The Constitutional Court established that the plaintiff in public action cases may also request the imposition of coercive measures, as may the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In judgment TC-362/19, the Constitutional Court instructed the addition of several paragraphs to Article 85 of the Penal Code of Criminal Procedures to align it with the 2015 Constitution of the Republic and to adhere to the criterion set out in judgment 259/14.
The decision came after former Minister of Public Works Victor Diaz Rua filed an action of unconstitutionality that was accepted by the Constitutional Court. The court revokes Article 85 that had defined who could be a plaintiff. Victor Díaz Rua is one of the six prosecuted in the Dominican Republic for the US$92 million bribes paid by the Brazilian construction Odebrecht.
The Constitutional Court resolution establishes the new text should be: “The victim or his legal representative can constitute himself as a plaintiff, promote criminal action and accuse under the terms and conditions established in this Code [Penal Code].” It also adds that: “In punishable acts committed by public officials, in the exercise of their functions or on the occasion of them, and in human rights violations, any person can constitute himself as a plaintiff.”
The Constitutional Court ruled that it is a discretionary prerogative of the citizen to present accusations or complaints independently or to adhere to the ones already presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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Listin Diario
23 September 2019