In time for the celebration of International Women’s Day today, Tuesday 8 March, the Constitutional Court has issued five rulings that benefit women in the Dominican Republic, as follows:
Women can marry immediately after a divorce instead of waiting for 10 months as the law previously established. The 10-month period was intended to ensure there was no pregnancy. Men did not have to wait 10 months, which was considered discriminatory. The court issued its ruling on the basis that there are modern pregnancy testing methods.
The woman (or man) should be notified at their home address and in person when one partner presents a divorce petition. Previously, women could be divorced without being aware of it until it was finalized.
Widows of a cohabitation relationship have the right to receive their deceased spouse’s pension.
The Constitutional Court ratified the 33.33% participation of women established in Law 12-00 for elective government positions, excluding legislative and municipal posts that were subsequently included in a forthcoming law.
Another ruling was that in domestic violence cases where a couple has reached an agreement to not continue the penal process where a firearm is involved, prosecutors may confiscate the firearm and not return it to the owner until the ruling has been issued.
