The Constitutional Court ruled on 27 May 2019 that the public road to the once popular surfers’ beach in Cabarete, Puerto Plata, Playa Encuentro be reopened to the general public. The Constitutional Court determined that the closing of the access road was in violation of the right to free transit, sport, access to water and the 60 meters of high tide.
Access to the beach has been closed by the companies Inversiones Calpe SRL and Mesa Investment Limited that own property in the area. Ruling No. TC/0106/19 ratified Ruling No. 271-2018-SSEN-00588, that had been issued by the First Civil and Commercial Chamber of Puerto Plata on 26 September 2018, as reported in Somos Pueblo.
The motion had been presented to the Constitutional Court by lawyers José Alejandro Jiménez Almonte and José Ramón Valbuena Valdez, representing the Association for the Protection, Development and Free Access in Encuentro Beach (APRODELAPEN).
The companies were ordered to immediately remove the obstacles that prevent public access to the beach. The ruling ordered the city government of Sosua to place adequate signage for the public areas and instructs the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Tourism, the Specialized Tourism Security Corps (Cestur) and the District Board of Cabarete to take necessary measures for the optimal preservation of Playa Encuentro.
Nevertheless, Somos Pueblo reports that Puerto Plata prosecutors, head by Osvaldo Bonilla, refuses to execute the measure.
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Somos Pueblo
4 June 2019