New Penal Code of the Dominican Republic.

WHEREAS: The Penal Code of the Dominican Republic, promulgated by decree-law No. 2274, of August 20, 1884, is a legal instrument that does not respond, after more than a century of validity, to the needs of prevention, control and punishment of the criminal phenomenon, as it is presented in the society of our time;

          WHEREAS: The draft Penal Code prepared by the Commission for the Review and Update of said Code, appointed by the Executive Branch through Decree No. 104-97, of February twenty-seventh, 1997, aims to satisfy the demands of Dominican society today;

WHEREAS: This draft bill is the result of a thorough review and update of our codified and procedural criminal legislation, and it incorporates valuable principles and novel legal institutions that make it a suitable instrument for the proposed purposes;

          WHEREAS: A primary objective of this draft bill is to safeguard, in a harmonious and balanced manner, the fundamental legal rights of society and citizens, an indispensable condition for the full validity of the democratic rule of law.            

He has given the following law:

 

PENAL CODE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This Code constitutes a systematized set of legal norms that, within domestic public law, determines the infractions, their sanctions, security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, protection orders , and the conditions of criminal liability, having as its Fundamental Principles the following:

PRINCIPLE I

          The protection of the human person and their property; and the preservation of public peace and social order, as a guarantee of the existence of the Nation and the State.

PRINCIPLE II

          The prevention and punishment of offenses, as well as the rehabilitation, re-education and social reintegration of the convicted person.

PRINCIPLE III

          The legality of offenses, penalties, security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, and protection orders. Therefore, no one may be convicted of an act not defined or criminalized by the law in force at the time it was committed; nor may security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, or protection orders not provided for in this Code be imposed upon them.

PRINCIPLE IV

          The equality of all before the criminal law, which will be applied without taking into account considerations other than those contained therein.

PRINCIPLE V

          Its provisions apply to members of the Armed Forces and the National Police, except in cases of strictly military or police offenses.

PRINCIPLE VI

 

        The offenses and penalties provided for in this Code are not considered political.

PRINCIPLE VII

 The non-imputability of children and adolescents, without prejudice to the application of protection, assistance, supervision and education measures under the conditions provided for by the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents.

PRINCIPLE VIII

          No one may plead ignorance of the criminal law, except for the exceptions that it may expressly provide for.

PRINCIPLE IX

          The presumption of innocence of those subject to the law, until their guilt has been proven, in accordance with due process.

 

 

PRINCIPLE X

          In case of doubt, the decision should always favor the accused or defendant.

PRINCIPLE XI

          No one may be compelled to testify against themselves. Consequently, any confession obtained as a result of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment shall be considered null and void.

PRINCIPLE XII

          No one may be tried twice for the same offense.

PRINCIPLE XIII

When issuing a sentence or decision, the judge or court must express in a reasonable, precise and reasoned manner the grounds on which it rests.

PRINCIPLE XIV

          The definitions and general principles set forth in this Code shall apply, without the need for new formulation, in any other procedural criminal law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          The codified criminal legislation will consist of two parts: the first, legislative, which is contained in this Code; and the second, regulatory, which must be the work of the Executive Branch.

          The legislative part comprises five Books relating to:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

II CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST PERSONS

III. CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY

IV. CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST THE NATION, THE STATE, THE CONSTITUTION, AND PUBLIC PEACE

V. OFFENSES

The articles of this Code are listed in digits, in successive order, and next to each of these, the figures that appear in parentheses indicate the Book, Title and Chapter to which each article belongs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART ONE

LEGISLATIVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRST BOOK

GENERAL DISPOSITION

 

 

TITLE ONE – CRIMINAL LAW

CHAPTER ONE – GENERAL PRINCIPLES

 

Art. 1 (111) This Code defines crimes, offenses and contraventions; establishes the penalties applicable to offenders, the security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, and protection orders that may be imposed on them.

Art. 2 (111) Criminal offenses are classified, according to their severity, into crimes, misdemeanors and contraventions.

Art. 3 (111) No one may be punished for a crime, offense or contravention whose elements are not determined by law.

No one can be punished with a penalty or subjected to security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, and protection orders that are not provided for by law.

Art. 4 (111) Criminal law taken in its material sense, insofar as it defines the type of offense and sets the penalty, security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, and protection orders, is of strict interpretation.

Art. 5 (111) Criminal jurisdictions are competent to interpret administrative, regulatory or individual acts, and to assess their constitutionality or legality, when the solution of the criminal process they have been entrusted with depends on this examination.

CHAPTER TWO – APPLICATION OF THE

CRIMINAL LAW THROUGH TIME

 

Art. 6 (112) Actions or omissions constituting an offense are punishable when they are criminalized at the time of their perpetration.

The penalties, security measures, socio-judicial monitoring, or protection orders legally in force at the time the offense was committed will be pronounced. However, those criminal laws that favor the defendant or the person serving a sentence will have retroactive effect.

Art. 7 (112) The laws concerning jurisdiction, judicial procedure and organization, as well as those relating to the enforcement and application of penalties, shall be applied immediately to offenses committed before their entry into force.

Art. 8 (112) The laws relating to the nature of remedies, their commencement, the time limits for exercising them, and the status of persons entitled to appeal, shall apply to remedies brought against judgments rendered after their entry into force. Remedies are subject to the procedural rules in force on the day they are brought.

The immediate application of the new law does not affect the validity of acts performed in accordance with the old law.

CHAPTER THREE – APPLICATION OF THE

CRIMINAL LAW IN SPACE

 

Art. 9 (113) For the application of this Code the territory of the Republic is made up of the eastern part of the island of Santo Domingo and its adjacent islands; the territorial sea, the land and subsoil of the sea and the sea; and the airspace above them.

Section I

Offences committed or alleged

committed within the territory of the Republic

 

Art. 10 (113) Criminal law shall apply to offenses committed within the territory of the Republic as defined in the preceding article.

The infraction is deemed to have been committed in the territory of the Republic, from the moment one of its constitutive acts or omissions has taken place therein.

Art. 11 (113) The penal law shall apply to offenses committed on board or against civil, merchant or military vessels of Dominican registration, in any place where they may be found.

Art. 12 (113) Criminal law shall apply to offenses committed on board or against civil, merchant or military aircraft of Dominican registration, wherever they may be found.

Art. 13 (113) Criminal law shall apply to anyone who has been found guilty as an accomplice, in the territory of the Republic, of a crime or offense committed abroad, if the offense is punishable, at the same time, by Dominican and foreign law, and if this complicity has been established by a final judgment of a foreign court.

Section II

Offenses committed outside the territory of the Republic

Art. 14 (113) Criminal law shall apply to any act that Dominican legislation qualifies as a crime committed by a national outside the territory of the Republic.

It will also apply to crimes committed by Dominicans outside the territory of the Republic if these acts are sanctioned by the legislation of the country where they have been committed.

This article applies even in cases where the offender acquired Dominican nationality after the act he is accused of.

Art. 15 (113) The criminal law shall apply to any crime or offense punishable by imprisonment, committed by a Dominican or a foreigner outside the territory of the Republic, when the victim is of Dominican nationality at the time of the offense, even when the offender is a Dominican diplomatic or consular agent, or is abroad fulfilling a special mission on behalf of the Dominican State.

Art. 16 (113) In the cases provided for in the two preceding articles, the prosecution of the offenses shall be carried out at the request of the public prosecutor, and must be preceded by a complaint from the victim or his successors or an official report by the authority of the country where the offense has been committed.

Art. 17 (113) In the cases provided for by Articles 14 and 15, no prosecution may be exercised against a person who justifies that he has been definitively tried abroad for the same acts and, in case of conviction, that the sentence has been served or is prescribed.

Art. 18 (113) Criminal law shall apply to crimes and offenses classified as attacks against the fundamental interests of the nation and sanctioned in Title One of Book Four of this Code. It shall also apply to the counterfeiting and adulteration of the State seal, coins, banknotes, or public securities, sanctioned by Articles 614, 628, and 636, and to any crime or offense against Dominican diplomatic or consular agents or premises, committed outside the territory of the Republic.

Art. 19 (113) Subject to the provisions of Article 17, criminal law shall apply to crimes and offenses committed on board or against aircraft not registered in the Dominican Republic:

        1st When the perpetrator or the victim is of Dominican nationality;

        2nd When the aircraft lands in the Dominican Republic after the crime or offense has been committed;

        3rd When the aircraft has been leased to a person who has their commercial operation or, failing that, their permanent residence, in the territory of the Republic.

In the case provided for in paragraph 1, the nationality of the author or the victim of the offense is assessed in accordance with the provisions of Articles 14, last paragraph, and 15.

Art. 20 (113) Criminal law applies to offenses committed outside the territorial sea in cases where international conventions and the law so provide.

TITLE TWO – CRIMINAL LIABILITY

 

 

CHAPTER ONE – GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Art. 21 (121) No one is criminally responsible except for his own punishable act or omission.

Art. 22 (121) Legal persons are criminally responsible, in accordance with the distinctions of Articles 25 to 28, and in the cases provided for by law or its regulations, for the infractions committed by their organs or representatives on behalf of such persons.

The Dominican State, the National District and the Municipalities are excluded from this provision.

The criminal liability of legal entities does not exclude that of any natural person who is the perpetrator or accomplice of the same acts.

Art. 23 (121) There is no crime or offense when there is no intention to commit it.

However, where the law so provides, there is an unintentional offense in cases of deliberate endangerment of another, unless the offender has exercised the normal diligence incumbent upon them. There is also an unintentional offense in cases of recklessness, negligence, clumsiness, inadvertence, or failure to observe an obligation of prudence or safety imposed by law or regulations, unless the perpetrator has exercised the normal diligence required by their duties or functions, and their powers and resources.

Art. 24 (121) The perpetrators and accomplices of the offense are criminally responsible for it.

Art. 25 (121) The perpetrator of the infraction is the person who:

        1st Commits the actions or incurs the incriminating omissions;

        2. Attempts to commit a crime or, in the cases provided for by law, an offense.

Art. 26 (121) An accomplice to a crime or offense is a person who consciously, by aid or assistance, facilitates the preparation or consummation of these.

The person who, through gifts, presents, promises, threats, orders, abuse of authority or power, has caused the offense or given instructions to commit it, or seeks to ensure the impunity of its perpetrators, or has provided weapons or instruments to facilitate, prepare or execute the incriminating act, is also an accomplice.

Art. 27 (121) The same penalty shall be applied to the perpetrator and the accomplice of the offense. However, the accomplice may be given a lesser penalty than that applied to the perpetrator.

Art. 28 (121) The attempt of crimes, and of offenses when it is punishable, is constituted from the moment that, manifested by a beginning of execution constituted by acts unequivocally directed, as well as capable of achieving the consummation of the offense, it has been suspended or has not achieved its effect except by circumstances independent of the will of its author.

CHAPTER TWO – CAUSES OF NON-IMPUTABILITY, IRRESPONSIBILITY OR MITIGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY

         

Art. 29 (122) He is not imputable, who at the time of committing the infraction is affected by a psychic or neuropsychic disturbance that completely annuls his discernment or the control of his acts.

However, the judge or court may order the security measures provided for in Articles 125 et seq.

 

Art. 30 (122) A person who, at the time of acting, suffers from a mental or neuropsychic disturbance that partially impairs their judgment or control of their actions, is punishable. However, the court shall take this circumstance into account when determining the penalty and establishing its regime.

Art. 31 (122) A person is not imputable if, at the time of committing the offense, he is acting under a force or coercion to which he has not been able to resist.

Art. 32 (122) He is not criminally responsible who has believed through an inevitable error of law that he could legitimately perform the action or incur the incriminating omission.

Art. 33 (122) No one is criminally responsible for committing an act or omission under the order of a legitimate authority, except when the act or omission is manifestly illegal.

Art. 34 (122) He is not imputable who acts in legitimate defense of himself or of another.

Self-defense is considered legitimate when it simultaneously repels an actual and unjustified attack using means proportionate to the severity of the attack. There is no legitimate self-defense, nor any presumption thereof, when the attack being repelled was preceded by an act of provocation committed by the person invoking it.

Art. 35 (122) It is presumed that someone has acted in legitimate self-defense:

1° Reject by any means, from inside an inhabited house, at night, the entry made by another through breaking and entering, violence, deception or any other illegitimate means; or if the entry had been carried out by the same means and circumstances;

2° Reject at any time of day, by any means and from inside an inhabited house, the entry made by another through breaking and entering, violence, deception or any illegitimate means, with the use or threat of use of a weapon;

3° Reject at any time of day, anyone who, already surprised inside the inhabited house, uses or threatens to use a weapon;

4° It defends itself against the perpetrators of robberies or pillaging carried out with violence at any time and place;

5. It prevents the commission of a crime or offense against property. In the latter case, an attack on property that constitutes an offense and exposes it to serious damage or imminent loss will be considered an unlawful attack. However, homicide committed in defense against an unlawful attack against property is not justified.

Art. 36 (122) A person is presumed to have acted in a state of necessity and is therefore not criminally responsible, if, faced with a present or imminent danger that threatens him or her, or another person or property, he or she performs an act necessary to safeguard the person or property, except if there is a disproportion between the means employed and the seriousness of the situation that threatens him or her.

It is not presumed that the person who caused the situation that generated the event acted in a state of necessity.

Art. 37 (122) The maximum penalty that can be imposed on a person who at the time of judgment of his case is seventy years of age, will be twenty years of imprisonment, unless it is a person condemned to the penalty of imprisonment for life.

An individual who, having been sentenced to a criminal penalty, reaches seventy years of age, while the sentence is being executed, will remain deprived of his liberty until the sentence is completed, without this deprivation of liberty exceeding the moment when he reaches ninety years of age, unless he is a person sentenced to life imprisonment.

Anyone who has been sentenced to a criminal or correctional penalty and reaches the age of ninety while serving their sentence will be released once they have reached that age, unless they are sentenced to life imprisonment.

The socio-judicial monitoring provided for in Articles 129 et seq. may be applied by the competent judge or court, once the convicted person has benefited from the provisions indicated above.

 

 

TITLE THREE – PENALTIES AND SECURITY MEASURES

 

 

CHAPTER ONE – CLASSIFICATION AND

NATURE OF PUNISHMENTS

Section I

Classification of penalties

Art. 38 (131) In consideration of the legal interest affected, the applicable penalties in accordance with this Code are:

        1° Deprivation or restriction of liberty;

        2. Deprivation or restriction of rights; and

        3rd Financial.

Sub-section 1 – Deprivation or restriction of liberty penalties

 

Art. 39 (131) Deprivation or restriction of liberty penalties are the sanctions that exclude or limit the convicted person's exercise of his or her right to freedom or mobility, as defined and incriminated in this Code, with respect to criminal and correctional penalties.

Subsection 2 – Penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights

Art. 40 (131) Deprivation or restriction of rights penalties are sanctions that exclude or limit the convicted person from exercising certain rights, holding positions or performing certain public or private activities or functions, as incriminated and defined later in this Code, with respect to certain criminal, correctional and contraventional penalties.

Subsection 3 – Pecuniary penalties

 

Art. 41 (131) Pecuniary penalties are those that affect the economic assets of the convicted person, as established later in this Code, imposed for criminal and correctional offenses, and exclusively for contraventional offenses.

Section II

Penalties applicable to natural persons

Subsection I – Criminal penalties

 

Art. 42 (131) The penalties applicable to natural persons for the commission of a crime are deprivation of liberty and/or pecuniary.

The scale of prison sentences for this matter is:

        1st Life imprisonment;

        2. Imprisonment for no more than forty years;

        3. Imprisonment for no more than thirty years;

        4th Imprisonment for no more than twenty years;

        5th Imprisonment for no more than fifteen years.

The minimum sentence applicable to criminal offenses is ten years' imprisonment, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 109.

The scale of pecuniary penalties for this matter is:

        1th Fine not exceeding RD$800,000.00;

        2th Fine not exceeding RD$600,000.00;

        3th Fine not exceeding RD$400,000.00;

        4th Fine not exceeding RD$300,000.00.

In case of insolvency of the convicted person, or of his refusal to pay the fine imposed on him, this will be offset by a prison sentence at a rate of one day for each RD $15.00 of fine not paid, without the prison period being able to exceed two years.

When it comes to crimes against persons provided for in Book Two of this Code, pecuniary penalties are not applied.

Art. 43 (131) The imposition of a prison sentence does not exclude the application of one, several or all of the supplementary penalties provided for in Article 51.

Subsection 2 – Correctional penalties

Art. 44 (131) The penalties applicable to natural persons for the commission of crimes are:

        1. Prison;

        2. The fine;

        3. The day-fine;

        4. Community interest work;

        5° The penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights provided for in article 47;

        6° The supplementary penalties provided for in article 51.

Art. 45 (131) The scale of custodial sentences for this matter is:

        1st Imprisonment of no more than ten years;

        2. Imprisonment for no more than seven years;

        3. Imprisonment for no more than five years;

        4th Imprisonment for no more than three years;

        5. Imprisonment for no more than two years

        6th Imprisonment for no more than one year;

        7° Imprisonment for no more than six months.

The scale of pecuniary penalties for this matter is:

        1th Fine not exceeding RD$20,000.00;

        2th Fine not exceeding RD$14,000.00;

        3th Fine not exceeding RD$10,000.00;

        4th Fine not exceeding RD$6,000.00;

        5th Fine not exceeding RD$4,000.00;

        6th Fine not exceeding RD$3,000.00;

        7th Fine not exceeding RD$2,500.00.

In case of insolvency of the convicted person, or of his refusal to pay the fine imposed on him, this will be offset by a prison sentence at a rate of one day for each RD $15.00 of fine not paid, without the prison period being able to exceed two years.

Art. 46 (131) When a crime is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, the judge or court may substitute it with a fine of days, which will consist of a sum that the convicted person will pay to the treasury instead of the imposed imprisonment, and whose amount will be set by the judge or court indicating the amount to be paid for each day; and for this purpose, the judge or court will take into account the nature of the offense, the economic resources of the accused, as well as their needs and burdens of this type.

The amount payable for each day shall not exceed RD$5,000.00. The number of days of the fine is determined taking into account the circumstances of the infraction. It may not exceed three hundred and sixty days.

Art. 47 (131) When a crime is punishable by one of the custodial sentences provided for in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of article 45, one, several or all of the following custodial or restrictive sentences may be imposed:

          1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of driving certain vehicles for a period not exceeding five years;

        3° The cancellation of the driver's license and the prohibition of applying for a new one, for a period not exceeding five years;

        4° The confiscation of one or more vehicles owned by the convicted person;

        5° The immobilization, for a period not exceeding one year, of one or more vehicles owned by the convicted person, according to the modalities established by law;

        6° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        7° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned by the convicted person or which he has free disposal of;

        8° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same or those that are certified;

        9° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of using credit cards in their various forms;

        10° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense or that has been its product;

        11. A ban, for a period not exceeding five years, on engaging in any professional or social activity when the facilities provided by this activity have been intentionally used to prepare or commit the offense. This ban does not apply to the exercise of an elected mandate.

Art. 48 (131) The penalties of deprivation or restriction of rights listed in the previous article may be pronounced for crimes that are only punishable by a fine.

Art. 49 (131) When a crime is punishable by imprisonment, the judge or court may order that the convicted person perform, for a period of forty to two hundred and forty hours, unpaid community service, for the benefit of a legal entity of public law, or of an association incorporated and authorized to perform community service.

The aforementioned penalty cannot be imposed on a defendant who refuses it or who is not present at the hearing. Before pronouncing the sentence, the judge or court will inform the defendant of their right to refuse community service and will receive their response.

Art. 50 (131) Imprisonment cannot be pronounced cumulatively with one of the deprivation or restriction of rights penalties provided for in article 47, nor with the penalty of community service, except when the law provides otherwise.

In the case of article 48, fines or day-fines cannot be imposed cumulatively with one of the penalties that deprive or restrict rights provided for in article 47.

The penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights listed in Article 47 may be imposed cumulatively, but not with the penalty of community service.

The penalty of community service and the penalty of a fine or day-fine cannot be imposed cumulatively.

The penalty of days-fine cannot be pronounced cumulatively with the penalty of fine.

Sub-section 3 – Supplementary penalties applicable to certain crimes and offenses.

Art. 51 (131) When the law so provides, a crime or offense may be punished with one, several or all of the supplementary penalties that, affecting natural persons, entail prohibition, exclusion, incapacity or loss of a right; immobilization or confiscation of an object, closure of an establishment or publication by posters of the sentence pronounced; or dissemination of this by the written press or by any other means of audiovisual communication.

Art. 52 (131) When a crime is punishable by imprisonment and a fine, the judge or court may, if the case warrants it, impose one, several or all of the supplementary penalties indicated in the previous article, in addition to the principal penalties of imprisonment and a fine imposed.

Subsection 4 – Minor Offenses

Art. 53 (131) The contraventional penalties applicable to natural persons are:

        1. The fine;

        2° The penalties that deprive or restrict rights provided for in article 55.

These penalties do not exclude the imposition of one, several or all of the supplementary penalties provided for in Articles 58 and 59.

