Lawyer Namphi Rodriguez, the president of the Press and Law Foundation, has pointed out an important issue for women in the changes in the Penal Process Code: victims of rape, incest or women pregnant with deformed children will be forced to carry their pregnancies to full term or face jail sentences of up to three years. As reported in El Nuevo Diario, Rodriguez says that the changes are against women’s rights and the Constitution. He noted that these changes in the Penal Code would contravene articles 38 (human dignity), 43 (freedom of personal development), and 61 (the right to health) of the Constitution of the Republic. He said that by not having grounds for exemption, the new Penal Process Code would “be in a swamp of unconstitutionality….and push poor women to the edge of death or to the indignity of forcing them to retain their pregnancy under inhumane conditions.”
The changes approved by the Congress in the Penal Process Code contemplate a series of elements, among which are the night searches, the civil responsibility of the Justice Department and the definitive filing of a case file six months after the provisional filing. Paragraph 2 of article 151 says that the expiration of deadlines act as civil and personal causes for poor performance by the prosecutor in charge of a particular case. Meanwhile, article 179 orders that searches can be carried out during night hours when the judge expressly orders it by a reasoned resolution.
As an exception of procedure, article 181 establishes that the search without judicial authorization is possible only when it is necessary to avoid the commission of a violation in answer to a call for help, if a suspect is being pursued and entered a building or house belonging to someone else. “Breaches of private action while in preventive custody cannot be ordered, nor house arrest nor placement of electronic locators can be made,” orders article 226.
According to the modified article 255 of the Code, when, because of a revision of the sentence, the defendant is absolved or is given a lesser sentence, that person should be compensated by the state for the time he or she was in prison or disenfranchised or for the excess time served. The case file cannot be modified while the circumstances on which it is based do not change or the obstacle which impedes the development of the process is maintained. Nonetheless, article 281 says that the Justice Department will have a six month deadline to back up the modification of the case file, and if they do not do this, it will be definitive.
The code that has passed in Congress is controversial and is being debated in the media. Legal advisor to the President, Cesar Pina Toribio says the code has not yet been received in the Presidency for signing into law.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=369517
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2014/04/02/i161201_ciudadanos-tienen-derecho-denunciar-querellarse-contra-funcionarios.html