Two constitutional lawyers advanced this morning that without a doubt the Domain Extinction Law is organic and must be known and approved by the legislators taking into account that condition. They also agree that the piece could put at risk the right to property and the possession of goods acquired in good faith in the Dominican Republic.
The specialists Nassef Perdomo and Cristóbal Rodríguez also agree that the principles on which the piece is based indicate that it is an organic law, not an ordinary one, and that it directly concerns article 112 of the Constitution that regulates fundamental rights.
Perdomo warns that the Domain Extinction Law in the hands of a future corrupt Public Ministry would be a threat to Dominican democracy.
He explains that in one of its articles the draft of said law states that its purpose is to regulate the process of domain forfeiture, establish the procedure for it, define the powers of the authorities responsible for its application, recognize the rights and guarantees of interveners, and the procedure required for the judicial declaration in favor of the State.
“In other words, that law regulates the right to due process in domain forfeiture procedures, changes the regime of the right to property, creates new powers for the organs of the justice system, creates a new jurisdiction and creates a Public Ministry Specialized. There is no way to deny that it is an organic law in accordance with the provisions of article 112 of the Constitution.”
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He added that “the Attorney General of the Republic is right when she says that this law could lend itself to acts of extortion. That tool, in the hands of a future corrupt Public Ministry, would be a serious threat to Dominican democracy.”
He also recalled that article 110 of the Magna Carta prohibits the retroactive application of laws, unless they favor the affected party.
“However, article 4.2 of the Asset Forfeiture Bill clearly foresees a retroactive application of it. At present there are already legal tools that allow the recovery of assets. The State cannot, nor is it in need of violating the Constitution with a retroactive law”, opined the constitutionalist.
The Asset Forfeiture Law persecutes illicitly acquired assets.
Christopher Rodriguez
For Rodríguez, the creation of a specialized jurisdiction established in article 17 of the aforementioned bill implies a decision to regulate “the structure and organization” of a State power (the Judiciary) that, according to article 112 of the Constitution, is the second matter that makes the laws that deal with it organic.
“As is known, this implies that the approval of this piece must occur with a majority regime of two thirds of the legislators present in each of the legislative chambers.”
He also expressed his concern about the preservation of the right to property and said that “it is the quintessence of the economic regime organized by the Constitution, without which the orientation towards the search for human development cannot be understood.”
The specialist cites article 217 of the Constitution, which deals with human development and article 50, on freedom of enterprise, trade and industry in the Dominican Republic.
Organic laws are those that by their nature regulate fundamental rights; the structure and organization of public powers; the civil service; the electoral regime, the financial economic regime, the budget, planning and public investment, territorial organization, constitutional procedures, security and defense, matters expressly referred to by the Constitution and others of a similar nature. For its approval or modification, they will require the favorable vote of two thirds of those present in both chambers.