Art. 54 (131) Contraventions will be sanctioned according to the following scale:

        1th Fine not exceeding RD$2,000.00;

        2th Fine not exceeding RD$1,500.00;

        3th Fine not exceeding RD$1,000.00;

        4th Fine not exceeding RD$500.00;

        5th Fine not exceeding RD$100.00.

In case of recidivism, the fines provided for above will be increased to double these amounts, when the same contravention is committed within one year from the expiration or prescription of the previous penalty, in accordance with the rules set out in article 102.

Art. 55 (131) For all contraventions, one, several or all of the following penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights may be imposed:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding one year. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        2° The immobilization, for a period not exceeding six months, of one or more of the vehicles owned by the convicted person;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        4° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same or those that are certified;

        5° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of using credit cards in their various forms;

        6° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense or that has been its product;

        7° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of consuming alcoholic beverages.

1. 56  (131) The fine may not be imposed cumulatively with one of the penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights listed in the preceding article. However, the latter may be imposed cumulatively with each other.

Art. 57 (131) In case the convicted person does not comply with the payment of the fine, it will be compensated with a prison sentence at a rate of one day for each RD $15.00 of fine not paid.

The judge applying the sentence may apply in this eventuality the provisions of articles 119 and 120, relating to imprisonment on weekends, holidays and nighttime execution.

 

Art. 58 (131) The law that sanctions a contravention may impose, when the offender is a natural person, one, several or all of the following complementary penalties:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding three years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or that has been its product;

        5° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding three years, of visiting certain places;

        6° The definitive suspension, or for a period not exceeding three years, of the license required to operate a certain commercial enterprise.

Art. 59 (131) The law that punishes a contravention may also impose the supplementary penalty of prohibiting, for a period not exceeding three years, the issuance of checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds where the drawer is the beneficiary or those that are certified. It may also impose, as a supplementary penalty, community service for a duration of twenty-five to two hundred and twenty-five hours.

Art. 60 (131) When a contravention is sanctioned with one, several or all of the complementary penalties mentioned in the two previous articles, the judge may limit himself to pronouncing only the complementary penalty; or one, several or all of the applicable complementary penalties, as the principal penalty.

Sub-section 5 – Content and modalities of application of some penalties

Art. 61 (131) The prohibition of issuing checks and using credit cards entails for the convicted person the obligation to return to the drawee or the issuer of the card, as the case may be, the checkbooks or the cards that have been delivered to the offender, when they are in his possession or in the hands of his agents.

When these prohibitions are imposed as supplementary penalties for a crime or offense, they cannot exceed five years.

Art. 62 (131) The penalty of confiscation of objects classified by law as dangerous or harmful is mandatory.

Confiscation applies to the thing that has been used or was intended to be used to commit the offense, or to the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects that are subject to restitution. It may also apply to any movable property designated by the law that penalizes the offense.

The thing that constitutes the object of the infringement is assimilated to that which serves to commit it or is its product, in the sense of the second paragraph of this article.

When the object to be confiscated has not been seized or cannot be presented to the court, confiscation shall be ordered for its value. The provisions relating to imprisonment shall apply to the collection of the sum representing its value.

The confiscated item, unless otherwise provided for by a specific provision for its destruction or allocation, shall be returned to the State, but shall remain encumbered, in proportion to its value, by the real rights lawfully established over it for the benefit of third parties.

Art. 63 (131) The judge or court that pronounces the sentence of community service shall set the period during which such service must be carried out, with a maximum limit of eighteen months. The period shall end upon completion of all the community service, and may be temporarily suspended for serious medical, family, professional or social reasons. This period shall be suspended for the time that the convicted person is imprisoned.

The modalities of execution of the sentence of performing community service and the suspension of the term provided for in the preceding paragraph, will be decided by the judge of application of the sentences of the court in whose jurisdiction the convicted person has his residence or, if he does not have his residence in the Dominican Republic, the judge of application of the sentences of the court that has ruled in the first instance.

During the period stipulated in this article, the convicted person must comply with the following control measures:

        1. Respond to the requirements of the judge responsible for applying the penalties;

        2° Submit to the medical examination prior to the execution of the sentences, which has the purpose of determining whether the convicted person is not affected by a dangerous or contagious disease for the other workers, and to ensure that he is medically fit to perform the work he must carry out;

        3° Justify the reasons for their changes of employment or residence, which could hinder the execution of the imposed sentence, according to the established procedures;

          4° Obtain prior authorization from the judge responsible for applying the penalties for any movement that hinders the execution of the aforementioned penalty, according to the established procedures;

          5° Receive visits from the person to whom the judge of application of the sentences sends him and communicate to him all documents or information relating to the execution of the sentence.

Similarly, the convicted person must satisfy the obligations provided for in article 132, when they are imposed on him.

Art. 64 (131) The sentence of community service shall be subject to the legal provisions in force relating to night work, hygiene, safety, and the work of women. Community service may be combined with the exercise of the convicted person's professional activity.

Art. 65 (131) The State shall be liable for the total or partial damage caused to another by a convicted person, and which is a direct consequence of the application of the sentence that imposes an obligation to perform community service.

The State shall automatically assume the rights of the victim against the convicted person.

 

Art. 66 (131) In the case of a sentence of day-fines, the total amount will be due upon expiration of the period corresponding to the number of day-fines pronounced.

Failure to pay this amount, in whole or in part, will result in the imprisonment of the convicted person for a period corresponding to the total number of unpaid fine days. The procedure will be the same as for imprisonment for personal reasons. The detention thus imposed is subject to the rules governing prison sentences.

Art. 67 (131) The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights prevents or prohibits:

        1. The right to vote;

        2. Eligibility;

        3° To exercise a jurisdictional function or to be an expert before a jurisdiction or to represent or assist a party in justice;

        4° To give testimony, except to testify as an informant;

        5° To be a guardian or curator, except of one's own children, after a favorable report from the family council.

The disqualification of civic, civil, and family rights shall not exceed ten years in the case of a felony conviction and five years in the case of a misdemeanor conviction. These periods shall be calculated from the expiration of the imposed prison sentence. The judge or court may order the disqualification of all or part of these rights.

The prohibition of the right to vote or to be eligible, pronounced in application of this article, entails disqualification from holding public office.

Art. 68 (131) Disqualification from holding public office or engaging in professional or social activities, when imposed as a supplementary penalty for a crime or offense, may be permanent or temporary; in the latter case, it may not exceed five years. Such disqualification shall not apply to the exercise of an elected mandate.

 

Art. 69 (131) The disqualification from exercising a professional or social activity shall apply to the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed, or on another professional or social activity defined by the law that sanctions the infringement.

Art. 70 (131) When the disqualification from exercising all or part of the rights listed in Article 67, or from exercising a public function, professional or social activity, accompanies a sentence of deprivation of liberty, it shall be applied from the beginning of this sentence and its execution shall be pursued, for the period set in the sentence of conviction, from the day on which the deprivation of liberty has ceased.

Art. 71 (131) The penalty of interdiction of use of the Dominican territory may be pronounced, in perpetuity or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of a crime or offense committed in said territory.

The prohibition of use of Dominican territory implies by right the removal of the convicted person from the country, or to the border, if applicable, upon the expiration of his sentence of confinement or imprisonment.

When a ban on using Dominican territory accompanies a prison sentence, its application will be suspended during the execution of the sentence. The ban will be enforced at the term specified in the sentence of conviction, starting from the day on which the deprivation of liberty has ceased.

Only by a specially motivated sentence in response to a very serious offense may the judge or court impose the penalty of prohibition from using Dominican territory against:

        1° A convicted foreigner, father or mother of a Dominican child residing in the Dominican Republic, provided that the convicted person exercises, even partially, parental authority in relation to this child, or effectively subsidizes their needs;

        2° A convicted foreigner married for at least one year to a spouse of Dominican nationality, on the condition that this marriage is prior to the events that have caused his conviction; that the community of life has not ceased and that the spouse has retained Dominican nationality;

        3° A convicted foreigner who proves that he has resided in the Dominican Republic since he reached the age of ten;

        4° A convicted foreigner who can prove that they have resided regularly in Dominican territory for more than fifteen years.

Art. 72 (131) The penalty of interdiction of residence entails the prohibition of appearing in certain places determined by the judge or court. This also entails measures of surveillance and assistance. The list of prohibited places, as well as the measures of surveillance and assistance, may be modified by the judge imposing the penalties. Interdiction of residence may not exceed ten years in the case of a conviction for a crime; and five years in the case of a misdemeanor.

 

Art. 73 (131) When the interdiction of residence accompanies a deprivation of liberty sentence, it shall be applied from the beginning of this sentence and its execution shall be pursued for the term fixed in the sentence of conviction, from the day on which the deprivation of liberty has ceased.

Any new deprivation of liberty intervened in the course of the interdiction of residence will be imputed to the duration of the latter, that is, both penalties are served simultaneously.

The interdiction of residence will cease automatically when the convicted person reaches the age of seventy.

Art. 74 (131) The penalty of closure of an establishment entails the prohibition of carrying out in it the activity on the occasion of which the infraction has been committed.

Art. 75 (131) The penalty of exclusion from participating in public tenders implies the prohibition of intervening directly or indirectly in any tender or competition organized by the State, its decentralized institutions; the companies subject to capitalization, and the Municipalities.

Art. 76 (131) The penalty of posting the sentence or disseminating it shall be borne by the convicted person. The costs of posting or disseminating the sentence that the convicted person may not exceed the maximum applicable fine. The costs of executing the penalty of posting or disseminating the sentence shall be borne by the convicted person.

Art. 77 (131) The regulations issued in this regard will determine the procedures for applying the provisions of this sub-section.

Sub-section 6 – Readjustment and updating of the amount of the fine penalty

Art. 78 (131) The amount of the fine in all matters will be subject to periodic review, in accordance with a regulation that will be issued, with the purpose of keeping its value indexed with the economic reality of the nation at the time.

 

Section III

Penalties applicable to legal entities

 

Subsection 1 – Criminal and Correctional Penalties

 

Art. 79 (131) The penalties applicable to legal entities in both criminal and correctional matters are as follows:

1. The fine;

2° The penalties listed in article 81, in the cases provided for by law.

Art. 80 (131) The maximum amount of the fine applicable to legal entities shall be five times that provided for natural persons.

Art. 81 (131) Legal entities may be sanctioned, for the commission of a crime or offense, or for a punishable omission, with one, several or all of the following penalties:

1° Dissolution, when it concerns a crime or offense punishable with respect to natural persons by a prison sentence exceeding five years;

2° The prohibition, either permanently or for a period not exceeding five years, of directly or indirectly exercising one or more professional or social activities;

3° Subjection to judicial supervision for a period not exceeding five years;

4° The definitive closure or closure for a period not exceeding five years, of one or more of the company's establishments, which have been used to commit the incriminating acts;

5° Exclusion from participating in public competitions, either permanently or for a period not exceeding five years;

6° The prohibition, in perpetuity or for a period not exceeding five years, of participating in activities aimed at raising funds from public savings;

        7° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary thereof, or those that are certified; or of using credit cards;

        8° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product;

9° The publication by posters of the sentence pronounced or the dissemination thereof, whether by the written press or by other audiovisual means of communication.

The penalties listed in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this article do not apply to public law legal entities, nor to political parties or groups, nor to unions or professional associations.

 

Subsection 2 – Minor Offenses

Art. 82 (131) The contraventional penalties applicable to legal entities are:

  1. The fine;

  2° The penalties involving deprivation or restriction of rights provided for in article 84.

These penalties do not exclude one, several or all of the supplementary penalties provided for in Article 85.

Art. 83 (131) The maximum amount of the fine applicable to legal entities will be five times that provided for natural persons.

Art. 84 (131) For all contraventions sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00, this may be replaced by one, several or all of the following penalties depriving or restricting rights:

        1° The prohibition for a period of no more than one year of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same, or those that are certified;

2° The prohibition for a period of no more than one year of using credit cards in their various forms;

3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

Art. 85 (131) When the author of a contravention is a legal person, the complementary penalty provided for in paragraph 4 of article 58 may be imposed with respect to these same persons, for contraventions sanctioned with a penalty of RD $2,000.00 of fine; the complementary penalty mentioned in the first paragraph of article 59 may also be imposed.

 

Art. 86 (131) When a contravention is sanctioned with one, several or all of the complementary penalties indicated in the previous article, the judge may impose only the applicable complementary penalties.

In any case, the judge may impose either of these penalties, or both.

Sub-section 3 – Content and modalities of application of some penalties

 

Art. 87 (131) The judgment ordering the dissolution of the legal entity shall order its referral to the competent court to proceed with its liquidation.

Art. 88 (131) The judgment that subjects a legal entity to judicial supervision shall designate an agent whose mission shall be specified therein, who shall render a semiannual account of the fulfillment of his mandate. Upon such accounting, the judge responsible for applying the penalties may refer the matter to the judge or court that issued the judgment, who may pronounce a new penalty or release the legal entity from the judicial supervision imposed upon it.

Art. 89 (131) The prohibition of making a public call to savings implies a prohibition of resorting to credit establishments, financial institutions, stock exchange companies or any advertising procedures, for the purpose of placing securities and securities of any kind.

Art. 90 (131) The penalty of prohibition from exercising one or more professional or social activities entails the consequences provided for in article 69.

The penalty of closing one or more establishments entails the consequences provided for in article 74.

The penalty of exclusion from participating in public competitions entails the consequences provided for in article 75.

The penalty of prohibition from issuing checks carries the consequences provided for in the first paragraph of article 61.

The penalty of confiscation of the thing will be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 62.

The penalty of publishing the sentence by posters, or of disseminating it, will be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 91 (131) A regulation to be voted on for this purpose will determine the modalities of application of the provisions of articles 87 to 89.

CHAPTER TWO – SYSTEM OF PENALTIES

Art. 92 (132) When the law sanctions an infraction, the system of penalties to be pronounced shall obey, except for legislative provisions to the contrary, the rules of this chapter.

Section I

General disposition

 

Sub-section 1 – Applicable penalties in cases of multiple offenses

 

Art. 93 (132) There is a concurrence when an offense is committed by a person before that person has been irrevocably convicted of another previous offense.

Art. 94 (132) When, in the course of the same proceedings, the accused person pleads guilty to several concurrent offenses, each of the applicable penalties shall be imposed on the offender. However, when several penalties of the same nature are applicable, only one penalty of that nature shall be imposed, up to its maximum limit.

Each penalty imposed is deemed to be common to the offenses in concurrence at the maximum limit applicable to each of them.

 

Art. 95 (132) When, in separate proceedings, the accused person has been found guilty of several concurrent offenses, the sentences imposed shall be served cumulatively up to the highest legal maximum. However, the total or partial consolidation of sentences of the same nature may be ordered by the final court called upon to rule, under the conditions provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure.

 

Art. 96 (132) For the application of articles 94 and 95, the penalties of deprivation of liberty are of the same nature and every penalty of deprivation of liberty is confused with the penalty of life imprisonment.

The status of recidivism will be taken into account, if applicable.

When a life sentence, applicable to one or more of the offenses in concurrence, has not been pronounced, the maximum applicable sentence is set at forty years' imprisonment. The maximum amount and duration of the fine and the maximum duration of community service are provided for in Articles 46 and 49, respectively.

Art. 97 (132) The benefit of deferral provided for all or part of one of the penalties pronounced for offenses committed in concurrence, does not hinder the execution of penalties of the same nature not benefited by deferral.

Art. 98 (132) By derogation of the preceding provisions, the fines for contraventions are accumulated among themselves and with those applicable for crimes or offenses in concurrence.

Subsection 2 – Applicable penalties in case of recidivism

Paragraph 1 – Natural Persons

Art. 99 (132) When a natural person, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter punishable by law with a sentence of ten years' imprisonment, commits another crime punishable by twenty or thirty years' imprisonment, he shall be sentenced for this other crime to forty years' imprisonment. If the new crime is punishable by fifteen years' imprisonment, this sentence shall be increased to thirty years' imprisonment.

1. 100  (132) When a natural person, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter punishable by imprisonment for ten years, commits another offense punishable by the same penalty, within a period of ten years from the expiry or prescription of the previous penalty, the maximum penalties of imprisonment and fine applicable to this offense shall be doubled.

When a natural person, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter punishable by imprisonment for ten years, commits another offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year and less than ten years, within five years from the expiration or prescription of the previous sentence, the maximum prison sentences and fines applicable to this offense will be doubled.

Art. 101 (132) When a natural person, already irrevocably convicted of an offense, commits the same offense or an offense that is assimilated to it under the rules of recidivism, within a period of five years from the expiration or prescription of the previous sentence, the maximum prison sentences and fines applicable to the new offense shall be doubled.

Art. 102 (132) In the cases provided for in this Code or a special law, when a natural person, already irrevocably convicted for a contravention sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00, commits, within one year, counting from the expiration or prescription of the preceding penalty, the same contravention for which he was previously sanctioned, he will be subject to double the amount of the applicable fine.

Paragraph 2 – Legal entities

Art. 103 (132) When a legal entity, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter being punishable by law with respect to natural persons by a fine of RD$14,000.00, incurs liability for another crime, the maximum applicable fine shall be equal to ten times the amount provided by the law that punishes this crime. In this case, the legal entity shall also incur the penalties mentioned in Article 81, subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of said article.

Art. 104 (132) When a legal entity, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter being punished by law with respect to natural persons with a fine of RD $14,000.00, commits its criminal responsibility for an offense punished with the same penalty, within ten years from the expiration or prescription of the preceding penalty, the maximum applicable fine will be equal to ten times that provided by the law that punishes this offense.

When a legal entity, already irrevocably convicted of a crime or offense, the latter being punishable by law in relation to natural persons with a fine of RD$14,000.00, incurs criminal liability for an offense punishable by law in relation to natural persons with a fine exceeding RD$3,000.00, within five years from the expiration or prescription of the preceding penalty, the maximum applicable fine is equal to ten times that provided by the law that punishes this offense.

Art. 105 (132) When a legal entity, already irrevocably convicted of a crime, commits its criminal responsibility, within a period of five years from the expiration or prescription of the previous sentence, for the same crime or for a crime that is assimilated to it, with respect to the rules of recidivism, the maximum applicable fine will be equal to ten times that provided by the law that sanctions this crime in respect of natural persons.

Art. 106 (132) In cases where the law provides for it, when a legal entity, already irrevocably convicted of a contravention sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00, commits its criminal responsibility, within a period of one year from the expiration or prescription of the preceding penalty, for the same contravention, the maximum amount of the applicable fine will be equal to ten times that provided by the law that sanctions this contravention with regard to natural persons.

Paragraph 3 – General provisions

Art. 107 (132) Theft, extortion, blackmail, fraud and breach of trust are considered, with respect to recidivism, as the same offense.

Similarly, crimes of assault and other sexual offenses are considered, in relation to recidivism, as the same offense.

Subsection 3 – Pronouncement of Sentences

Art. 108 (132) No penalty may be imposed unless the judge or court has expressly pronounced it. The judge or court shall pronounce only the penalties applicable to the offense over which it is competent.

Art. 109 (132) The judge or court may, by means of a specially reasoned judgment, reduce or substitute the applicable penalties for criminal offenses, in accordance with the following scale:

1st When the offense is punishable by life imprisonment, this may be replaced by imprisonment for forty years and a fine of RD$ 1,000,000.00;

2nd When the offense is punishable by imprisonment, for any other amount, the imprisonment may be reduced to up to ten years, or even replaced by a prison sentence of no less than four years;

3. When the offense is punishable by imprisonment, for any amount, accompanied by a fine, the imprisonment may be reduced or substituted as provided in the preceding paragraph, and the fine may be reduced to one-quarter of the amount provided.

The provisions of this article shall apply, unless otherwise expressly provided by law.

Art. 110 (132) The judge or court may, by means of a specially reasoned judgment, reduce or substitute the applicable penalties for correctional offenses, in accordance with the following scale:

1st When the offense is punishable by imprisonment, for any amount, the imprisonment may be reduced to up to two months;

2. When the offense is punishable by imprisonment, for any amount, accompanied by a fine, the imprisonment may be reduced as provided in the preceding paragraph, and the fine may be reduced to one-quarter of the amount provided, or even, in the case of offenses punishable by imprisonment for three years or less, the imprisonment may be replaced by the fine provided for the offense in question, at its maximum limit.

The provisions of this article shall apply, unless otherwise expressly provided by law.

Art. 111 (132) The judge or court may, by means of a specially reasoned judgment, when the infraction is sanctioned only with a fine, reduce it to one-quarter of the amount provided.

The provisions of this article shall apply, unless otherwise expressly provided by law.

Art. 112 (132) The interdiction of all or part of the civic, civil and family rights mentioned in article 67, in no case occurs by operation of law as a result of a criminal conviction, but it must be expressly imposed by the judge or court, in the cases in which the law authorizes it.

Sub-section 4 – Safety period

 

Art. 113 (132) The security period is the part of the time of imprisonment during which the convicted person may not benefit from any provision that releases him from compliance with the custodial sentence that was imposed on him, except the power that the Executive Branch has to grant pardon and the National Congress to grant amnesty, by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution.

