Santo Domingo.-This Tuesday, the Dominican governmentpresented to the National Congress, through the Senate, two legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening the criminal legal framework of the Dominican Republic.
As explained in a statement by Palacio, the law proposals include the project on persecution and prosecution of criminal organizations, and the bill on care, legal representation and protection of victims, witnesses and subjects at risk.
In his message, President Luis Abinader highlighted that the first initiative responds to one of the main challenges of the region and the country: the fight against organized crime in all its forms.
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He specified that the objective of this law is to guarantee the integrity of the Social and Democratic State of Law through effective rules for the detection, prosecution, prosecution and punishment of crimes related to organized crime, in accordance with international standards.
The proposal classifies as a criminal organization two or more people who form, constitute or promote a structure with distribution of functions to obtain economic benefits or any kind through crimes such as money laundering, financing of terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking. of people, illicit arms trafficking, hitmen, financial and environmental crimes, among others.
For its part, the second initiative responds to the need to protect victims, witnesses and subjects at risk due to social exclusion and lack of access to justice.
As explained by the Executive, this proposal seeks to guarantee the rights of these people, and regulate the protection and care measures necessary for their safety and well-being.
If approved, the law would represent a significant advance in the country’s legislation, fulfilling a historic debt in terms of equity and guaranteeing free legal assistance to those who do not have economic resources. This would contribute to balancing the rights between defendants and victims in judicial processes.
The Presidency reaffirmed, through the statement, the commitment of the Government and the Legal Consultancy of the Executive Branch to continue with the legal reforms pending since the constitutional reform of 2010, as well as those arising from the 2024 Constitution.
A set of criminal initiatives
These projects are part of a broader set of initiatives that the Executive Branch, in collaboration with the Public Ministry, has worked to strengthen the state policy against crime.
In October 2023, President Abinader also presented bills on violation and illicit transfer of real estate properties and on kidnapping in all its modalities, which are currently being studied by the Senate.
