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Dominican Republic Penal Law and Procedure
After independence the country adopted the French penal
and
criminal proceedings codes that had been in use during the
Haitian occupation. Spanish translations were mandated by
law in
1867. As of 1989, the most recent codes, adaptations of
the
original French documents to local traditions, had been
adopted
in 1884.
The 1884 Penal Code was composed of four books
containing 487
articles. The first book dealt with penalties for crimes
and
provided for exile, imprisonment, temporary confinement,
loss of
civil rights, and assessment of fines. The death
penalty--carried
out by firing squad--was abolished in 1924 in favor of a
maximum
penalty of thirty years' imprisonment at forced labor. The
second
book dealt with criminal responsibility and liability,
addressing
such issues as mental competence, self-defense, and the
ages at
which perpetrators incur adult liability. The third book
dealt
with various felonies and misdemeanors, and it established
punishments for each. The fourth book covered infractions
of
police regulations and their penalties.
The Code of Criminal Procedure consisted of two books.
The
first set forth rules governing the role of the police in
judicial proceedings. The second established various
practices
for dealing with accused criminals; it provided for the
involvement of different judicial bodies, according to the
severity of the crime.
Data as of December 1989
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