When a person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of no more than forty, thirty, twenty, fifteen years or less, the security period is equal to half of the sentence imposed.

When a person has been sentenced to a prison term of more than five years, the security period is equal to half of the sentence imposed.

Section II

Penalty customization modes

Art. 114 (132) Within the limits established by law, the judge or court imposes the penalty and determines its regime based on the circumstances of the offense and the person of the perpetrator. When the judge or court imposes a fine, it determines its amount taking into account both the nature of the offense and the needs or economic burdens of the perpetrator.

Sub-section 1 – Semi-freedom

Art. 115 (132) Semi-freedom is the regime that obliges the convicted person to spend a minimum of hours or days in prison and that allows him to dedicate the rest of the time outside of it, in the fulfillment of one of the activities provided in this Code for those who benefit from this institution.

When the judge or trial court imposes a prison sentence not exceeding one year, it may order that the prison be served under the regime of semi-liberty, provided that the offender proves that he or she carries out a professional activity, or is dedicated to teaching, or is in a period of internship of a profession, or carries out temporary employment in the interest of obtaining his or her social reintegration; or that his or her participation is essential in the life of the family, or that he or she has a need to receive medical treatment essential for his or her health.

Art. 116 (132) A convicted person granted semi-liberty is obligated to return to the penitentiary establishment according to the procedures determined by the judge responsible for sentencing, in accordance with the criteria established in the preceding article. Furthermore, they are obligated to remain in the establishment during the days on which, for any reason, their external obligations are interrupted.

Subsection 2 – Splitting of sentences

Art. 117 (132) In correctional matters, the judge or court may, for serious reasons of a medical, family, professional or social nature, order that the sentence pronounced of one year of imprisonment be executed in fractions and extend over a period not exceeding three years, without any of these fractions being less than two days.

Art. 118 (132) In correctional or contraventional matters, the judge or court may, for serious medical, family, professional, or social reasons, order that the fine be paid in installments over a period not exceeding three years. The same criterion shall be applied to natural persons sentenced to a day-fine.

Subsection 3 – Deprivation of liberty on weekends, holidays,

nighttime and home execution

 

Paragraph 1 – Deprivation of liberty on weekends and holidays

 

Art. 119 (132) In correctional matters, the judge or court may, at the request of the convicted person, for a serious medical, family, professional, or social reason, order that the imposed sentence of one year of imprisonment be served on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, for a number of days equivalent to the sentence, in the same penitentiary designated by the judge or court. If the convicted person incurs two unjustified absences, the judge responsible for sentencing may order that the imprisonment be served uninterruptedly, revoking the concession granted in their favor.

Paragraph 2 – Deprivation of liberty during nighttime execution

Art. 120 (132) In correctional matters, the judge or court may, at the request of the convicted person, for a serious medical, family, professional, or social reason, order that the imposed sentence of one year of imprisonment be served daily from six in the evening until six in the morning of the following day, for a period equivalent to the number of hours of the sentence, in the same penitentiary designated by the judge or court. If the convicted person incurs two unjustified absences, the judge responsible for applying the sentences may order that the imprisonment be served uninterruptedly, revoking the concession granted in their favor.

 

Paragraph 3 – House arrest

Art. 121 (132) In correctional matters, the judge or court may, at the request of the convicted person, order, for serious medical reasons or due to age, that the convicted person serve the imposed sentence of six months in prison, at the address indicated in the sentence, under the supervision of the prison police, at the expense of the convicted person, when it is any of the following cases:

          1st When the person has reached seventy years of age at the time of sentencing;

          2nd When the convicted person is pregnant or has recently given birth at the time the sentence is issued;

          3. When the convicted person needs specialized medical treatment that cannot be provided in the prison;

          4th When the convicted person is physically or mentally disabled.

The judge or court may, at the request of the convicted person, order a change in the residence chosen for serving the prison sentence.

If the convicted person does not comply with the provisions set forth regarding the aforementioned measure, the judge in charge of applying the sentences may order that the prison sentence be carried out in an ordinary penitentiary, revoking the concession granted in his favor.

 

Subsection 4 – Postponement and dispensation of the penalty

 

Paragraph 1 – Postponement of sentence

 

Art. 122 (132) In correctional matters, when the sentence pronounces a penalty of less than five years of imprisonment, the judge or court, after having declared the accused guilty and ruled on the penalty, and if applicable, on the confiscation of dangerous or harmful objects, may postpone the execution of said penalty, in the following cases:

        1° When the accused has not been convicted in the course of the five years preceding the offense, for a crime or offense to a sentence of imprisonment or detention;

        2° When the damages caused by the infringement have been repaired;

        3° When the social disturbance resulting from the infraction has ceased.

The judge or court that pronounces the postponement of the sentence may apply one or more of the penalties that deprive or restrict rights established in article 47.

 

Paragraph 2 – Dispensation from punishment

 

Art. 123 (132) In correctional matters, when the sanction imposed has been a penalty of less than five years of imprisonment, the judge applying the penalties may, in the course of the execution thereof, dispense the convicted person for the time remaining of it, in the following cases:

        1° When the accused has not been convicted in the course of the five years preceding the offense, for a crime or offense, to a sentence of imprisonment or detention;

        2° When the damages caused by the infringement have been repaired;

        3° When the social disturbance resulting from the infringement has ceased;

        4° When it is determined that the rehabilitation of the convicted person has been achieved.

The judge may order that the sentence issued not be included in the corresponding judicial register.

The waiver of the penalty does not extend to the payment of the costs of the process.

The judge applying the sentence may exempt the convicted person from the custodial sentence, as well as from one, several or all of the penalties provided for in article 47, if these have been imposed by the trial judge or court.

Art. 124 (132) The modalities of execution of the postponement and dispensation of the penalty will be established in accordance with regulations provided by Regulations to be voted for that purpose.

CHAPTER THREE – SECURITY MEASURES AND

SOCIO-JUDICIAL MONITORING

 

Section I

Security measures

 

Art. 125 (133) Security measures are the provisions that may be adopted by the judge or court that hears the commission of an offense, in which the imputability of its author has not been characterized, which tend to achieve his rehabilitation, re-education and subsequent social reintegration, in order to avoid the commission of future offenses.

Art. 126 (133) When ordering the adoption of security measures, the judge or court shall take into account the following rules:

        1° They will only be imposed by a sentence of a judge or court empowered to know the substance of the imputable infraction;

        2° Psychiatric or psychological examinations or reports are required, previously authorized or ordered by the judge or court;

        3° They must be reviewed periodically by the judge responsible for applying the sentences;

        4° Since they are not considered a punishment, security measures cannot be imposed with any other sanction;

        5° In these cases, the person subject to the security measure may not leave the establishment or treatment without the prior authorization of the judge applying the penalties;

        6° The judgments ordering these security measures will be executed provisionally, notwithstanding any appeal;

        7° The breach of a security measure empowers the judge to impose another of greater severity.

Art. 127 (133) The security measures are: curative, internment and surveillance.

These are curative measures:

        1° Admission to a psychiatric hospital or a rehabilitation, detoxification or therapy center;

        2. Admission to a special treatment and educational establishment.

It is a measure of confinement:

        Entry into technical or vocational work establishments.

It is a surveillance measure:

        Probation.

Art. 128 (133) Supervised liberty may be imposed as an accessory to curative or internment measures, once these have been fulfilled, and consists of:

        1° The obligation to reside in a certain place for a period not exceeding three years;

        2° In the prohibition of attending certain public places, for a period not exceeding three years;

        3° In the obligation to appear periodically before the judge of application of the penalties, for a period not exceeding three years.

 

Section II

Socio-judicial monitoring

Art. 129 (133) Socio-judicial monitoring is a measure, ordered by the judge or court, whereby the convicted person is obliged to submit to monitoring and assistance controls, under the supervision of the judge responsible for enforcing the sentences, for a duration determined by the trial court. This measure is intended to prevent recidivism and to achieve the rehabilitation, re-education, and subsequent social reintegration of the convicted person.

Art. 130 (133) The duration of socio-judicial monitoring may not exceed ten years, in the case of conviction for a crime; nor twenty years, in the case of conviction for a felony.

The sentence of conviction will set the maximum duration of imprisonment or detention imposed on the convicted person, in case of non-compliance with the obligations placed upon him.

The prison term shall not exceed two years in the case of a conviction for a misdemeanor, nor five years in the case of a conviction for a felony.

The judge or court, after issuing the sentence, will warn the convicted person of the obligations that result from it and the consequences that non-compliance would entail.

Art. 131 (133) The supervision measures applicable to the person sentenced to socio-judicial monitoring are the following:

        1° Respond to the requirements made by the judge responsible for applying the penalties;

        2° Visit the judge in charge of applying the sentences or receive whomever he designates, so that he may communicate the information and documents that allow the control of his means of subsistence and the execution of his obligations;

        3. Inform the judge responsible for applying the sentences about your changes in employment;

        4° Inform the judge responsible for applying the sentences about changes of residence, and any movement whose duration exceeds fifteen days, and render accounts upon return;

        5° Obtain prior authorization from the judge responsible for applying the penalties for any travel abroad and any change of employment or residence, when by their nature these changes hinder the execution of their obligations.

Art. 132 (133) The convicted person may be subjected, by means of the sentence of conviction or by the judge of application of the penalties, to one, several or all of the following obligations:

        1° Not to engage in a professional activity or pursue professional education or training;

        2° Establish their residence in a specific place;

        3° To undergo medical examinations, treatments or care, even under the regime of hospitalization;

        4° Justify that he/she contributes to family expenses or regularly pays the alimony payments he/she owes;

        5° Repair, in whole or in part, according to their economic possibilities, the damages caused by the infringement, even in the absence of a decision on the civil action;

        6° Justify that he pays, according to his economic means, the sums owed to the treasury as a consequence of the conviction;

        7° Refrain from driving certain vehicles according to the license categories provided for by the Vehicle Traffic Law;

        8° Not to engage in the professional activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed;

        9° Refrain from appearing at the specially designated places;

        10° Do not get involved in any kind of gambling or betting;

        11° Do not frequent places where alcoholic beverages are sold or consume them in any other place;

        12° Do not frequently visit some convicts, especially the perpetrators or accomplices of the offense;

        13°Refrain from entering into a relationship with certain people, particularly with the victim of the offense;

        14°Not to own or carry weapons;

        15°Refrain from appearing or showing up in any designated place, and especially in those that usually house or welcome children and adolescents;

        16°Refrain from frequenting or associating with certain people, and especially children and adolescents, except those indicated by the judge or court;

        17°Not to engage in any professional or charitable activity that involves regular contact with children and adolescents.

Art. 133 (133) Socio-judicial monitoring may also include a care order.

This care order may be issued by the trial jurisdiction if it is established, after a forensic medical examination, that the persecuted person is susceptible to treatment.

The judge or court warns the convicted person that no treatment may be carried out without their consent, but that if they refuse the care that will be proposed to them, the imprisonment pronounced in application of the third paragraph of article 130 may be carried out.

When the trial jurisdiction issues a care order, and the person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the judge or court will inform the convicted person about the possibility of starting treatment during the execution of the sentence.

 

Art. 134 (133) When socio-judicial monitoring accompanies a custodial sentence, it is applied, starting from the day on which the deprivation of liberty has ceased, for the term set by the sentence of conviction.

The socio-judicial monitoring will be suspended due to any arrest made during the course of its execution.

The imprisonment ordered for non-compliance with the obligations resulting from the socio-judicial monitoring is added, without possibility of confusion, to the custodial sentences imposed for the offenses committed during the execution of the measure.

Art. 135 (133) Socio-judicial monitoring shall not be ordered at the same time as a suspended prison sentence.

Art. 136 (133) When an infraction is punishable by imprisonment for two years or less and a fine of RD $4,000.00, socio-judicial monitoring may be imposed as the main penalty.

Art. 137 (133) The execution regime of the socio-judicial monitoring will be regulated by the provisions established by the regulations to be issued for this purpose.

CHAPTER FOUR – DEFINITION OF SOME CIRCUMSTANCES THAT INCREASE PENALTIES

Art. 138 (134) An organized gang, in the sense of the law, is any group formed or any agreement established, with the purpose of committing one or more criminal material acts, whether or not they have been carried out.

Art. 139 (134) Premeditation is the design, formed in advance of the commission of the act, in a state of serenity and reflection, to commit a crime or a specific offense.

Stalking consists of cautiously observing or waiting for another person with the purpose of committing a specific crime or offense against them.

Art. 140 (134) Breaking and entering consists of forcing, damaging, or destroying any locking device or any type of fence, wall, enclosure, or any other means intended to prevent passage. The use of false keys, improperly obtained keys, or any instrument that can be fraudulently used to operate a locking device, without forcing or damaging it, is considered equivalent to breaking and entering.

Art. 141 (134) Climbing is the act of entering any place, whether over a closing device or any kind of fence, wall, barrier or any other means intended to prevent passage; or through any opening not intended to serve as an entrance.

Art. 142 (134) A weapon is understood to be any object designed to kill or injure. Any other object capable of constituting a danger to persons is considered a weapon from the moment it is used to kill, injure or threaten, or is intended by the one who carries it to kill, injure or threaten.

Any object that, presenting itself as the weapon defined in the first paragraph of this article, and having an appearance that tends to create confusion, is used to threaten to kill or injure, or is intended by the person carrying it to threaten to kill or injure, is also considered a weapon.

Using an animal to kill or injure is considered equivalent to using a weapon. If the animal's owner is convicted, or if the owner is unknown, the judge or court may decide to send the animal to a recognized public or private animal protection institution, or any other institution designated for such purposes, which may then freely dispose of it.

CHAPTER FIVE – EXTINCTION OF PENALTIES AND SENTENCES

 

Art. 143 (135) The death of the convicted person or the dissolution of the legal entity, except in cases where the dissolution is ordered by the criminal court; pardon and amnesty, prevent or suspend the execution of the sentence. However, the collection of the fine and court costs, or the execution of the confiscation, may proceed after the death of the convicted person or after the dissolution of the legal entity, until the liquidation proceedings are completed.

The statute of limitations for the sentence also prevents its execution.

Rehabilitation also makes the condemnation disappear.

 

Section I

The prescription

 

Art. 144 (135) Subject to the provisions of Article 167, the penalties imposed for the commission of a crime are subject to a statute of limitations of twenty years, which have elapsed from the date on which the sentence of conviction is final and irrevocable.

Art. 145 (135) The penalties imposed for the commission of a crime prescribe after five years, elapsed from the date on which the sentence of conviction is final and irrevocable.

Art. 146 (135) The penalties imposed for the commission of a contravention prescribe after one year, elapsed from the date on which the sentence of conviction is final and irrevocable.

Art. 147 (135) Those convicted in absentia or in default whose sentence has prescribed shall not be allowed to purge the contempt or appeal in opposition, respectively.

Art. 148 (135) Obligations of a civil nature resulting from a final and irrevocable criminal sentence are subject to the rules of the Civil Code.

Section II

The pardon

 

Art. 149 (135) Pardon only entails dispensation from carrying out the sentence.

Art. 150 (135) The pardon does not impede the right of the victim to obtain reparation for the damage caused by the offense.

Section III

The amnesty

 

Art. 151 (135) Amnesty extinguishes imposed sentences. It implies, without giving rise to restitution, the pardon of all imposed penalties. However, amnesty does not prejudice third parties.

Art. 152 (135) It is prohibited for any person who, in the exercise of their duties, becomes aware of criminal convictions, disciplinary sanctions, prohibitions, expirations, or incapacities annulled by the amnesty, to refer to them in any document or in any other form. However, the minutes of judgments or orders are not affected by this prohibition. The amnesty does not impede the execution of the publication ordered as a form of reparation.

 

Section IV

Rehabilitation

 

Art. 153 (135) Every person sentenced to a criminal, correctional or contraventional penalty may benefit from automatic rehabilitation, within the conditions provided by this section, or from judicial rehabilitation, granted under the conditions provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Art. 154 (135) Every natural person already convicted, who has not suffered a new conviction to a criminal or correctional penalty, obtains his rehabilitation by operation of law, under the following conditions:

        1° In the case of a sentence to a fine or day-fine, after a period of three years from the day of payment of the fine or the total amount of the day-fines or from the expiry of the term of imprisonment provided for in Article 66; or from the expiry of the statute of limitations;

        2° In the case of a sentence of one year's imprisonment, or a sentence other than imprisonment, fine or day-fine; after a period of five years, from the execution of the sentence or the fulfillment of the prescription;

        3° In the case of a sentence of ten years' imprisonment, or multiple sentences of imprisonment whose total does not exceed five years, after a period of ten years, counting from the expiration of the sentence suffered or the prescription fulfilled.

Art. 155 (135) Every legal entity already convicted, which has not suffered a new conviction to a criminal or correctional penalty, obtains its rehabilitation by operation of law, under the following conditions:

        1° In the case of a sentence to a fine, after five years, counting from the day of payment of the fine or the expiry of the statute of limitations;

        2° In the case of conviction to a penalty other than a fine, or dissolution, after five years from the execution of the penalty, or the prescription has been fulfilled.

Art. 156 (135) The penalties whose confusion has been arranged are considered to constitute a single penalty for the application of the provisions provided for in the two preceding articles.

Art. 157 (135) Rehabilitation produces the same effects provided for in articles 151, final part, and 152. This eliminates all incapacities and expirations resulting from the conviction.

However, when the person has been sentenced to the socio-judicial monitoring provided for in Article 129 et seq., or to the penalty of disqualification from carrying out a professional or benevolent activity that involves habitual contact with children and adolescents, rehabilitation does not produce its effects until that ceases.

Art. 158 (135) For the application of the rules on rehabilitation, the pardon of the sentence is equivalent to its execution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECOND BOOK

CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST PERSONS

 

 

TITLE ONE – CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

CHAPTER ONE – GENOCIDE

Art. 159 (211) Genocide is the systematic extermination or elimination of a social, national or ethnic group by any means, on account of race, religion, politics or other arbitrary criteria, in execution of a concerted plan to commit or cause to be committed one, several or all of the following acts:

        1st Massacre of members of the group;

        2. Serious injury to the physical or mental integrity of the members;

        3. Intentionally subjecting the group to conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

        4° Measures aimed at preventing births within the group;

        5° Forcible transfer of children or adolescents from one group to another group.

Genocide will be punished with life imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the crime provided for in this Article.

 

CHAPTER TWO – OTHER CRIMES

AGAINST HUMANITY

 

Art. 160 (212) Deportation, reduction to slavery or the mass and systematic practice of summary executions; kidnappings of persons, followed by their disappearance; torture or inhuman acts, inflicted for political, philosophical, racial or religious reasons and organized in execution of a concerted plan against a group of the population, shall be punished with the penalty of life imprisonment.

Art. 161 (212) When the acts indicated in the previous article are committed in time of war, in execution of a concerted plan against those who fight the ideological system in whose name the crimes against humanity are perpetrated, they will be punished with the same penalty.

Art. 162 (212) Participation in a group formed for the purpose of committing one of the crimes defined by Articles 159, 160, and 161 shall be punished with life imprisonment. Participation in an agreement aimed at preparing the commission of such crimes through concrete actions shall be punished with the same penalty.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the crimes provided for in this chapter.

CHAPTER THREE – COMMON PROVISIONS

 

Art. 163 (213) Natural persons guilty of the infractions provided for in this title shall also incur the following penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition from exercising a public function, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72;

        4° The confiscation of all or part of their property.

Art. 164 (213) The prohibition of use of Dominican territory may be imposed, under the conditions provided by the first three paragraphs of article 71, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in this title.

The provisions of the last four paragraphs of Article 71 are not applicable.

Art. 165 (213) Legal persons may be held criminally responsible for crimes against humanity, under the conditions provided for in Article 22.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

        2° The confiscation of all or part of their property.

Art. 166 (213) The responsibility of the author or accomplice of any crime included in this title cannot be excluded by the mere fact that he has performed an act prescribed or authorized by legislative or regulatory provisions, or an act ordered by legitimate authority.

However, the judge or court will take this circumstance into account when determining the sentence.

Art. 167 (213) Public action relating to the crimes included in this title, as well as the penalties imposed, are imprescriptible.

TITLE TWO – ATTACKS AGAINST THE

HUMAN PERSON

CHAPTER ONE – ATTACKS AGAINST

THE LIFE OF THE PERSON

Section I

Voluntary and intentional attacks against life

Art. 168 (221) Homicide is the voluntary and intentional killing of another person by one person. Homicide shall be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.

Art. 169 (221) Homicide that precedes, accompanies or follows another homicide or any other crime, shall be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment.

The same penalty will be imposed on homicide committed with the purpose of preparing or facilitating the commission of another crime or offense, or to facilitate the escape or ensure the impunity of the perpetrator or accomplice of the crime or offense.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 170 (221) Homicide committed with premeditation or ambush constitutes murder. This crime shall be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

However, when the victim is a child or adolescent and the murder has been preceded or accompanied by rape, torture or acts of barbarity, the judge or court may increase the security period to up to forty years.

