The Supreme Court of Justice issued a landmark decision that establishes that the rights of a parent who has brought up a child can prevail over those of the biological father.
The ruling No. SCJ-PS-23-0501 of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice issued on 29 March 2023 sets a precedent when it establishes that paternity filiation goes beyond what can be determined by a DNA test.
Attorney Birmania Camacho presented the socio-affective relationship as a defense against the paternity suit of a third party [the would-be biological father] against a married couple that brought up the child. She says this is a milestone in her 31-year career as a lawyer and professor at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and the Ibero-American University (Unibe).
The child was declared and appears in his birth certificate as son of the husband of his mother.
The sentence is based on principles 5 and 6 of Children and Adolescents Protection Law 136-03 that states that the best interest of the minor must prevail.
What is new is that the high court establishes that in the Dominican Republic, the biological father does not have an automatic right to paternity, and the upbringing and welfare of the child are criteria for establishing paternity.
The sentence explains that, in matters of filiation, the construction of the truth implies considering components such as affective, biological, sociological, individual will and the time of cohabitation between father and child.
Pilar Jiménez Ortiz (president of the civil chamber), Justiniano Montero Montero, Samuel Arias Arzeno, Vanessa Acosta Peralta and Napoleón R. Estévez Lavandier stated the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.
The managing editor of Diario Libre, Benjamin Morales Melendez writes in a signed editorial on 5 July 2023 on the debate on who is the father, the one that breeds or the one that raises the child. He understands there should be joint responsibility.
Child specialist lawyer Dilia Leticia Jorge writes that the right of the offspring to know who is his biological father never prescribes. She explains the child can request information on who is his biological parents through his actual parents or when he is an adult he can appeal to Article 63 of Child Protection Law 136-03 to find out who is his biological father.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
5 July 2023