Four well-known jurists are questioning the success of the newly inaugurated Penal Process Code (“Codigo Procesal Penal), saying that it needs to be “tweaked” if it is going to fulfill its role within the justice system. According to El Caribe, Julio Cury, Virgilio Bello Rosa, Ramon Agramonte and Robert Santana expressed common reservations about the new regulations for arrests, arraignments and processing of criminal cases. They are urging the authorities to revise the code as soon as possible. The chief magistrate of the Civil Chambers of the Supreme Court, Rafael Luciano Pichardo, told reporters that the lower courts are damaging legal principles by applying the code, and that the code has even been used to commit irregularities, according to the judge. Bello Rosa pointed out that the code is applied differently in different courts across the country. Agramonte joined Bello Rosa in congratulating the Supreme Court judge for his pronouncements, at the same time observing that “the Penal Code is good, but not for the reality and the level of development of the Dominican society.” Agramonte told the reporters that the people who are responsible for the application of the code do not have “sufficient legal, mental and human development to understand the essence of the Penal Code.”
Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman told Hoy reporters that the Penal Code is doomed to failure because its overall concept is structurally flawed. He said that these flaws include the sub-standard training of the National Police and that the low level of criminal forensic training in the Justice Department. The president of the Dominican Bar Association had a different take on the issue, saying that he disagreed with the Supreme Court magistrate’s statement to the effect that the Penal Code protected criminals and violence.