Art. 171 (221) Homicide shall be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment, if committed:

        1st Against a child or adolescent;

        2nd Against an ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against any of his biological ascendants in any degree, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        3rd Against a collateral relative in the second degree, when this link is apparent or known by the author;

        4th Against a person whose particular vulnerability due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, or pregnancy is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        5° Against the President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of their functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs police officer, warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions or their mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        6th Against a witness, victim or civil party, to prevent him or her from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his or her report, complaint or testimonial statement;

        7th Against a lawyer who has filed, is filing or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        8th Against the spouse, partner or concubine of the offender.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, are applicable to the infringement provided for in this Article.

However, when the victim is a child or adolescent and the homicide is preceded or accompanied by rape, torture or acts of barbarity, the judge or court may, by special decision, increase the security period to thirty years.

Art. 172 (221) The attempt against the life of another, by the use or administration of liquid, solid or gaseous substances, toxic or not, capable of producing death, whatever the way of administering or using it, constitutes poisoning.

Poisoning will be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment.

The penalty will be increased to forty years of imprisonment when it is committed with one of the circumstances provided for in articles 169, 170 and 171.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

 

          Art. 173 (221) Natural persons guilty of homicide, murder or poisoning, preceded or accompanied by rape, torture or acts of barbarity, will be subject to socio-judicial monitoring, according to the modalities provided for in articles 129 to 137.

 

Section II

Unintentional or negligent attacks against life

Art. 174 (221) Whoever, through clumsiness, imprudence, inadvertence, negligence, or violation of a duty of safety or prudence imposed by law or regulations, causes the death of another, commits unintentional or negligent homicide. This homicide shall be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

In case of deliberate noncompliance with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, the applicable penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

The penalties provided for in this article will be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when the person who has committed the offense that caused the death is a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse or other paramedic, medical technologist, midwife or birth attendant, in the performance of their duties or professions.

Art. 175 (221) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided by article 22, for the infraction defined in the previous article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1st The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2. The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3, 8 and 9 of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

In the cases indicated in the second paragraph of the previous article, the penalty mentioned in paragraph 4 of article 81 will also be incurred.

Section III

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

 

Art. 176 (221) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1st The prohibition of exercising, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        2. The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        3. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        4th The cancellation of the driver's license, with a prohibition on requesting the issuance of a new license, for a period not exceeding five years;

        5th The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person.

Art. 177 (221) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in section one of this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1st The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition of exercising a public function, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3. The confiscation provided for in Article 62;

        4th The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72.

Art. 178 (221) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in the second section of this chapter shall also be subject to the additional penalty of publication by posters or dissemination of the sentence, provided for in article 76.

Art. 179 (221) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory shall be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 71, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in section I of this chapter.

CHAPTER TWO – ATTACKS ON INTEGRITY

PHYSICAL OR PSYCHICAL OF THE PERSON

Section I

Voluntary and intentional attacks on the integrity of the person

Paragraph 1 – Torture and acts of barbarity

Art. 180 (222) Torture constitutes any act intentionally inflicted on a person by which physical or mental pain or suffering is inflicted, carried out for the purpose of criminal investigation, or as a means of intimidation, personal punishment, preventive measure, penalty, or for any other purpose. The application to a person of methods intended to annul the victim's personality or to diminish their physical or mental capacity, even if they do not cause physical pain or psychological anguish, shall also be considered torture.

Any act by which cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is inflicted on another in a sadistic and intentional manner constitutes an act of barbarism.

Subjecting a person to torture or acts of barbarity will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 181 (222) The offense defined in the previous article shall be punished with a sentence of forty years' imprisonment, when it precedes, accompanies or follows another crime other than homicide or rape.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 182 (222) The offense defined in article 180 shall be punished with twenty years of imprisonment, when committed to the detriment of:

        1st A child or adolescent;

        2. An ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against his biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        3. A collateral relative in the second degree, when this link is apparent or known to the author;

        4. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy status is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        5. The President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of his functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs policeman, a warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        6th A witness, the aggrieved party or civil party, to prevent him from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his complaint, complaint or testimonial statement;

        7. A lawyer who has filed, is filing, or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        8th The spouse, partner or concubine of the offender;

        9° A woman because of her gender.

        10th Another, after a protection order in favor of the victim has been issued against the offender;

        11th Other, in the family home or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        12th Another, by several people acting as perpetrator or accomplice;

        13th Another, with premeditation or ambush;

        14th Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        15° By a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise, or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions or mission;

The offense defined by article 180 will be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment when it is accompanied by sexual assaults other than rape.

The penalty provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be increased to thirty years of imprisonment, when the offense defined by article 180 is committed against a child or adolescent, by an ascendant, adoptive father or mother, or by any other person who has authority over the child or adolescent.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 183 (222) The offense defined in article 180 shall be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment, when it is committed habitually against a child or adolescent, or to the detriment of a person whose particular vulnerability due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known by the perpetrator.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 184 (222) When the infraction defined in article 180 produces mutilation or permanent disability to the victim, it shall be punished with a sentence of twenty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 185 (222) When an infraction defined in article 180 results in the death of the victim without the intention of causing it, it will be punished with a sentence of thirty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Paragraph 2 – Violence

Art. 186 (222) Violence is any action or omission, public or private, that causes physical or psychological harm or suffering to another.

Art. 187 (222) Violence that has caused death, without the intention of causing it, will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years of imprisonment.

Art. 188 (222) The offense provided for in the previous article shall be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, when committed to the detriment of:

        1st A child or adolescent;

        2. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy status is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        3. An ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against his biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        4. The President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of his functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs policeman, a warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        5th A witness, aggrieved party or civil party, to prevent him from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his complaint, complaint or testimonial statement;

        6. A lawyer who has filed, is filing, or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        7th The spouse, partner or concubine of the offender;

        8° A woman by reason of her gender;

        9th Other, in the family home or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        10th Another, after a protection order in favor of the victim has been issued against the offender;

        11th Another, by a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise, or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission;

        12th Another, by several people acting as perpetrator or accomplice;

        13th Another, with premeditation or ambush;

        14th Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        15th Another, inside a school or educational establishment, or on the occasion of the entrances or exits of students or in the vicinity of such establishments.

The applicable penalty will be increased to thirty years of imprisonment when the offense defined by the previous article is committed against a child or adolescent, by an ascendant, adoptive father or mother, or by any other person who has authority over the child or adolescent.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 189 (222) Violence that has caused total or partial mutilation or permanent disability in the victim will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years of imprisonment.

Art. 190 (222) The offense defined in the previous article shall be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, when committed to the detriment of:

        1st A child or adolescent;

        2. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy status is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        3. An ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against his biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        4° The President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of his functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs policeman, a warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        5th A witness, aggrieved party or civil party, to prevent him from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his complaint, complaint or testimonial statement;

        6. A lawyer who has filed, is filing, or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        7th The spouse, partner or concubine of the offender;

        8° A woman by reason of her gender;

        9th Other, in the family home or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        10th Another, after a protection order in favor of the victim has been issued against the offender;

        11th Another, by a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise, or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission;

        12th Another, by several people acting as perpetrator or accomplice;

        13th Another, with premeditation or ambush;

        14th Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        15th Another, inside a school or educational establishment, or on the occasion of the entrances or exits of students or in the vicinity of such establishments.

The applicable penalty will be increased to thirty years of imprisonment when the offense defined by article 189 is committed against a child or adolescent by an ascendant, adoptive father or mother, or by any other person who has authority over the child or adolescent.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

 

Art. 191 (222) Violence that has resulted in total incapacity for work for more than eight days, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 192 (222) The infraction defined in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00, when committed to the detriment of:

        1st A child or adolescent;

        2. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy status is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        3. An ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against his biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        4° The President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of his functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs policeman, a warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        5th A witness, aggrieved party or civil party, either to prevent him from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his complaint, complaint or testimonial statement;

        6. A lawyer who has filed, is filing, or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        7th The spouse, partner or concubine of the offender;

        8° A woman by reason of her gender;

        9th Other, in the family home or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        10th Another, after a protection order had been issued against him in favor of the victim;

        11th Another, by a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise, or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission;

        12th Another, by several people acting as perpetrator or accomplice;

        13th Another, with premeditation or ambush;

        14th Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        15th Another, inside a school or educational establishment, or on the occasion of the entrances or exits of students or in the vicinity of such establishments.

The penalties will be increased to seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00 when the infraction is committed with two of the circumstances provided for in this article, and will be increased to ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00 when it is committed with three or more of these circumstances.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in the preceding paragraph.

The applicable penalties will be ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when the infraction defined by the previous article is committed against a child or adolescent, by an ascendant, adoptive father or mother, or by any other person who has authority over the child or adolescent.

Art. 193 (222) The acts of violence foreseen in article 191 shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $100,000.00, when they have caused:

        1st Deformation or scar on the victim's face;

        2° Serious psychological disturbance, legally and scientifically proven, temporary or permanent to the victim;

        3. Abortion with or without harmful consequences to the health of the mother or the child;

        4° Bodily injuries from the throwing, sending or application of acids, corrosive, flammable or caustic substances on people.

Art. 194 (222) Violence that has caused total incapacity for work for eight days or less or has not caused any incapacity, without prejudice to the minor violence provided for in Book Five of this Code, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00, when committed against:

        1st A child or adolescent;

        2. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy status is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        3. An ascendant or descendant in any degree, or against his biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or against the adoptive father or mother;

        4° The President or Vice President of the Republic, a judge of the judicial order or of the Central Electoral Board, a representative of the public ministry, a legislator, a public or ministerial official in the exercise of his functions, a member of the Armed Forces or of the National Police in active service, a customs policeman, a warden or prison administrator or any other person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service mission, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission, when the quality of the victim is apparent or known by the author;

        5th A witness, aggrieved party or civil party, to prevent him from reporting the facts, filing a complaint or testifying in court, or by reason of his complaint, complaint or testimonial statement;

        6. A lawyer who has filed, is filing, or will file in a process that incriminates the perpetrator of the offense;

        7th The spouse, partner or concubine of the offender;

        8° A woman by reason of her gender;

        9th Other, in the family home or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        10th Another, after a protection order in favor of the victim has been issued against the offender;

        11th Another, by a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise, or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions or his mission;

        12th Another, by several people acting as perpetrator or accomplice;

        13th Another, with premeditation or ambush;

        14th Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        15th Another, inside a school or educational establishment, or on the occasion of the entrances or exits of students or in the vicinity of such establishments.

The applicable penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00, when the infraction defined in the first paragraph of this article is committed against a child or adolescent, by an ascendant, adoptive father or mother or by any other person who has authority over the child or adolescent.

The penalties will also be increased to five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00 when the offense defined in the first paragraph of this article is committed with two of the circumstances provided for in subsections 1 through 14 of this article. The penalties will be increased to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00 when the offense is committed with three or more of these circumstances.

Art. 195 (222) Habit is understood as the repeated commission of more than two acts of violence, of any kind, in a period of time that leaves no doubt that the offender is accustomed to carrying out such actions.

Habitual violence against children or adolescents; or persons whose particular vulnerability due to their age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, or pregnancy is apparent or known to the perpetrator; or ascendants of any degree, or against biological ascendants when this relationship is apparent or known to the perpetrator; or against the father or mother, or the spouse, partner, or common-law partner of the victim; or one or more women because of their gender, without prejudice to the minor forms of violence provided for in this Code, shall be punished with:

        1° The penalty of thirty years' imprisonment, when they cause the death of the victim;

        2° The penalty of twenty years' imprisonment, when they produce mutilation or permanent disability;

        3° The penalties of ten years in prison and a fine of RD $20,000.00, when they produce total incapacity for work for more than eight days;

        4° The penalties of five years in prison and a fine of RD $10,000.00, when they produce total incapacity for work for eight days or less.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the cases provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article.

Art. 196 (222) The act of administering or applying substances harmful to the health or physical or mental integrity of another, will be punished with the penalties mentioned in articles 187 to 195, according to the distinctions provided in these articles.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement in the same cases provided for by these articles.

Art. 197 (222) Telephone calls or calls by any other telecommunications device; or sound aggressions, which are malicious and repeated, against the recipient or any member of his family and disturb his peace, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and RD $3,000.00 of fine.

In the cases provided for in this article, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the party that considers itself aggrieved, or a complaint from its legal representative or its successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or their attorney with special and express power of attorney.

Paragraph 3 – Fights or brawls

        Art. 198 (222) A fight or brawl is constituted by actions of physical violence, in which several people are involved, in a confused manner, without it being possible to individualize the acts of each one.

Anyone who participates in a fight or brawl, whether or not any type of work incapacity has been caused to one or more of the participants, will be punished with six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

This article shall not apply to those who intervene in a fight or brawl only to separate the combatants.

If the death of one or more people has occurred as a result of the fight or brawl, the penalties will be increased for participants who did not cause it or were not accomplices, to two years in prison and a fine of RD$4,000.00.

If, as a result of the fight or brawl, permanent injury has been caused to one or more people, or if at the time of this event the participants carried visible or hidden weapons, the penalties will be one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00.

 

Paragraph 4 – The threats

Art. 199 (222) For the purposes of this Code, threats constitute acts, words or deliberate gestures in which the intention to inflict any harm on another person, affecting their person or property, or a third party, without legitimate reason and without transcending to another crime by the means or purpose employed, are announced to another person.

Threats to commit a crime or an offense whose attempt is punishable, against persons, and whose circumstances make the consummation of the act seem plausible, when it is repeated or materialized in writing, image or any other means, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

The penalties will be increased to three years in prison and a fine of RD$6,000.00 when this act is committed:

        1st Announcing death to another;

        2nd The offender is visibly carrying a weapon;

        3. To the detriment of one or more members of the victim's family; or against any person with whom a cohabiting relationship is or has been maintained; or against the person with whom a child has been procreated; in such a way as to cause physical or psychological harm to their person, or damage to their property;

        4th In the family home, against or in the presence of children or adolescents;

        5th After a protection order has been issued against the offender in favor of the victim;

        6° To the detriment of a woman because of her gender.

Art. 200 (222) The threat, by any means whatsoever, to commit a crime or offense against persons, when committed under order or demanding the fulfillment of a condition, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00, when this act is committed in any of the circumstances listed in the previous article.

Art. 201 (222) In the cases provided for in this paragraph, the public action may not be exercised, except after a complaint from the party that considers itself aggrieved, or a complaint from its legal representative or its successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or their attorney with special and express power of attorney.

Paragraph 5 – Domestic or intrafamily violence

        Art. 202 (222) Domestic or intrafamily violence is constituted by the acts typified in articles 186 to 199, 427, 431, 438 and 439, when committed by the father, mother, guardian, custodian, spouse, ex-spouse, cohabitant, ex-cohabitant or consensual partner or person under whose authority or care the family is, with the use of physical or psychological force, or through intimidation or persecution, against one or more members of the family or against any person with whom a cohabitation relationship is maintained or has been maintained; or against the person with whom a child has been procreated, in such a way that it causes physical or psychological damage to his person or damage to his property. These acts will be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of articles 187 to 195, 199, 200, 427 to 429, 431 to 433, 434 paragraphs 2, 5, 6 and 435 to 439.

Paragraph 6 – Protection Orders

Art. 203 (222) Protection orders are provisional and precautionary provisions that may be issued by the public prosecutor as the judge of the complaint, but always before the taking of power by a jurisdiction or court; the investigating judge while conducting the summary proceedings; the trial judge or court once taken power and the judge of application of the penalties, as a measure intended to prevent the commission, omission or repetition of offenses to the detriment of one or more members of the family, or against any person with whom a cohabitation relationship is maintained or has been maintained; or against the person with whom a child has been procreated, in such a way as to cause physical or psychological harm to their person or damage to their property.

These measures will only apply to the offenses referred to in the previous paragraph of this section, regarding domestic or intrafamily violence, and may be imposed together with the decision or judgment on the merits concerning any of these offenses, for a period not exceeding three months; this period may also be extended by a reasoned decision or judgment by the judge or court in charge.

Protection orders are not subject to any appeal, but may be appealed simultaneously with the decision of instruction or the judgment of the judge or trial court that removes the power.

 

Art. 204 (222) The aforementioned public authorities may issue one, several or all of the following protection orders:

        1° Exclude the offender or potential offender from the home, temporarily, as a measure intended to prevent further acts of violence;

        2° Prevent him from approaching the victim's place of residence or work;

        3° Prevent him from establishing any type of contact with the victim for a period of time;

        4° Prevent him from moving the common children without the consent of his partner, cohabitant or ex-cohabitant;

        5° Grant the victim temporary custody of the children she has had with the offender;

        6° Order the replacement of the destroyed or hidden goods;

        7° Order the internment of the victim in shelters or refuges run by public or private organizations;

        8° Order the provision of health services, as required by the victim, and guidance for the entire family, provided by public or private organizations;

        9° Order him to submit financial reports regarding the common assets or businesses;

        10° Prevent the alienation, disposal, concealment or transfer of the victim's own property or common property.

 

Section II

Voluntary and negligent attacks against the integrity of people

 

Art. 205 (222) Anyone who, through clumsiness, imprudence, inadvertence, negligence, or violation of a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, causes another person to be totally incapacitated for work for more than three months, shall be punished with two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

In case of deliberate noncompliance with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, the applicable penalties will be increased to three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

         Art 206 (222) The act of causing another person, through deliberate noncompliance with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, a total incapacity for work lasting no more than three months, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 207 (222) When the person who has committed the offense that caused the damage is a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse or other paramedic, medical technologist, midwife or birth attendant, in the performance of their functions or trades, the penalties provided for in articles 205 and 206 will be increased to five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 208 (222) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 205 and 206.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80.

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 8° and 9° of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed.

In the cases mentioned in the second paragraph of article 205, the penalty mentioned in paragraph 4 of article 81 will also be imposed.

Section III

Sexual assaults

Art. 209 (222) Sexual assault constitutes any sexual attack committed with violence, coercion, threat or deception.

When this act is committed abroad against a child or adolescent, by a Dominican or by a resident in the Dominican territory, Dominican law will apply, by derogation of the second paragraph of article 14 and the provisions of the final part of article 16.

Paragraph 1 – Violation

Art. 210 (222) Sexual rape constitutes any act of sexual penetration, of any nature whatsoever, committed against a person by means of violence, coercion, threat or deception; and shall be punished with a sentence of fifteen years of imprisonment.

Art. 211 (222) Sexual rape shall be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment when committed against:

        1° Other, causing mutilation or permanent disability in the victim;

        2. A child or adolescent;

        3. A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        4° An ascendant or descendant in any degree or by biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or by the adoptive father or mother; or by any person with authority over the victim;

        5th Another, by a person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        6° Another, by several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices;

        7° Other, with use or threat of use of a weapon;

        8° Another, when the victim has been put in contact with the perpetrator of the acts by the dissemination of messages intended for an undetermined public or through a telecommunications network.

Art. 212 (222) Rape, when it causes the death of the victim, will be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 213 (222) Rape, when preceded, accompanied or followed by torture or acts of barbarity, shall be punished with a sentence of forty years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Paragraph 2 – Other sexual assaults

Art. 214 (222) Sexual assaults other than rape will be punished with five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 215 (222) Sexual assaults other than rape will be punished with seven years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when committed:

        1° Causing injury or wound to the victim;

        2nd By an ascendant or descendant in any degree or by biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known by the author; or by the adoptive father or mother; or by any person with authority over the victim;

        3° By a person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        4th By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices;

        5° With the use or threat of use of a weapon;

        6° By putting the victim in contact with the perpetrator through the dissemination of messages intended for an undetermined public or through a telecommunications network;

        7. In a relationship where there was no free consent from both partners;

        8° Forcing or inducing your partner, against their will, to participate or become involved in a sexual relationship with third parties.

Art. 216 (222) Sexual assaults other than rape shall be punished with seven years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when committed against:

        1. A child or adolescent;

        2° A person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment or pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator.

Art. 217 (222) The infraction defined in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00, when committed:

        1° Causing injury or wound to the victim;

        2nd By an ascendant or descendant in any degree or by biological ascendants, when this link is apparent or known by the author; or by the adoptive father or mother; or by any person with authority over the victim;

        3° By a person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        4° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices;

        5° With use or threat of use of a weapon.

Art. 218 (222) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in articles 214 to 217 shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 219 (222) Sexual exhibitionism is defined as any act of visible exposure of the genitals in a place accessible to the public. This act shall be punished with imprisonment for one year and a fine of RD$2,000.00.

Paragraph 3 – Sexual Harassment

Article 220 (222) Sexual harassment consists of pressuring, pursuing, or bothering another person with demands, orders, or threats; imposing coercion or exerting serious pressure, in order to obtain sexual favors for oneself or for third parties, by a person who abuses the authority conferred upon them by their position. This offense shall be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00.

 

Section IV

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

 

Art. 221 (222) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        3. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        4° The cancellation of the driver's license with the prohibition of applying for a new license for a period of no more than five years;

        5° The confiscation of one or more vehicles belonging to the convicted person;

        6° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        7° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction or that has been its product.

