform has been defended by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, who maintained that the process was “responsible, broad, and consensual.”

During an interview on the program 55 Minutos con Julissa Céspedes on CDN, Channel 37, Álvarez...