A First Instance Santo Domingo Court has ruled that the different rules that apply to men and women in the Divorce Law violate the Constitution. The rules restrict those who can petition a fast-track divorce on grounds of mutual consent. As reported in Diario Libre, the ruling of the Cuarta Sala para Asuntos de Familia of the Cámara Civil y Comercial del Juzgado de Primera Instancia of the province of Santo Domingo East would be setting a positive precedent for family cases. Lawyers explain it will make it possible to save time and the cost of litigation.
Divorce Law 1306-Bis, in its Art. 27, does not allow for the fast-tracked mutual consent divorces in the cases when the marriage is less than two years, when the couple has been married for 30 years, or when the husband is 60 years old or more and the wife is 50 years old.
Judge Altagracia Mendoza made the ruling when hearing the case presented by an Italian man married to a Dominican where age would have been an impediment to the mutual consent divorce.
As reported in Diario Libre, in her ruling (903-2016), the judge said that the Dominican Constitution outlaws gender discrimination.
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Diario Libre
11 April 2019