Art. 222 (222) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in sections I and III of this chapter shall be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

        1° Interdiction, according to the modalities provided for in article 67 of the civic, civil and family rights;

        2° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function;

        3. The prohibition, either permanently or for a period not exceeding ten years, of carrying out a charitable activity that involves regular contact with children or adolescents.

 

Art. 223 (222) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in section II of this chapter shall be subject to the supplementary penalty of publication or dissemination by posters of the sentence, provided for in article 76.

Art. 224 (222) In the cases provided for by articles 180 to 196, 210 to 217, the interdiction of residence may be imposed as a supplementary penalty, according to the modalities provided for by article 72.

Art. 225 (222) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided by article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions included in articles 180 to 188 and 190, in subsections 1 and 2 of article 195, and articles 210 to 213, 217, as well as in the cases included in the second paragraph of article 196.

Art. 226 (222) Persons guilty of the offenses included in Articles 210 to 219 may also be sentenced to socio-judicial monitoring, according to the modalities provided for in Articles 129 to 137.

CHAPTER THREE – ENDANGERING THE PERSON

Section I

Risks caused to another

Art. 227 (223) The act of directly exposing another person to an immediate risk of death or injury, of such a nature that it may produce mutilation or permanent disability, by the manifestly deliberate violation of a particular obligation of safety or prudence imposed by law or regulation, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 228 (223) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible for the offense defined by the previous article under the conditions provided for in article 80.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3, 8 and 9 of article 81. The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

Section II

Abandonment of a person who cannot protect themselves

Art. 229 (223) The act of abandoning, in any place, a person who cannot protect himself due to his age or physical or mental condition, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 230 (223) Abandonment that produces mutilation or permanent disability will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment.

Abandonment that causes the death of the victim will be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.

Section III

Obstruction of the measures of

assistance and failure to provide aid or assistance

 

Art. 231 (223) The act of voluntarily obstructing the arrival of rescue or aid intended to help a person escape imminent danger, or to combat a disaster that presents a threat to the safety of

 The individuals will be punished with seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Art. 232 (223) Anyone who, being able to prevent by his immediate action, without risk to himself or to third parties, the commission of a crime or offense against the bodily integrity of another person, voluntarily abstains from doing so, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed on anyone who voluntarily refrains from providing assistance to a person in danger, which, without risk to himself or to third parties, he could provide through his personal action, or by procuring help or aid.

Art. 233 (223) Anyone who voluntarily refrains from taking or promoting measures that allow, without risk to himself or to third parties, combating a disaster that may constitute a danger to the safety of persons, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Section IV

Experiments with human beings

Art. 234 (223) The act of carrying out or having carried out on a person a biomedical investigation, without having obtained the free, prior and express consent of the interested party, of the holders of parental authority or of the guardian in the cases provided for by the legal provisions, will be sanctioned with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and RD $6,000.00 of fine.

The same penalties apply when biomedical research is conducted after consent has been withdrawn.

Art. 235 (223) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infraction defined in the previous article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

Section V

Illegal termination of pregnancy

Art. 236 (223)The interruption of pregnancy, at any time, without the consent of the interested party, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 237 (223) Both the person who performs the interruption of pregnancy at any time, and the woman who consents to it, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

This offense, when committed habitually, will be punished with seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Anyone who, by any means or procedure, causes an injury or illness in a fetus that seriously impairs its normal development, or causes a serious physical or mental disability in it, will be punished with five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this article will be punished with the same penalties.

The interruption of a pregnancy performed on a woman, as a result of which her death occurs, will be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.

Art. 238 (223) Providing a woman with the material means to perform an abortion on herself shall be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00. When this act is committed habitually, the penalties shall be increased to five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 239 (223) A woman who, as a result of rape, non-consensual assisted reproductive technology, or incest, becomes pregnant and causes the termination of the pregnancy of the child thus conceived or allows another to cause it, shall be punished with six months' imprisonment and a fine of RD$2,500.00. The same penalty shall apply to any third party who causes the termination of the pregnancy under these circumstances.

Section VI

Incitement to suicide

 

Art. 240 (223) The act of instigating the suicide of another, whether completed or attempted, will be punished with three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

When the victim of the offense is a child or adolescent, the penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 241 (223) Advertising or publicity, whatever the form, in favor of products, objects or methods advertised as means of committing suicide, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 242 (223) When the crimes provided for in the preceding articles are committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

 

Section VII

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

Art. 243 (223) Natural persons guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 229 to 234, 236 to 241 shall be subject to the interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67.

Art. 244 (223) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in articles 229, 230, 234, 236 to 241 shall be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

        1° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, for a period not exceeding five years, of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        2. Confiscation as defined in Article 62. In the cases provided for in Articles 240 and 241, documents or objects, visual or auditory, that have served to commit the offense may be seized or confiscated. The judge or court may also order the destruction of all or part of these documents or objects;

        3° The definitive closure or for a period not exceeding five years, of one or more of the establishments of the company that served to commit the infraction.

In the case provided for in article 234, exclusion from participating in public competitions may be pronounced on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding five years.

Art. 245 (223) Natural persons guilty of the offense provided for in article 227 shall be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

        1° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        2° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization;

        3° Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years, and this suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        4° Cancellation of the driver's license, with a prohibition on requesting the issuance of a new license for a period of no more than five years.

Art. 246 (223) Natural persons guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 236 and 237 shall be subject, in addition to the penalties mentioned in those articles, to the prohibition of exercising an activity of a medical or paramedical nature, for a period not exceeding five years.

Art. 247 (223)Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in articles 227 and 234 shall be subject to the supplementary penalty of publication by posters or dissemination of the sentence, provided for in article 76.

CHAPTER FOUR – ATTACKS ON FREEDOMS

OF THE PERSON

Section I

 Arrest, abduction and kidnapping

Art. 248 (224) Arrest is to apprehend or detain a person to deprive him of his liberty.

Kidnapping is taking a person away using deception or violence, for sexual purposes.

Kidnapping is the abduction that is done without sexual purposes, but with the purpose of keeping the kidnapped people hidden, in order to demand money, the release of one or more prisoners or the fulfillment of any other condition, in exchange for granting them freedom.

The act of arresting, abducting or kidnapping one or more persons without an order from the constituted authorities and outside the cases provided for by law, will be punished with a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

However, if the arrested, abducted, or kidnapped person is voluntarily released before the fifth day has passed after their deprivation of liberty, the penalties will be five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00, except in the cases provided for in the following article

 

 

Art. 249 (224) When the infraction foreseen in the previous article has caused mutilation or permanent incapacity, intentionally caused, or as a result of arrest, abduction or kidnapping, or deprivation of food or care, it shall be punished with the penalty of thirty years of imprisonment.

When such offense is preceded or accompanied by torture or acts of barbarity, or when it is followed by the death of the victim, the penalty shall be increased to forty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

 

Art. 250 (224) When the infraction foreseen by article 248 is committed in an organized gang or with any other plurality of agents, to the detriment of one or more persons, it will be punished with the penalty of thirty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

However, if the detained or kidnapped person is voluntarily released within the period provided for in the third paragraph of article 248, the offender will be subject to the penalties of ten years in prison and a fine of RD $20,000.00, unless the victim, or one of the victims, has suffered one of the attacks on their physical integrity mentioned in the previous article.

Art. 251 (224)If the person arrested, abducted or kidnapped has been so as a hostage, to prepare or facilitate the commission of a crime or offense; or to favor the escape or ensure the impunity of the perpetrator or accomplice of a crime or offense; or to obtain the execution of an order or a condition, particularly the payment of a ransom, the offense provided for in article 248, shall be punished with the penalty of thirty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

Except in the cases provided for in article 249, if the person taken hostage under the conditions defined in the first paragraph of this article is voluntarily released before the fifth day has passed after the day of their deprivation of liberty, without the order or condition having been executed, the penalties will be ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00.

Art. 252 (224) When the victim of one of the crimes provided for in articles 248 to 251 is a child or adolescent, if the offense is punishable by a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment, the sentence will be increased to forty years' imprisonment; and if the offense is punishable by a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, the sentence will be increased to thirty years' imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply in the cases provided for in this Article.

Section II

Diversion of aircraft, ships or any other means of transport

Art. 253 (224) The act of seizing or taking control by violence or threat of violence, of an aircraft, ship or any other means of transport, or any fixed platform, on board which there are persons, shall be punished with the penalty of twenty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

 

Art. 254 (224) When the offense defined in the previous article is accompanied by torture or acts of barbarity, or if it results in the death of one or more persons, it shall be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

Art. 255 (224) The act of communicating false information that compromises the safety of an aircraft in flight or a ship, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Attempted violations of the offense described in this article shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section III

Attacks on other means of transport

Art. 256 (224) The act of stopping or diverting, by any means, without justified cause, a vehicle or other means of transport, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Art. 257 (224) The act of derailing or overturning, by any means, a vehicle or other means of transport, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When the rollover or derailment causes injuries to one or more people, the penalties will be ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00; if a permanent disability results in one or more people, the penalty will be twenty years of imprisonment; and if one or more people die, the penalty will be thirty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to this infringement.

Art. 258 (224) The act of throwing any object against a vehicle or other means of transport in motion, except in the case in which as a consequence of this act an offense is committed punishable by a more serious penalty, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 259 (224) The act of preventing, hindering or obstructing the normal functioning of land, water or air transport, or public services of communications, electricity or energy substances, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

 

Section IV

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

Art. 260 (224) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

          1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition of exercising a public function or exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization.

CHAPTER FIVE – ATTACKS ON THE

DIGNITY OF THE PERSON

Section I

Discrimination

Art. 261 (225) Discrimination constitutes any unequal or degrading treatment between natural persons on account of their origin, age, sex, family situation, health status, disabilities, customs, political opinions, union activities; belonging or non-belonging, supposed or real, to a specific ethnicity, nation, race or religion.

It also constitutes discrimination any unequal treatment given by some or all members of a legal entity to a natural person, on account of their origin, age, sex, family situation, health status, disabilities, customs, political opinions, union activities, membership or non-membership, alleged or real, to a particular ethnicity, nation, race or religion.

Art. 262 (225) The discrimination defined in the previous article, committed with respect to a natural or legal person, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00, when it consists of:

        1. Refusing to supply a good or a service;

        2°To obstruct the normal exercise of any economic activity;

        3° To refuse to hire, or impose sanctions or dismiss a person;

        4° Subordinate the supply of a good or service to a condition based on one of the elements indicated in the previous article;

        5° Subordinate an offer of employment to a condition based on one of the elements indicated in the previous article.

Art. 263 (225) The provisions of the preceding article shall not apply to discriminations based on:

        1° Regarding the state of health, when these consist of operations that aim to prevent and cover the risk of death, attacks on physical integrity or risk of work incapacity or disability;

        2° Regarding the state of health or incapacity, when these consist of the refusal to hire or grant license based on medically verified ineptitude, as provided by labor and social security legislation or laws relating to the performance of public functions.

In the cases provided for in this section, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the party that considers itself aggrieved, or a complaint from its legal representative or its successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or their attorney with special and express power of attorney.

Art. 264 (225) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in article 262.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 8° and 9° of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

Section II

Pimping and related offenses

 

Art. 265 (225) The act or office of a pimp constitutes pimping.

A pimp is understood to be a person who, for profit, intervenes to facilitate illicit sexual relations, by any of the following means:

        1. To help, assist or protect the prostitution of another;

        2° To profit from the prostitution of another, to share the income or to receive the subsidies of a person who habitually engages in prostitution;

        3° To hire, take or divert a person to or into prostitution or to exert pressure on them to prostitute themselves or continue prostituting themselves;

        4° To perform intermediary duties between two people, one of whom engages in prostitution and the other exploits or remunerates the prostitution of another;

        5° Facilitating a pimp's justification of fictitious resources;

        6° Not being able to justify the resources corresponding to their lifestyle, living with a person who habitually engages in prostitution or being in habitual relationships with one or more people who engage in it;

        7° Obstructing the prevention, control, assistance or re-education action undertaken by qualified bodies with respect to persons at risk of falling into prostitution or who engage in it.

Pimping will be punished with five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 266 (225) Pimping shall be punished with ten years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when committed:

        1. Regarding a child or adolescent;

        2° With respect to a person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, or a physical or mental deficiency or pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        3. Regarding several people;

        4° With respect to a person who has been incited to engage in prostitution, whether outside the territory of the Republic, or upon arrival in the territory of the Republic;

        5° By an ascendant in any degree, or against the adoptive mother or father, when this link is apparent or known by the author, of the person who prostitutes himself; or of a person who has authority over this person, or abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        6° By a person called upon to participate, by virtue of their duties, in the fight against prostitution, the protection of health or the maintenance of public order;

        7° By a person carrying a weapon;

        8° By using coercion, violence or fraudulent maneuvers;

        9° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices, without these constituting an organized gang.

        10° By means of the dissemination of messages intended for an undetermined public of a telecommunications circuit.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 267 (225) The pimping foreseen in the previous article when committed in an organized gang, will be punished with the penalty of twenty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 268 (225) When pimping is committed by resorting to torture or acts of barbarity, it will be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 269 (225) It shall be punished with a sentence of ten years' imprisonment and

RD$20,000.00 fine, for the act committed by anyone, acting directly or through an intermediary, for:

        1° That he holds, manages, exploits, directs, operates, finances or contributes to financing a prostitution establishment;

        2° Anyone who, owning, managing, operating, running, financing or contributing to financing any establishment open to the public or used for the public, habitually accepts or tolerates that one or more persons engage in prostitution within the establishment or its annexes, or seek clients for prostitution there;

        3° To sell or make available to one or more persons, premises or compartments not used by the public, knowing that such persons will engage in prostitution there.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article.

 

Art. 270 (225) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 271 (225) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in articles 265 to 269.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

Section III

Working and living conditions contrary to human dignity

Art. 272 ​​(225) The act of obtaining from a natural person, the supply of services without remuneration or in exchange for manifestly derisory remuneration, with respect to the type and relevance of the work performed, abusing their economic vulnerability or situation of dependence, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 273 (225) The act of subjecting a person to working or housing conditions incompatible with human dignity, abusing their economic vulnerability or situation of dependency, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 274 (225) When the infractions foreseen in articles 272 and 273 are committed against several persons, they will be sanctioned with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 275 (225) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in articles 272 to 274.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

        3° The confiscation of the property intended to house people and which has served to commit the infraction foreseen in article 273.

Section IV

Attacks on the respect due to the dead

Art. 276 (225) Any attack on the integrity of a corpse, by any means whatsoever, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

The violation or desecration, by any means whatsoever, of tombs, graves or monuments erected in memory of the dead, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

When the infractions foreseen in the preceding paragraph are accompanied by attacks on the integrity of the corpse, the penalties will be increased to two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 277 (225) When the infractions provided for in the previous article are committed by reason of the belonging or non-belonging, real or supposed, of the deceased persons, to a specific ethnicity, nation, race or religion, the penalties will be increased to three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00, for the infractions provided for in the first two paragraphs of article 276; and to five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00, for the infraction defined in the last paragraph of said article.

Art. 278 (225) Anyone who, without prior authorization from a competent official, buries or exhumes the corpse of an individual, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Art. 279 (225) In the cases provided for in this section, public action may not be exercised except after the complaint or denunciation of the heirs, successors or assigns of the deceased.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the persons indicated above or their attorney provided with special and express power.

Section V

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

Art. 280 (225) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in sections I and III of this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. The prohibition of the rights provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 67, for a period not exceeding five years;

        2° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced, under the conditions provided for in article 76;

        3° The closure, for a period not exceeding five years or on a permanent basis, of one, several, or all of the establishments of the company belonging to the convicted person;

        4. Exclusion from participating in public competitions on a permanent basis or for a period not exceeding five years

        5° The confiscation of the property intended to house people and which has served to commit the infraction foreseen in article 273.

 

Art. 281 (225) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in section II of this chapter shall be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3° The interdiction of residence;

        4°The prohibition of exploiting, directly or indirectly, the establishments open to the public or used by the public, listed in the sentence of conviction, and of being employed there in any capacity whatsoever, and of taking and keeping any financial participation in such establishments;

        5° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization;

        6° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of leaving the territory of the Republic.

Art. 282 (225) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be pronounced under the conditions provided in article 70 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in section II of this chapter.

 

Section VI

Provisions common to natural persons and legal persons

 

Art. 283 (225) Natural or legal persons guilty of one of the infractions provided for in article 269 shall be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The definitive cancellation of the authorization to operate an establishment selling alcoholic beverages or a restaurant;

        2° The closure, either permanently or for a period not exceeding five years, of the entire establishment or the parts thereof used for prostitution;

        3° The confiscation of the property intended to house people and which has served to commit the infraction foreseen in article 273.

Art. 284 (225) The temporary closure provided for in the second paragraph of the preceding article entails the suspension of the authorization to operate an establishment selling alcoholic beverages or a restaurant for the same period. The expiration date of said authorization is suspended during the period of said closure.

The definitive closure provided for in the previous article entails the definitive cancellation of the authorization to operate an establishment selling alcoholic beverages or a restaurant.

Art. 285 (225) The following sanctions will be imposed on natural or legal persons guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 265 to 269:

        1° The confiscation of movable property that has served directly or indirectly to commit the offense, as well as the values ​​or goods resulting from the offense that are held by a person other than the one who engages in prostitution;

        2° Reimbursement of the repatriation expenses of the victim(s).

CHAPTER SIX – ATTACKS ON PERSONALITY

 

Section I

Attacks on privacy

 

Art. 286 (226) The act of voluntarily violating the privacy of another person's private life by capturing, recording, or transmitting, without the victim's consent, words spoken in private or confidentially; by fixing, recording, or transmitting the image of a person in a private place without their consent; or by any other action, shall be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00:

When the acts mentioned in this article are committed in full view of the interested parties, without them having objected, being able to do so, their consent is presumed.

Art. 287 (226) The act of keeping, carrying or allowing to be brought to the knowledge of the public or a third party, any record or document obtained with the help of one of the acts provided for in the previous article, will be sanctioned with the penalties provided for in said article.

When the crime foreseen by the preceding paragraph is committed by means of the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws that govern these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 288 (226) In the cases provided for by the two previous articles, the public action cannot be exercised, except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a complaint from his legal representative or successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 289 (226) The act of manufacturing, importing, possessing, displaying, offering, renting or selling, without official authorization whose conditions of granting are set by the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications, devices designed to carry out the operations that may constitute the infraction provided for in the second paragraph of article 301, or that, designed for the remote detection of conversations, allow the infractions provided for in article 286 to be committed, will be sanctioned with the penalties provided for in article 286.

Likewise, promoting devices that allow the commission of the offenses provided for in article 286 and the second paragraph of article 301, when such promotion constitutes an incitement to commit this offense, will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 290 (226) Strangers who, by means of maneuvers, threats, acts of force or coercion, outside of the cases in which the law allows it, enter or remain within the home or dwelling of another, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 291 (226) Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 292 (226) Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the offenses provided for in this section.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1st The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2. The prohibition, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding five years, of directly or indirectly exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        3. Publication by posters or dissemination of the sentence pronounced, under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Section II

Attacks against people through staged events

 

Art. 293 (226) The act of publishing, by any means whatsoever, the montage made with the words or image of a person, without their consent, without specifying that it is a montage, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

When the crime foreseen by the preceding paragraph is committed by means of the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws that govern these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 294 (226) In the cases provided for by the previous article, the public action may not be exercised, except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a complaint from his legal representative or successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 295 (226) The provisions set forth in Articles 291 and 292 shall apply to this section.

Section III

Slanderous accusation

 

Art. 296 (226) The complaint, made by any means and directed against a specific person, of an act of such a nature that entails judicial, administrative or disciplinary sanctions and that the person making it knows that it is totally or partially inaccurate, when it is directed to a member of the judicial police, or to an authority that has the power to process it or to empower the competent authority, or to the hierarchical superiors or the employer of the person denounced, will be sanctioned with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and RD $10,000.00 of fine.

The falsity of the reported fact will necessarily result from the judgment or decision of dismissal, acquittal or non-applicability, which has acquired the authority of the irrevocably judged res judicata of dismissal; and which declares that the reality of the fact has not been established; or that this is not attributable to the person reported.

In all other cases, when the reported fact has not given rise to criminal prosecutions, the judge or court in charge of the prosecutions against the complainant will assess the relevance or merit of the accusations made by the latter.

Art. 297 (226) When the reported fact has given rise to criminal prosecutions, no ruling can be made on the prosecutions carried out against the author of the report, except after the sentence or decision that definitively ends the procedure concerning the reported fact.

Art. 298 (226) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided by article 22 for the infraction defined in article 296.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1st The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2. The prohibition, either permanently or for a period not exceeding five years, of directly or indirectly exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        3. Publication by posters or dissemination of the sentence pronounced, under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Section IV

Breach of secrecy

Paragraph 1 – Breach of professional secrecy

Art. 299 (226) The act of revealing information of a secret nature, carried out by a person depositing the same, whether by status or profession, or by reason of a function or a temporary mission, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 300 (226) The preceding article shall not apply in cases where the law mandates or authorizes the disclosure of the secret. It shall also not apply:

        1st Anyone who reports to judicial, medical or administrative authorities abuses or deprivations, including sexual assaults, of which they have become aware and which have been inflicted on a child or adolescent, or on a person who is unable to protect themselves due to their age or physical or mental condition;

        2nd To the doctor who, with the consent of the victim, makes known to the competent judicial authorities the abuses that he has observed in the exercise of his profession and that allow him to presume the commission of sexual violence or of any physical nature.

Paragraph 2 – Violation of the secrecy of correspondence or private documents

Art. 301 (226) The act, committed in bad faith, of opening, suppressing, delaying or diverting correspondence or private documents, whether or not they have reached their destination and addressed to third parties; or fraudulently obtaining knowledge of said correspondence or private documents, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for the act committed in bad faith of intercepting, diverting, using or disclosing correspondence or private documents issued, transmitted or received through telecommunications; or proceeding to install devices designed to carry out such interceptions.

Art. 302 (226) In the cases provided for in this section, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a report from his legal representative or successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section V

Attacks on the rights of registered individuals

or stored in catalogs, files or computerized systems

 

Art. 303 (226) The act, even if committed by negligence, of accessing or making access to procedures, processing or automated processes of nominative information, without respecting the formalities prior to its use, provided by law, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 304 (226) The act of accessing or making access to procedures, processing or automated processes of nominative information, without taking the useful measures to preserve the security of this information and particularly prevent it from being distorted, damaged or communicated to unauthorized third parties, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 305 (226) The act of collecting data by fraudulent, unfair or unlawful means, or accessing a procedure, processing or process of nominative information concerning a natural person, despite the opposition of this person, when this opposition is based on legitimate reasons, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The same penalties will apply when the act in question is committed for the purpose of conducting research in the field of health:

        1° Without having informed individuals individually and in advance about the source from which the nominative data is received or transmitted, their right of access, rectification and opposition, the nature of the information transmitted and the recipients of the data;

        2° Notwithstanding the opposition of the person concerned, or when provided for by law, in the absence of clear and express consent of the person, or, if it concerns a deceased person, notwithstanding the refusal expressed by the person while alive.

Art. 306 (226) The act of inserting or keeping in computerized memory, without the express knowledge of the interested party, nominative information that, directly or indirectly, allows one to know the racial origins or political, philosophical or religious opinions or union affiliations or customs of persons, outside of the cases provided for by law, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Inserting or storing in computerized memory, nominative information concerning offenses, convictions or security measures affecting individuals, outside of the cases provided for by law, will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 307 (226) The act committed by any holder of nominative information or in the field of health, on the occasion of its registration, classification, transmission or any other form of processing, of diverting this information from its original purpose, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 308 (226) The act committed by any person who has received, on the occasion of its registration, classification, transmission or any other form of processing, nominative information whose disclosure has the effect of infringing upon the consideration of the interested party or the privacy of his private life, of taking, without the authorization of the interested party, this information to the knowledge of a third party who does not have the quality to receive it, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

When the disclosure provided for in the preceding paragraph has been committed through recklessness or negligence, the penalties will be six months in prison and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

Art. 309 (226) The provisions of Articles 304 to 306 shall apply to non-automated or typewritten files whose use does not exclusively concern the exercise of the right to privacy.

Art. 310 (226) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 303 to 307 and 309, as well as in the first paragraph of article 308.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 7°, 8° and 9°, of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

Art. 311 (226) In the cases provided for in this section, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a report from his legal representative or successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section VI

Attacks on the person resulting from the genetic study of their

characteristics or identification by their genetic codes

Art. 312 (226) The act of proceeding to the study of the genetic characteristics of a person for medical purposes without having previously obtained their consent, under the conditions provided by law, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 313 (226) The act of diverting from its medical or scientific research purposes, the information obtained from a person through the study of their genetic characteristics, will be punished with the penalties provided for in the previous article.

Art. 314 (226) The act of investigating the identification of a person by their genetic codes for medical purposes without obtaining their prior consent, under the conditions provided by law, will be punished with the penalties provided for in article 312.

Art. 315 (226) The act of investigating the identification of a person by their genetic codes for purposes other than medical or scientific purposes, or outside the case of an investigative measure or information carried out in the course of a judicial process, will be punished with the penalties provided for in article 312.

The same penalties will be imposed for disclosing information relating to the identification of a person by their genetic codes or for proceeding to identify a person by their genetic codes without having the authorization required by law.

Art. 316 (226) Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in Articles 312 to 315 shall be punished with the same penalties.

       

Art. 317 (226) Legal entities may be held criminally liable under the conditions provided for in Article 22 for the offenses provided for in this section.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1. The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2. The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

Section VII

Public defamation and slander

Art. 318 (226) Defamation is the allegation or imputation, made publicly, of a fact that affects the honor or consideration of the person or body to which it is imputed, and will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

 

Art. 319 (226) Any offensive expression, invective or term of contempt, made publicly, that does not contain the imputation of a precise fact, constitutes an insult, and will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

 

Art. 320 (226) It shall be punished with a sentence of three years' imprisonment and

A fine of RD$6,000.00 will be imposed for defamation or slander committed against:

        1° The President or Vice President of the Republic or the Executive Branch;

        2° A Senator or a Deputy or the National Congress;

        3° A judge of the Supreme Court of Justice or the Supreme Court of Justice;

        4° The Attorney General of the Republic or the Attorney General's Office;

        5° A Secretary of State or the State Secretariats;

        6° A judge of the Central Electoral Board or the Central Electoral Board;

        7°Any judge of the judicial order or jurisdiction where he/she serves;

        8° Any representative of the public ministry or the jurisdiction where they work;

        9° An Ambassador or a diplomatic agent accredited to the Republic or the headquarters he/she represents;

        10. Presidents, Sovereigns or Heads of State or Government of other Nations.

Article 321 (226) Speeches delivered in the Legislative Chambers, as well as reports, memoranda, and other documents printed by order of Congress, the Executive Branch, or the Judicial Branch, shall not be considered defamatory or libelous and shall not give rise to any legal proceedings. Nor shall faithful accounts of public sessions of Congress, provided in good faith by the print, radio, or television media, or any other means of communication, give rise to any legal action; nor shall written submissions or speeches delivered before the courts of justice. However, in the latter case, judges, when examining the merits of the case, may order the suppression of defamatory or libelous writings and may even impose disciplinary sanctions on the lawyers who produced them. Facts extraneous to the case may give rise to public or civil action when the courts have reserved that right to the parties or to third parties.

Art. 322 (226)The prosecution of defamation or slander provided for in this section shall only take place after a complaint from the person who considers himself aggrieved.

When the acts described above in this section are committed through the press or any other means of publication, prosecution will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Expression and Dissemination of Thought.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 323 (226) The public action and the civil action resulting from the defamation and slander provided for in this section shall be time-barred after two months have elapsed, from the day on which such offenses were committed or from the day of the last act of prosecution, if this has taken place.

Art. 324 (226) These provisions shall not restrict the right of citizens to report to the competent authorities public officials and employees for poor performance of their duties.

Section VIII

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

Art. 325 (226) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1st The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3. The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization;

        4. Publication by posters or dissemination of the sentence pronounced, under the conditions provided for in article 76;

        5. In the case provided for in Articles 286 to 289, 293, 301 and 315, the confiscation of the thing that has served or is intended to commit the infraction, or of the thing that has been its product. The confiscation of the devices indicated in Article 289 is mandatory.

Art. 326 (226) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in article 315 and of the attempt of these offenses, may not be appointed as judicial experts, and if they are performing as such their appointment will be revoked.

CHAPTER SEVEN – ATTACKS AGAINST CHILDREN OR ADOLESCENTS AND THE FAMILY

Section I

Abandonment of a child or adolescent

Art. 327 (227) The act of ordering, arranging or carrying out the abandonment of a child or adolescent in the terms indicated by the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, in any place, except in the case that this act has allowed ensuring the health and safety of the victim, will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

When the perpetrator is a father, mother, guardian, teacher, professor; or exercises de facto authority over the child or adolescent, the penalties will be increased to ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00.

Art. 328 (227) The abandonment of a child or adolescent that has caused mutilation or permanent disability will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years of imprisonment.

When this act is committed by the father, mother, guardian, teacher, professor; or person who exercises de facto authority over the child or adolescent, the penalty will be increased to twenty years of imprisonment.

The abandonment of a child or adolescent followed by the death of the child will be punished with a sentence of thirty years' imprisonment.

When the abandonment that results in death is committed by the father, mother, guardian, teacher, professor; or person who exercises de facto authority over the child or adolescent, the penalty will be increased to forty years of imprisonment.

Art. 329 (227) Those who, having in their charge the upbringing or care of a child under thirteen years of age, take the child to a public or private institution dedicated to the care of children with the intention of abandoning them, shall be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00. However, no penalty shall be imposed on those who were not obligated to provide the child's expenses free of charge, nor have they been obligated to do so, provided that some other person has provided for them.

 

Art. 330 (227) Anyone who finds an abandoned child under the age of five in any place and fails to deliver the child to the Civil Registry Official or the competent authority shall be punished with six months' imprisonment and a fine of RD$2,500.00. This provision shall not apply to those persons who consent to take charge of the found child; however, it shall always be mandatory for them to present the child to the competent authority and provide a statement regarding the circumstances of the child's discovery.

When the abandoned child is particularly vulnerable due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, and this condition is apparent or known by the person who found him or her, the penalties will be increased to one year in prison and a fine of RD$3,000.00.

Section II

Family abandonment

Art. 331 (227) The fact of not executing a sentence issued in civil powers, which imposes the payment of a pension, contribution, subsidies or benefits due for family obligations, for the benefit of a descendant, ascendant, spouse or ex-spouse, provided by civil law, delaying for more than two months without being fully released from this obligation, will be sanctioned with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

However, the prison sentence provided for in the preceding paragraph will be suspended if the convicted person complies with the obligation imposed on him.

In the cases provided for in this article, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the victim, or a report from his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 332 (227) The person who, being obliged, under the conditions provided by the previous article, to deliver a pension, contribution, subsidies or benefits of any nature, does not notify his creditor of his change of address within one month from this change, will be sanctioned with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

In the cases provided for in this article, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the victim, or a report from his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section III

Attacks on the exercise of parental authority

 

Art. 333 (227) The act of improperly refusing to present a child to the person who has the right to claim him, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 334 (227) The fact that a person transfers his domicile to another place after divorce, separation of bodies or annulment of marriage, even if his children habitually reside with him, without notifying the change of domicile, within the period of one month from this change, to those who may exercise, with respect to the children, a right of visitation or accommodation, by virtue of a judgment or a judicially approved agreement, will be sanctioned with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and RD $2,500.00 of fine.

Art. 335 (227) The act committed by any ascendant in any degree, when this link is apparent or known by the author or by the adoptive father or mother, of taking a minor child away from those who exercise parental authority or from those to whom it has been entrusted, or from the house where he has his habitual residence, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 336 (227) The act committed by a person other than those mentioned in the previous article of taking, without fraud or violence, a child or adolescent from the hands of those who exercise parental authority or to whom it has been entrusted, or from the house where he has his habitual residence, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 337 (227) The acts defined by articles 333 and 335, shall be punished with a sentence of two years' imprisonment and

RD$4,000.00 fine:

        1° When the child or adolescent is detained for more than five days without those who have the right to demand that he or she be presented to them knowing where he or she is;

        2° When the child or adolescent is unlawfully detained outside the territory of the Republic.

Art. 338 (227) If the person guilty of the acts defined by articles 333 and 335 has been deprived of parental authority, these acts will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 339 (227) Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in Articles 335 and 336 shall be punished with the same penalties.

In the offenses provided for in this section, public action cannot be exercised except after a complaint from the victim, or a report from their legal representative or their successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section IV

Attacks on parentage

Art. 340 (227) The act of provoking, whether for a lucrative purpose, or through gift, promise, threat or abuse of authority, the parents or one of them, to abandon a minor born or unborn, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

The act, for profit, of acting as an intermediary between a person wishing to adopt a child, born or unborn, and the biological parents of the child, will be punished with a prison sentence of one year and a fine of RD$3,000.00.

The act of acting as an intermediary between a person or couple wishing to acquire a child and a woman who agrees to conceive, naturally or artificially, this child in order to hand it over, shall be punished with the penalties provided in the preceding paragraph. When these acts are committed habitually or for profit, the penalties established in this article shall be doubled.

Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in the second and third paragraphs of this article will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 341 (227) When the act of voluntarily substituting, simulating or concealing a child or adolescent entails an attack on their civil status, it shall be punished with a prison sentence of three years and

RD$6,000.00 fine.

Attempting this offense will be punished with the same penalty.

Art. 342 (227) Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the offenses provided for in this section.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 1°, 2°, 3°, 8° and 9° of article 81.

 

 

Section V

Endangering children and adolescents

Art. 343 (227) The act of depriving a child or adolescent of food or care, in a way that compromises their health, shall be punished with seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when committed by:

        1° His biological ancestors, in any degree, when this link is apparent or known to the author;

        2. The adoptive father or mother;

        3° Any other person who exercises parental authority or any other type of authority over the victim.

Art. 344 (227) When the infraction foreseen in the preceding article produces the death of the victim, it shall be punished with the penalty of thirty years of imprisonment.

Art. 345 (227) Parents, mothers or persons who, without legitimate reasons, fail to fulfill their legally established obligations regarding their children, or children or adolescents in their care, compromise the health, safety, morality or education of these, shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, unless otherwise provided.

Art. 346 (227) The act of directly inducing a child or adolescent to make illicit use of drugs or controlled substances will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

If the act is committed inside a school, educational, artistic, cultural, sports, recreational establishment, or other establishment intended for any type of instruction; or on the occasion of the entry or exit of students; or around these centers, the infraction defined in this article will be punished with the penalty of fifteen years of imprisonment.

Art. 347 (227) The act of directly inducing a child or adolescent to transport, possess, offer, or transfer drugs or controlled substances will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

If the act is committed in the places and under the circumstances established in the second paragraph of article 346, the infraction foreseen in this article will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment.

Art. 348 (227) The act of directly inducing a child or adolescent to the habitual and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or products whose components may create physical or psychological dependence, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

If the act is committed in the places and under the circumstances established in the second paragraph of article 346, the infraction foreseen in this article will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

Art. 349 (227) The act of directly inducing a child or adolescent to engage in begging or work that is prohibited, as established in labor legislation, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 350 (227) The act of directly inducing a child or adolescent to habitually commit crimes or offenses will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

If the act is committed in the places and under the circumstances established in the second paragraph of article 346, the infraction typified in this article will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

Art. 351 (227) The act of favoring or attempting to favor the corruption of a child or adolescent will be punished with five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When the child or adolescent has been put in contact with the perpetrator of the acts through the use of a telecommunications circuit intended for the dissemination of messages directed to an undetermined public; or when the acts are committed in the places and in the circumstances established in the second paragraph of article 346, the infraction typified in this article will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

The act committed by an adult, of organizing meetings that involve exhibitions or sexual relations attended by a child or adolescent, will be punished with a sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment.

Art. 352 (227) The act committed for the purpose of dissemination, of fixing, registering or transmitting the image or representation of a child or adolescent, when this image or representation has a pornographic character, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Disseminating such an image or representation, by any means, or importing or exporting it, or causing it to be imported or exported, will be punished with the same penalties.

When a telecommunications circuit intended for an unspecified public has been used to disseminate the image or representation of the child or adolescent, the penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

The provisions of this article shall apply to pornographic images of a person whose physical appearance is that of a child or adolescent, unless it is established that this person was of legal age on the day the image was fixed.

Art. 353 (227) The act of manufacturing, transporting or disseminating by any means, a message of a violent or pornographic nature, or of a nature that entails a serious attack on human dignity, or of trading with such a message, when this message is likely to be seen or perceived by a child or adolescent, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

When the infringements foreseen in this article are committed by means of the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws that govern these matters shall apply, as regards the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 354 (227) The act of committing a sexual assault against a child or adolescent without violence, coercion, or threat will be punished with five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The offense described in the preceding paragraph shall be punished with ten years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when committed:

        1° By an ascendant in any degree, when this link is apparent or known to the author; or by the adoptive father or mother;

        2° By a person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        3° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices;

        4° By the delivery of a remuneration;

        5° To the detriment of a child or adolescent who has been put in contact with the perpetrator of the acts through the use of a telecommunications circuit for the dissemination of messages intended for an undetermined public.

Art. 355 (227) If as a consequence of the act foreseen in the first paragraph of the previous article, a girl or adolescent has become pregnant, the penalties will be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

When the offender and the victim marry, the prosecution and the imposed penalty will cease.

The infraction defined in the first paragraph of this article will be punished with ten years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when:

        1° It is committed by the father or any biological ascendant, in any degree, when this link is apparent or known by the author; or by the adoptive father;

        2° It is committed by a person who abuses the authority conferred upon him by his functions;

        3° This infraction is accompanied by the delivery of a remuneration.

In the cases provided for in this article, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the victim, or a report from his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 356 (227) When the infractions provided for by articles 346 to 350 and 352 are committed by way of the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws that govern these matters are applicable, as regards the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 357 (227) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in articles 346 to 355.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 7°, 8°, and 9° of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed.

In the case provided for in paragraph 4 of article 355, the penalty mentioned in paragraph 1 of article 81 is also applicable.

Section VI

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

Art. 358 (227) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities defined by article 67;

        2. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        3° Cancellation of the driver's license with the prohibition of applying for a new one for a maximum of five years;

        4° The prohibition, for a maximum duration of five years, of leaving the territory of the Republic;

        5° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction, or of the thing that has been the product of it;

        6° The prohibition, either permanently or for a period not exceeding ten years, of engaging in any professional or social activity that involves regular contact with children or adolescents.

Art. 359 (227) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in section IV of this chapter shall also be subject to the supplementary penalty of posting or disseminating the sentence, provided for in article 76.

Art. 360 (227) Persons guilty of the infractions provided for in articles 351 to 355 may be sentenced to socio-judicial monitoring according to the modalities provided for in articles 129 to 137.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIRD BOOK

CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY

TITLE ONE – FRAUDULENT APPROPRIATIONS

CHAPTER ONE – THE ROBBERY

Section I

Simple and aggravated robberies

Art. 361 (311) Theft is the fraudulent removal of a thing that is partially or totally belonging to another.

Art. 362 (311) The fraudulent removal of all types of energy, liquids or gases to the detriment of another, is assimilated to theft, as is the act of putting up for sale or negotiating in any way goods received for free distribution.

Art. 363 (311) Simple robbery is that which is committed without any of the aggravating circumstances provided for in this Code and is punishable by three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 364 (311) Theft shall be punished with five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$ 10,000.00, when committed under any of the following circumstances:

        1° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices, without constituting an organized gang;

        2° Taking advantage of the status of being a custodian of public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions or their service; with or without insignia, uniforms or any other distinctive mark specific to their functions;

        3° By a person who improperly assumes the status of custodian of public authority or person in charge of a public service;

        4° It is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, without having caused him a total incapacity to work;

        5th It is facilitated by the condition of the person victim of the offense whose particular vulnerability, due to their age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        6° In a dwelling, or intended for dwelling, whether or not inhabited at the time of the perpetration of the robbery; or in a place used or intended for the deposit of funds, securities, merchandise or materials; or in a place intended for religious worship; or in premises intended for a charity house, social assistance, asylums for children or adolescents, or the elderly, or other premises used by non-profit institutions, when all these places are penetrated by cunning, breaking and entering or climbing;

        7° In a vehicle intended for collective passenger transport, or in a place intended for access to a means of collective passenger transport;

        8° By using a motor vehicle or any other means of transport;

        9° It is preceded, accompanied or followed by an act of destruction, degradation or deterioration of property;

        10° By using specific systems to disable or inhibit alarm or guard mechanisms, or other similar ones; or when, to gain access to houses, premises or furniture, the same or different means are used as those intended by the owner for such purposes; or by using magnetic or punched cards, or remote controls, or instruments for remote opening;

        11° Taking advantage of a state of national emergency or public calamity;

        12° Using one or more children or adolescents for the preparation, facilitation or execution;

        13° Using any type of masks or disguises;

        14° By a domestic servant of any kind, to the exclusion of other salaried workers;

        15° At night;

        16° In hotels, motels, guesthouses, tourist cabins, aparthotels, or other temporary accommodation establishments;

        17° For personal gain or consumption, having as its object cattle, sheep, horses, goats or pigs, even if it is a single animal; as well as poultry, beehives, rabbits or fish from ponds or fish tanks;

        18° Harvested standing or already detached from the ground;

        19° Of stones in the quarries.

The penalties will be increased to seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when the robbery is committed with any two of the circumstances provided for in this article.

The penalties will be increased to ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00 when the robbery is committed with any three of these circumstances.

The thefts listed in this article will be punishable whether they are committed in urban areas or in rural areas.

Art. 365 (311) Theft will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00, when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, which causes total incapacity for work for eight days or less.

Art. 366 (311) Theft shall be punished with the penalties of fifteen years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$300,000.00, when:

        1° It is committed with four or more of the circumstances provided for in article 364;

        2° It is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, causing total incapacity for work for more than eight days.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 367 (311) Theft shall be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $400,000.00, when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, causing him as a consequence mutilation or permanent disability.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 368 (311) Theft will be punished with the penalties provided for in the previous article, when it is committed with the use or threat of use of a weapon, or by a person carrying a weapon subject to authorization, or whose carrying is prohibited.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 369 (311) Robbery by organized gangs will be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $400,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00 when the robbery is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another person.

The penalties will be increased to forty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$800,000.00, when the robbery is committed with the use or threat of use of a weapon, or by a person carrying a weapon subject to authorization, or whose carrying is prohibited.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 370 (311) Theft shall be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment, when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence that has produced death; or by torture or acts of barbarity, even when the latter have not caused death.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 371 (311) In accordance with articles 364, 365, 366, 367, 369 and 370, robbery followed by violence constitutes that in which the latter have been committed to favor the escape or ensure the impunity of the author or accomplice.

Section II

General disposition

Art. 372 (311) Theft committed by a person, as principal or accomplice, does not give rise to criminal prosecution, when it is to the detriment of his:

        1st Ascendant or descendant;

        2nd Spouse, except when the spouses are legally separated or authorized to reside separately.

However, co-authors, accomplices, or concealers who benefit from the concealed or stolen items will be prosecuted and tried according to their criminal participation.

Art. 373 (311) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this chapter shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section III

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

and criminal liability of legal entities

Art. 374 (311) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in Article 68, of exercising a public function or carrying out the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed. This prohibition will be definitive or provisional in the cases provided for in Articles 366 to 370, or for a period not exceeding five years in the cases provided for in Articles 363 to 365;

        3° The prohibition of carrying or possessing a weapon subject to authorization, for a period not exceeding five years;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense or of the thing that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution;

        5° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities established in article 72 in the cases provided for by articles 366 to 370.

Art. 375 (311) The prohibition of the use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided for in Article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the offenses provided for in Articles 366 to 370.

Art. 376 (311) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalty mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 on a definitive or provisional basis in the cases provided for in articles 366 to 370; or for a period not exceeding five years, in the cases provided for in articles 363 to 365;

        3° The penalty mentioned in paragraph 8° of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER TWO – EXTORTION, BLACKMAIL

AND ADDITIONAL PENALTIES

Section I

extortion

Art. 377 (312) Extortion is the act of obtaining through violence, threats of violence or coercion, the signature or delivery of any document, whether or not it implies obligation or discharge; the disclosure of a secret; the delivery of funds, or securities or any property.

Extortion will be punished with a prison sentence of seven years and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Art. 378 (312) Extortion shall be punished with ten years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when:

        1° It is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, which has caused total incapacity for work for a period of no more than eight days;

        2° It is committed to the detriment of a person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator.

Art. 379 (312) Extortion, when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, which has caused total incapacity for work for more than eight days, will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 380 (312) Extortion, when it is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another, which has caused mutilation or permanent disability, will be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $400,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 381 (312) Extortion, when committed with the use or threat of use of a weapon, or by a person carrying a weapon subject to authorization, or whose carrying is prohibited, will be punished with the penalties of thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $600,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 382 (312) Extortion carried out by an organized gang will be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $400,000.00.

When extortion is preceded, accompanied or followed by violence against another person, resulting in mutilation or permanent disability, the penalties will be increased to thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00.

When extortion is committed with the use or threat of use of a weapon, or by a person carrying a weapon subject to authorization, or whose carrying is prohibited, the penalties will be increased to forty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$800,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 383 (312) Extortion, when preceded, accompanied or followed by violence that has resulted in death, or committed with torture or acts of barbarity, shall be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 384 (312) Extortion followed by violence is considered equivalent to violence in cases where violence has been committed to facilitate escape or ensure impunity for the perpetrator or accomplice, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 378, 379, 380, 382 and 383.

Art. 385 (312) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

The provisions of Article 372 apply to the infringements provided for in this section.

Section II

Blackmail

Art. 386 (312) Blackmail is the act of obtaining, by means of threats to reveal or impute facts of a nature that may offend the honor or consideration of another, the signature or delivery of any document, whether or not it implies obligation or discharge; or the revelation of a secret, or the delivery of funds, securities or any asset.

Blackmail will be punished with a five-year prison sentence and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 387 (312) When the perpetrator of the blackmail has carried out the threat, the penalties will be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

Art. 388 (312) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

The provisions of Article 372 apply to the infringements provided for in this section.

Section III

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and the criminal liability of legal entities

 

Art. 389 (312) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 62;

        2° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 63, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed; this prohibition being definitive or provisional in the cases provided for in articles 379 to 383; and for a period not exceeding five years, in the cases provided for in articles 377, 378 and 386;

        3° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        5° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72.

Art. 390 (312) The prohibition of use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided by article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 378 to 383.

Art. 391 (312) Legal entities may be held criminally liable under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 refers to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER THREE – FRAUD AND SIMILAR OFFENSES

 

Section I

The fraud

Art. 392 (313) Fraud is defined as the use of a false name or quality, the abuse of a true quality, or the use of fraudulent maneuvers, to deceive a natural or legal person and thus convince him, to his detriment or to the detriment of a third party, to deliver funds, securities or any good, or provide a service or consent to an act that operates an obligation or discharge.

The scam will be punished with five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 393 (313) The penalties will be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00, when the fraud is committed:

        1° By a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions or service;

        2° By a person who improperly assumes the status of custodian of public authority or person in charge of a public service;

        3° By a person who appeals to the public to obtain the delivery of funds or securities, on his own account, as a manager or as a de jure or de facto employee of an industrial, commercial or financial enterprise, or for the issuance of securities or collection of funds for humanitarian or social aid purposes;

        4° To the detriment of a person whose particular vulnerability due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        5° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices, without constituting an organized gang;

        6° To the detriment of a charity, social assistance, asylums for children and adolescents or the elderly, or other non-profit entity;

        7° To the detriment of five or more persons;

        8° For an amount equal to or greater than RD $100,000.00.

Art. 394 (313) When the fraud is committed with two or more of the circumstances provided for in the previous article, or in an organized gang, the penalties will be increased to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Art. 395 (313) Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

The provisions of Article 372 are applicable to fraud offenses.

Section II

Offenses similar to fraud

 

Art. 396 (313) The fraudulent abuse of the state of ignorance, or of the situation of weakness of a child or adolescent; or of a person whose will is particularly vulnerable, due to their age, illness, incapacity, physical or mental deficiency, or a state of pregnancy, apparent or known of their author; to force them to an act or an abstention that is harmful to them, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 397 (313) Fraud is the act of a person obtaining goods or services without having the financial means to pay for them, or, if they have the means, refusing to pay. In this sense, it constitutes fraud to fail to pay for:

        1° To have drinks or food served to oneself in an establishment that sells them;

        2° To claim and effectively occupy one or more rooms in a room rental establishment, when the occupancy does not exceed ten days;

        3° To have fuels or lubricants dispensed to fill all or part of the tanks of a vehicle or any other container for another use, by persons authorized for their distribution;

        4° To be transported by taxi, or any other means of paid transport.

The fraud will be punished with six months in prison and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

Art. 398 (313) In the cases provided for by the previous article, the public action may not be exercised except by complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon payment of the amounts not paid or delivered, for the benefit of the aggrieved party of this infringement, or upon withdrawal or discontinuance by the latter or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Art. 399 (313) Those who, with gifts, presents, promises, agreements, intimidation, threats or any other fraudulent means, restrict or hinder the freedom of auctions, whatever their nature, in order to discard a bidder or limit the offers, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

The same penalties will be imposed on those who have accepted such gifts, presents, promises, agreements or any other fraudulent means, or on those who have driven bidders away from the auctions.

Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in this article will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 400 (313) Whoever appropriates property belonging to another, having received it due to an error by another or by fortuitous event, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Art. 401 (313) In the cases provided for by the two previous articles, the public action may not be exercised except by complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease by the withdrawal or dismissal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party for the benefit of the offender, or by his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section III

Additional penalties applicable to natural persons

and criminal liability of legal entities

Art. 402 (313) Natural persons guilty of one of the crimes provided for in articles 392, 393, 396 and 399 shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition for a period not exceeding five years, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed;

        3° The closure for a period of no more than five years of one or more of the company's establishments that were used to commit the incriminating acts;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        5° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72;

        6° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years, of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same, or those that are certified.

        7° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 403 (313) Natural persons guilty of one of the crimes provided for in articles 392, 393 and 399 shall also be excluded from participating in public competitions for a period not exceeding five years.

Art. 404 (313) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 392 to 396.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER FOUR – DISTRACTIONS

Section I

Trust abuse

Art. 405 (314) Abuse of trust is the act of a person diverting, to the detriment of another, funds, securities or any property that has been delivered to him and that such person has received with the obligation to return it, present it or make a certain use of it.

Breach of trust will be punished with three years in prison and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

Art. 406 (314) The penalties will be increased to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00, when the abuse of trust is committed:

        1° By a person who appeals to the public to obtain the delivery of funds or securities, on his own behalf, as a manager or as a de jure or de facto employee of an industrial, commercial or financial enterprise;

        2° By any other person who, habitually, gives or lends their assistance, even in an accessory capacity, to operations that affect the assets of third parties on whose behalf they receive the funds or securities;

        3° To the detriment of a person whose particular vulnerability due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency, or a state of pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator;

        4° By several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices, without constituting an organized gang;

        5° To the detriment of a charity, social assistance, asylums for children and adolescents or the elderly, or other non-profit entity;

        6° To the detriment of five or more persons;

        7° For an amount equal to or greater than RD $100,000.00.

Art. 407 (314) The penalties will be increased to fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00, when the abuse of trust is committed:

        1° By a judicial official or public or ministerial official, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, or by reason of their status;

        2nd In an organized band;

        3° With two or more of the circumstances provided for in the previous article.

Art. 408 (314) The provisions of Article 372 are applicable to this violation.

Section II

Disposal of seized garment or object

Art. 409 (314) The act of a debtor, borrower or third party giving a pledge, of destroying or diverting the object constituted as a pledge, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and RD $6,000.00 of fine.

Attempted violations of the offense described in this article shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 410 (314) The act of the person being seized destroying or diverting an object seized conservatorily or executorily in his hands, as a guarantee of the rights of a creditor and entrusted to his care or to that of a third party, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Attempted violations of the offense described in this article shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section III

Fraudulent insolvency organization

 

Art. 411 (314) The act of a debtor, even before the judgment that confirms his debt, organizing or aggravating his insolvency, increasing the liabilities or decreasing the assets of his estate; decreasing or concealing all or part of his income; concealing any of his assets in order to evade the execution of a sentence of a patrimonial nature pronounced by a repressive judge or court, or in criminal, quasi-criminal, contractual or alimony matters pronounced by a civil court, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

The same crime is committed by the de jure or de facto leader of a legal entity who organizes or aggravates the insolvency of the latter, under the conditions defined in the preceding paragraph, in order to remove it from the pecuniary obligations resulting from a sentence pronounced in criminal, delictual, quasi-delictual or contractual matters in civil matters.

Art. 412 (314) The judge or court may decide that the person convicted as an accomplice of the offense provided for in the previous article, is jointly and severally liable, within the limits of the funds or the market value of the goods received free of charge or for consideration, with the pecuniary obligations resulting from the conviction, from whose execution the perpetrator of the offense has sought to evade.

When a sentence of a compensatory nature has been imposed by a repressive judge or court, the latter may decide that the penalty applied should not be confused with that which has been previously imposed.

The statute of limitations for public action only runs from the date of the sentence to execution from which the debtor has sought to evade; however, it only runs from the last action that has had the purpose of organizing or aggravating the debtor's insolvency, when the last maneuver is subsequent to this sentence.

Art. 413 (314) In the cases provided for by the two previous sections, public action may not be exercised except by prior complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party in favor of the offender, or by his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section IV

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

 

Art. 414 (314) Natural persons guilty of one of the crimes provided for in articles 405, 406 and 407 shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed;

        3° The closure, for a period not exceeding five years, of one or more of the company's establishments that have been used to commit the incriminating acts;

        4. Exclusion from participating in public competitions for a period not exceeding five years;

        5° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same, or those that are certified;

        6° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        7° The posting of signs or the dissemination of the sentence issued under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 415 (314) Natural persons guilty of one of the crimes provided for in articles 409, 410 and 411 shall also be subject to one or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense or of the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        2° The posting of the sentence by signs or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 416 (314) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in Article 22 for the infractions provided for in Articles 405 and 406.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed.

Art. 417 (314) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 409, 410 and 411.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties provided for in paragraphs 8° and 9° of article 81.

TITLE TWO – OTHER ATTACKS ON PROPERTY

CHAPTER ONE – CONCEALMENT AND INFRACTIONS

ASSIMILATED OR SIMILAR

Section I

the concealment

Art. 418 (321) Concealment is the act of disguising, possessing or transferring something, or acting as an intermediary in order to transfer it, knowing that this thing comes from a crime or offense.

It also constitutes concealment to knowingly benefit, by any means, from the proceeds of a crime or offense.

Concealment will be punished with five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 419 (321) The penalties will be increased to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when the concealment is committed:

        1° In a regular manner or using the facilities provided by the exercise of a professional activity;

        2nd In an organized band.

Art. 420 (321) The fine provided for in Articles 418 and 419 may be increased to half the value of the hidden or concealed assets.

Art. 421 (321) When the offense from which the hidden property originates is punishable by a prison sentence of a longer duration than the prison imposed by application of articles 418 and 419, the concealer will be punished with the penalties corresponding to the simple or aggravated offense, according to the circumstances of the latter, of which he has had knowledge.

Art. 422 (321) Concealment is assimilated, with respect to recidivism, to the infraction from which the concealed asset originates.

 

Section II

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

physical persons and criminal liability of legal entities.

 

Art. 423 (321) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in Article 68, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction was committed. This prohibition will be definitive or temporary in the cases provided for in Articles 419 and 421, or for a period not exceeding five years, in the case provided for in Article 418;

        3° The closure of one or more of the establishments of the company that has served to commit the incriminating acts, this closure being definitive or temporary, in the cases provided for by articles 419 and 421, and for a period of no more than five years, in the case provided for by article 418;

        4° The prohibition of participating in public competitions on a permanent or temporary basis, in the cases provided for in articles 419 and 421, or for a period not exceeding five years in the case provided for in article 418;

        5° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same, or those that are certified;

        6° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction, or of the thing that is the product of it, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution;

        7° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned by the convicted person or which he has free disposal of;

        8° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72 in the cases provided for in articles 418 to 421;

        9° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence issued, under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 424 (321) In the cases provided for in articles 418 to 421, the other supplementary penalties applicable for the commission of the crimes or offenses from which the hidden property originates may be imposed.

Art. 425 (321) The prohibition of use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided by article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in article 419.

Art. 426 (321) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 418 to 421.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° In the cases provided for in articles 418 to 421, the penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 1 of article 79 applies to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed.

CHAPTER TWO – DESTRUCTIONS,

DEGRADATION OR DETERIORATION

Section I

Destruction, degradation or deterioration

that do not pose a danger to people

Art. 427 (322) The destruction, degradation or deterioration of property belonging to another, in a partial or total manner, if only a slight damage results, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 428 (322) The infraction defined in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00, when:

        1° The destroyed, degraded or deteriorated property was intended for public use or ornamentation;

        2° The destroyed, degraded or deteriorated property had cultural, historical, archaeological, scientific, artistic value, or belonged to a public entity;

        3° It is committed by several people acting as perpetrators or accomplices;

        4° It is committed in the family home;

        5° It is committed after a protection order has been issued against the perpetrator in favor of the victim.

Art. 429 (322) Attempts to commit the offenses provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 430 (322) In the cases provided for by article 427, public action may not be exercised except by prior complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon payment made to the injured party for the destroyed, degraded or deteriorated property, or upon withdrawal or dismissal of the complaint or report made by the latter for the benefit of the offender, or by his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section II

Destruction, degradation or

dangerous deterioration for people

 

Art. 431 (322) The voluntary and culpable destruction, degradation or deterioration of property belonging to another, in a partial or total manner, by the effect of an explosion or a fire caused by the non-compliance with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

In the event that the act described above was committed by deliberate misconduct, the applicable penalties will be increased to two years in prison and a fine of RD$4,000.00.

Art. 432 (322) The destruction, degradation or deterioration of property belonging to another, in a partial or total manner, by the effect of an explosive substance, fire or any other means tending to create a danger to persons, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Art. 433 (322) The infraction defined in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00, when it has produced in another total incapacity for work for a period of no more than eight days.

Art. 434 (322) The infraction defined in article 432 shall be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $400,000.00, when:

        1° It is committed by an organized gang;

        2° Has caused another person a total incapacity for work for more than eight days;

          3° It is carried out in a building or on an object of scientific, historical, cultural, artistic interest, or of public use or social utility,

         4° It is committed in a building or house inhabited, or intended for habitation, or commercial, industrial, agricultural, or sports establishment; or in a terminal of any type of transport; or warehouse of goods, food; or in cultivated forests, or in a forest reserve area; with explosive, corrosive, flammable, asphyxiating, toxic, infectious, or similar materials or substances;

        5° It is committed in the family home;

        6° It is committed after a protection order has been issued against the perpetrator in favor of the victim.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

Art. 435 (322) The infraction defined in article 432 when it has produced mutilation or permanent disability to another, will be sanctioned with the penalties of thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $600,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 436 (322) The offense defined in article 432, when it has resulted in the death of another, will be punished with the penalty of life imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 437 (322) The attempt of the crime provided for in article 432 shall be punished with the same penalties.

 

Section III

Threats of destruction,

degradation, deterioration or false alarms

 

Art. 438 (322) The threat to commit destruction, degradation or dangerous deterioration to persons, in circumstances that make the consummation of the act appear plausible, when this is repeated or materialized by a writing, image or any other means, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

 

Art. 439 (322) The threat, by any means, to commit destruction, degradation or deterioration, when this is done with an order or under a condition, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

When it involves a threat of destruction, degradation or dangerous deterioration to people, the penalties will be increased to three years in prison and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

        

Art. 440 (322) The act of communicating or disseminating false information in order to make people believe that a destruction, degradation or deterioration dangerous to people has taken place or will take place, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for communicating or disseminating false information that makes people believe that a disaster of such a nature occurs that it causes a useless intervention of help.

 

 

Art. 441 (322) In the cases provided for in articles 431, 438 and 439, public action may not be exercised except by complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease by the withdrawal or dismissal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party for the benefit of the offender, or by his attorney provided with special and express power.

 

Section IV

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

 

Art. 442 (322) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in Article 68, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed. This prohibition will be definitive or provisional in the cases provided for in Articles 432 to 436, or for a period not exceeding five years in the cases provided for in Articles 421, 428, 431, 438, 439 and 440;

        3° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        4° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 70, in the cases provided for in articles 433 to 436.

Art. 443 (322) The prohibition of use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided by article 71 on a permanent basis or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 433 to 436.

Art. 444 (322) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81, for a period not exceeding five years in the cases provided for in articles 427, 431, 438, 439 and 440; and definitively in the cases provided for in articles 432 to 436.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed.

CHAPTER THREE – ATTACKS ON SYSTEMS

AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING

Section I

Cybercrime

Art. 445 (323) The act of fraudulently accessing or remaining connected, in whole or in part, to an automated data processing system shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

When this results in the suppression or modification of data contained in the system or an alteration of its functioning, the penalties will be increased to two years in prison and a fine of RD$4,000.00.

Art. 446 (323) The act of obstructing or adulterating the operation of an automated data processing system will be punished with three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 447 (323) The act of fraudulently introducing data into an automated processing system, or fraudulently deleting or modifying data contained therein, shall be punished with three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 448 (323) Participation in a group formed or in an agreement established for the purpose of preparing one or more material acts constituting one or more of the offenses provided for in Articles 445 to 447, shall be punished with the penalties provided for the offense itself or for the most severely punished offense.

Art. 449 (323) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except by prior complaint of the aggrieved party, his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon payment made to the aggrieved party for the damages suffered by him, in case there is any damage to the equipment or systems mentioned above, or by the withdrawal or dismissal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party for the benefit of the offender, or by his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section II

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

Art. 450 (323) Natural persons guilty of the crimes provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction, for a period not exceeding five years, of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities of article 67;

        2° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, from exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        4° The closure, for a period not exceeding five years, of one or more of the company's establishments, which have been used to commit the incriminating acts;

        5. Exclusion, for a period not exceeding five years, from participating in public competitions;

        6° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same or those that are certified;

        7° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence issued, according to the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 451 (323) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 shall apply to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed.

Art. 452 (323) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in articles 445 to 447 shall be punished with the same penalties.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR – WHITENING

Section I

Simple bleaching and aggravated bleaching

 

Art. 453 (324) Money laundering is the process or economic operation by which an attempt is made to justify that assets, money, securities, titles, or resources obtained as a result of criminal or illicit activities have a lawful origin. It also constitutes money laundering any action or economic operation aimed at investing in companies, businesses, or assets of any kind, whose legality is apparent, the direct or indirect proceeds of a crime or offense.

Money laundering will be punished with seven years in prison and a fine of RD$100,000.00.

These provisions will not apply to money laundering resulting from drug or controlled substance operations, which will be regulated in accordance with procedural law enacted for this matter.

Art. 454 (324) The money laundering provided for in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of fifteen years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$500,000.00, when it is committed:

        1° In a habitual manner or by using the facilities provided by the exercise of a professional or public activity;

        2nd In organized gangs.

Art. 455 (324) The fines mentioned in the two previous articles may be increased to half the value of the assets or funds on which the money laundering operations have been carried out.

Art. 456 (324) When the crime or offense from which the assets or funds on which the money laundering operations are carried out originate, is punishable by a prison sentence higher than that of imprisonment or detention, in application of articles 453 and 454, the money laundering will be punished with the penalties attributed to the offense of which its author has had knowledge and, if this offense is accompanied by aggravating circumstances, the penalties attributed to the only circumstances of which he has had knowledge.

Art. 457 (324) Money laundering is treated, with respect to recidivism, as the offense on the occasion of which the money laundering operations were committed.

Art. 458 (324) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this section shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section II

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

 

Art. 459 (324) Natural persons guilty of the offenses provided for in articles 453 and 454 shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in Article 68, from exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed. This prohibition will be definitive or temporary in the case provided for in Article 454 or for a period not exceeding five years, in the case provided for in Article 453;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization;

        3° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of issuing checks, except those that allow the withdrawal of funds in which the drawer is the beneficiary of the same, or those that are certified;

        4° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of using credit cards in their various forms;

        5. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding five years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        6° The cancellation of the driver's license, with the prohibition of requesting the issuance of a new license, for a period not exceeding five years;

        7° The confiscation of one or more vehicles owned by the convicted person;

        8° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned by the convicted person or which he has free disposal of;

        9° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        10° Interdiction, according to the modalities provided for in article 67 of the civic, civil and family rights;

        11° The interdiction of residence according to the modalities provided for in article 72;

Art. 460 (324) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided by article 70 on a permanent basis or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in articles 453 and 454.

Art. 461 (324) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in Article 22 for the infractions provided for in Articles 453 and 454.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed.

 

 

 

BOOK FOUR

CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST THE NATION, THE STATE, THE CONSTITUTION AND PUBLIC PEACE

TITLE ONE – ATTACKS ON INTERESTS

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE NATION

Art. 462 (410) The fundamental interests of the nation, as they pertain to this title, are understood to be those relating to its existence, security and independence; to the integrity of its territory; to the safeguarding of the Fundamental Law that organizes the form of government and its institutions; to the means of defense and the protection of the population within and outside the Republic; to its diplomacy; to the preservation of the balance of the physical environment and the essential elements of its natural, economic, and scientific resources; and the historical and cultural heritage.

CHAPTER ONE – TREASON AND ESPIONAGE

        Art. 463 (411) The acts defined by articles 464 to 473 are classified as treason when committed by a Dominican or a military member in the service of the Dominican Republic; and espionage, when committed by any other person.

Section I

Delivery of all or part of the national territory,

of the defense or its resources to a foreign nation or organization

Art. 464 (411) The delivery made by troops belonging to the Dominican Armed Forces, to a foreign nation or organization, or under foreign control, or to its agents, of part or all of the national territory, shall be punished with the penalty of forty years of imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the crime provided for in this Article.

Art. 465 (411) The act of delivering to a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, or to its agents; materials, constructions, equipment, installations, apparatus, or any other resource intended for national defense, will be punished with the penalties of thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $600,000.00.

 

Section II

Intelligence with a foreign nation

 

Article 466 (411) The act of maintaining intelligence with a foreign nation, company, or organization, or one under foreign control, or its agents, for the purpose of inciting hostilities or acts of aggression against the Dominican Republic, shall be punished with thirty years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00. The same penalties shall apply to the act of providing a foreign nation, company, or organization, or one under foreign control, or its agents, with the means to wage hostilities or carry out acts of aggression against the Dominican Republic.

Art. 467 (411) The act of maintaining intelligence with a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, or its agents, when it is of such a nature that it may threaten the fundamental interests of the nation, will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

Section III

Delivery of information to a foreign nation

 

Art. 468 (411) The act of delivering or making accessible to a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, or to its agents; information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data or files whose exploitation, disclosure or collection is of such a nature that it may threaten the fundamental interests of the nation, shall be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

Art. 469 (411) The act of collecting or gathering, with the purpose of delivering them to a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, or to its agents, information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data or files whose exploitation, disclosure or gathering entails an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation, will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 470 (411) The act of carrying out, on behalf of a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, or its agents, an activity that has as its purpose the obtaining or delivery of devices, information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data, or files, whose exploitation, disclosure or collection entails an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation, will be punished with the same penalties established by articles 468 and 469.

 

 

Section IV

Sabotage

 

Art. 471 (411) The act of destroying, damaging or diverting a document, material, construction, equipment, installation, apparatus, technical devices or automated information processing system, or providing false information to the system, when this act entails an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation, will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

When this act is committed with the purpose of serving the interests of a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, it will be punished with the penalties of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$400,000.00.

Section V

Supply of false information

Art. 472 (411) The act of supplying, with the purpose of serving the interests of a foreign nation, company or organization, or under foreign control, to the civil or military authorities of the Dominican Republic false information of such a nature that tends to induce error and that entails an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Section VI

Incitement to the crimes foreseen in this chapter

 

Art. 473 (411) The act of directly provoking, through promises, offers, pressures, threats, acts of force or any other means, the commission of one of the crimes provided for in this chapter, when the provocation has not been followed by an effect due to circumstances independent of the will of its author, will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

CHAPTER TWO – OTHER ATTACKS ON INSTITUTIONS

OF THE REPUBLIC TO THE INTEGRITY OF THE NATIONAL TERRITORY

 

Section I

Attack and conspiracy

Art. 474 (412) Any act of violence that endangers the civil, republican, democratic and representative character of the national government constitutes an attack on the institutions of the Republic.

The same classification is given to any act that intends to affect or diminish in any way the integrity of the national territory.

These attacks will be punished with sentences of thirty years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00.

When the attack is committed by a person holding public authority, the penalties will be increased to forty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$800,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in this Article.

Art. 475 (412) A plot is constituted by the resolution agreed between two or more persons to commit an attack, as established in the previous article, when this resolution is followed by one or more material acts.

The plot will be punished with a sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00.

When the infraction is committed by a person holding public authority, the penalties will be increased to twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$400,000.00.

Section II

Insurrectionary movement

Art. 476 (412) Any collective violence that endangers the civil, republican, democratic and representative character of the national government, or that could affect the integrity of the national territory, constitutes an insurrectionary movement.

Art. 477 (412) Participation in an insurrectionary movement, under any of the following circumstances, shall be punished with fifteen years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$300,000.00:

        1° Erecting barricades, trenches or doing any kind of work that aims to impede or obstruct the action of the public force;

        2. Occupying by force, or through trickery; or destroying buildings or facilities;

        3° Guaranteeing the transport, subsistence or communications of the insurgents;

        4° Provoking the grouping of insurgents, by any means whatsoever;

        5° Carrying a weapon by himself;

        6° Replacing a legal authority.

Art. 478 (412) Participation in an insurrectionary movement, under any of the following circumstances, shall be punished with twenty years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$400,000.00:

        1° By seizing weapons, ammunition, explosive or dangerous substances, or materials of any kind, through violence, threats, or pillaging, or by disarming the public force;

        2° Providing the insurgents with weapons, ammunition or explosive or dangerous substances.

Art. 479 (412) The act of leading or organizing an insurrectionary movement will be punished with a sentence of forty years of imprisonment.

 

Section III

Usurpation of power, uprising of the

Armed Forces and the provocation to arm themselves illegally

 

Art. 480 (412) Any one of the following acts shall be punished with thirty years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00:

        1. To take any military command without right or authorization, or to retain it against the order of the legal authorities;

        2° Raise the Armed Forces, without order or authorization from the legal authorities.

 

Art. 481 (412) The act of inciting to take up arms against the authority of the State or against a part of the population, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When incitement is followed by effect, the penalties will be increased to thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00.

When incitement is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

 

CHAPTER THREE – OTHER ATTACKS ON NATIONAL DEFENSE

 

Section I

Attacks on the security of the Armed Forces

and the protected areas that are of interest to national defense

 

Art. 482 (413) The act of inducing military personnel belonging to the Dominican Armed Forces to enter the service of a foreign nation, with the purpose of harming national defense, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Art. 483 (413) The act of obstructing the normal functioning of military material, with the purpose of harming national defense, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Obstructing the movement of personnel or military equipment with the aim of harming national defense will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 484 (413) The act of inciting disobedience by any means whatsoever, to the military or assimilated, in order to harm national defense, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When incitement is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters will apply, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 485 (413) The act of participating in an enterprise to demoralize the Armed Forces, with the purpose of harming national defense, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When the infringement is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 486 (413) The act of fraudulently entering a piece of land, a building or any artifact, belonging to the military authority or placed under its control, without permission from these authorities, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 487 (413) The act of obstructing the normal functioning of services, establishments or companies, public or private, that are of interest to national defense, with the purpose of harming the latter, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 488 (413) The act of entering without authorization into the services, establishments or companies, public or private, that are of interest to national defense or into the interior of the premises and fenced lands in which free circulation is prohibited and that are delimited to ensure the protection of the facilities, the material or the secrecy of the investigations, studies or manufactures, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and RD $2,500.00 of fine.

Art. 489 (413) The attempt to commit the crimes provided for in articles 483 and 486 to 488 shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section II

Attacks on the secrecy of national defense

 

Art. 490 (413) Information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data or files that are of interest to national defense, and that have been subject to protection measures intended to restrict their dissemination, are of a secret nature for the purposes of this section.

Such measures may be applied to information, methods, objects, documents, computerized data or files whose disclosure could harm national defense or lead to the discovery of a secret concerning it.

The Executive Branch will regulate the classification levels of information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data or files that have a secret character of national defense, and the authorities in charge of defining the modalities according to which their protection is organized.

Art. 491 (413) The person who by status or profession, or by exercise of a function or mission, temporary or permanent, is the depository of information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data or files that have the character of a secret of national defense, and proceeds to destroy them, divert them, remove them, reproduce them or make them known to the public or to an unqualified person, will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed on the custodian when he allows another person to destroy, divert, remove, reproduce or disclose the information, plans, objects, documents, computerized data and files included in the preceding paragraph.

When the person in charge has acted recklessly or negligently, the offense will be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

Art. 492 (413) Any person not included in the previous article who: will be punished with five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00

        1° Seize a report, plan, object, document, computerized data or file that has the character of a national defense secret;

        2° Destroy, remove or reproduce, in any way whatsoever, such information, plan, object, document, computerized data or file;

        3° Make such information, plan, object, document, computerized data or file known to the public or to an unqualified person.

Art. 493 (413) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in the first paragraph of article 491 and in article 492 shall be punished with the same penalties.

CHAPTER FOUR – SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Art. 494 (414) In case of declared emergency, the infractions provided for in articles 482 to 484 shall be punished with the penalties of thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $600,000.00; and the infraction provided for in article 487 shall be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

In the cases covered by the preceding paragraph, the act of inducing the commission of the offenses provided for in Article 483 in order to harm national defense, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00; and the offense provided for in Article 487 with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

           

Art. 495 (414) Any person who attempts to commit one of the offenses provided for in Articles 464, 465, 468, 471, and 474 shall be exempt from punishment, when by warning made to the administrative or judicial authority, he has contributed to preventing the offense from materializing, and to identifying the other guilty parties.

Art. 496 (414) Any person who participated in the plot provided for in Article 475 shall be exempt from punishment if, before any prosecution, he has revealed the plot to the competent authorities and has allowed the identification of the other participants.

Art. 497 (414) The custodial sentence applicable to the author or accomplice of the offenses provided for in articles 466, 467, 469, 470 and 479 is reduced by half when the offender has warned the administrative or judicial authorities, and this has allowed to interrupt or stop the incriminating maneuvers, or has prevented the offense from causing the death or permanent disability of another, and allows to identify, if necessary, other guilty parties.

When the applicable penalty is life imprisonment, it will be reduced to twenty years of imprisonment.

Art. 498 (414) Natural persons guilty of the crimes and offenses provided for in this title shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 67, of exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed;

        3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or the thing that has been its product, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        4° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72.

Art. 499 (414) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be pronounced under the conditions provided by article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in chapters one, two and four of this title, and of articles 482 to 485, 491 and 492.

The provisions of the last four paragraphs of Article 71 shall not apply.

Art. 500 (414) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in this title.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

TITLE TWO – TERRORISM

CHAPTER ONE – ACTS OF TERRORISM

Art. 501 (421) Any of the offenses mentioned below constitute acts of terrorism when they are intentionally related to an individual or collective enterprise that aims to seriously disturb public order through intimidation or terror:

        1° Voluntary attacks against life and against the integrity of the person; abduction or kidnapping; as well as the diversion of aircraft, ships or any other means of transport, defined in Book Two;

        2° Thefts, extortions, destructions, degradations and deteriorations, as well as computer-related offenses provided for in Book Three;

        3° The manufacture or possession of machines, homicidal instruments or explosives;

   4° The production, sale, import or export of explosive substances;

   5° The acquisition, possession, transport or illegitimate carrying of explosive substances or instruments manufactured with the help of said substances;

   6° The manufacture, possession, storage, acquisition or transfer of biological or toxin-based weapons;

        7° The concealment of the product of one of the aforementioned infractions.

 

Art. 502 (421) The act of introducing into the atmosphere, on the soil, in the subsoil or in the waters, including those of the territorial sea, a substance of such a nature as to endanger the health of man or animals; or the natural environment, when it is intentionally related to an individual or collective undertaking that has as its purpose to seriously disturb public order by intimidation or terror, constitutes an act of terrorism.

Art. 503 (421) Sending or launching explosive letters or parcels of any kind, which affect or may affect the life or physical integrity of people, also constitutes an act of terrorism.

Art. 504 (421) Likewise, it constitutes an act of terrorism to participate in a group formed or in an agreement made for the preparation, characterized by one or more material facts, of one of the acts of terrorism mentioned in the preceding articles.

Art. 505 (421) The custodial sentences applicable to the acts of terrorism provided for in article 501 shall be increased according to the following scale:

        1° To the penalty of life imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of forty years' imprisonment;

        2° To the penalty of forty years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of thirty years' imprisonment;

        3° To the penalty of thirty years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of twenty years' imprisonment;

        4° To the penalty of twenty years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of fifteen years' imprisonment;

        5° To the penalty of fifteen years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of ten years' imprisonment;

        6° To a penalty of ten years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of seven years' imprisonment;

        7° To a penalty of seven years' imprisonment, when the offense is punishable by a penalty of five years' imprisonment;

        8° Double the penalty, when the offense is punishable by a three-year prison sentence.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the crimes, and to the offenses punishable by ten years' imprisonment, provided for in this Article.

Art. 506 (421) The act of terrorism foreseen in article 502, will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

When this act results in the death of one or more people, it will be punished with life imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the crime provided for in this Article.

Art. 507 (421) The act of terrorism defined in articles 503 and 504, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

When the infraction defined in article 503 results in the death of one or more persons, it will be punished with the penalty of life imprisonment.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the offense provided for in this Article.

CHAPTER TWO – SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Art. 508 (422) Any person who has attempted to commit an act of terrorism shall be exonerated from punishment when, by warning the administrative or judicial authority, he has prevented the commission of the offense and has allowed the identification of the other guilty parties.

 

Art. 509 (422) The prison sentence applicable to the perpetrator or accomplice of an act of terrorism is reduced by half when the offender, by alerting the administrative or judicial authorities, has allowed the incriminating acts to be stopped and prevented from causing death or permanent disability to another; and has identified the other perpetrators. However, when the applicable sentence is life imprisonment, it is reduced to a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.

Art. 510 (422) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this title shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67. However, the maximum period of interdiction will be increased to fifteen years in the case of crime, and ten years in the case of offense;

        2. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in Article 68, of exercising a public function, or of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement was committed. However, the maximum duration of the temporary prohibition shall be increased to ten years;

        3° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72. However, the maximum duration of the prohibition will be increased to fifteen years in the case of a crime and ten years in the case of a misdemeanor.

              

Art. 511 (422) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 71 on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in this title.

However, the provisions of the last four paragraphs of that article shall not apply.

Art. 512 (422) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for acts of terrorism defined in this title.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1st The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2. The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

 

TITLE THREE – ATTACKS ON THE CONSTITUTION

ALREADY THE STATE AUTHORITY

CHAPTER ONE – ATTACKS ON THE CONSTITUTION

Section I

Obstacles to the exercise of freedom of expression,

work, association, meeting, demonstration or worship

Art. 513 (431) The act of obstructing, in a concerted manner or through threats, the exercise of freedom of expression, work, association, assembly, demonstration or worship, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

The act of obstructing, in a concerted manner and through blows, violence, acts of force, destruction or degradation in the sense provided by this Code, the exercise of one of the freedoms included in the preceding paragraph, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 514 (431) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in the preceding article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1st The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2. The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function or of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed;

        3. The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding five years, a weapon subject to authorization.

Section II

Abuses of authority committed against individuals

 

Paragraph 1 – Attacks on individual freedom

Art. 515 (432) The act, committed by a person holding authority or public service, acting in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions and outside the cases and time limits provided for by law, of depriving a person of his liberty, without subjecting him to the action of justice; or arbitrarily ordering or carrying out any other act that violates individual liberty, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

When the deprivation of liberty is longer than seven days, the penalties will be increased to ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00.

In the cases covered by this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Art. 516 (432) Any person holding public authority or service, who, having become aware, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, of an illegal deprivation of liberty, voluntarily refrains from putting an end to it, if they have the power to do so, or otherwise from requesting the intervention of a competent authority, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Any person included in the preceding paragraph, who, having become aware in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, of a deprivation of liberty whose illegality is alleged, voluntarily abstains from proceeding with the necessary verifications if they have the power to do so, or otherwise, from transmitting the claim to a competent authority, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00, when the deprivation of liberty, recognized as illegal, has been prosecuted.

In the cases covered by this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Art. 517 (432) Any agent of the penitentiary administration, who receives or detains a person without a warrant, sentence or order of imprisonment, issued in accordance with the law and by a competent official; or who unduly prolongs the duration of a deprivation of liberty, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

In the cases covered by this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Paragraph 2 – Discrimination

Art. 518 (432) When the discrimination defined in article 261 consists of refusing the benefit of a right granted by law, or in hindering the normal exercise of any economic activity, and is committed by a person deposited with public authority or in charge of a public service, in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions, to the detriment of a natural or legal person, it shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

In the event foreseen in this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Paragraph 3 – Attacks on the inviolability of the home

 

Art. 519 (432) Any person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, who, acting in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of his functions, enters or attempts to enter the domicile of another, against the consent of the latter, outside of the cases provided for by law, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

In the cases covered by this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

In the cases provided for in this and the previous paragraph, public action cannot be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a report from his legal representative or his successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Paragraph 4 – Attacks on the secrecy of correspondence

Art. 520 (432) Any person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, or their dependents or assistants, who, acting in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, orders, carries out or facilitates, outside of the cases provided for by law, the distraction, suppression or opening of correspondence or disclosure of its content, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

In the event foreseen in this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

CHAPTER TWO – ATTACKS AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COMMITTED BY PERSONS EXERCISING A PUBLIC FUNCTION

Section I

Abuses of authority directed against the administration

 

Art. 521 (432) Any person holding public authority, acting in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, who takes measures intended to obstruct the execution of the law, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

In the event foreseen in this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Art. 522 (432) The infraction foreseen in the preceding article shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and RD $20,000.00 of fine, if it has been followed by effect.

In the event foreseen in this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Art. 523 (432) Any person holding public authority or service, or invested with a public elective mandate, who, having been officially informed of the decision or circumstance that terminates their functions, continues to exercise them, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Section II

Breaches of the duty of probity

 

Paragraph 1 – Concussion

Art. 524 (432) The act committed by any person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, of receiving, demanding or ordering to receive, as rights or contributions, taxes or public fees, a sum that this person knows is not owed, or exceeds what is owed, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and RD $10,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for the act, committed by the same persons, of granting in any form or for any reason, an exemption or franchise from rights, contributions, taxes or public fees, in violation of legal or regulatory texts.

In the cases provided for in this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this article will be punished with the same penalties.

Paragraph 2 – Passive corruption and influence peddling

committed by people who hold a public office

Art. 525 (432) Any act committed by any person holding public authority, or in charge of a public service, or invested with a public elective mandate, who directly or indirectly and without the right to do so, requests or grants values, offers, promises, gifts, presents, or advantages of any kind, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00, in any of the following cases:

        1° To perform or refrain from performing an act of his or her function, mission or mandate, or facilitated by his or her function, mission or mandate;

        2° For abusing their real or supposed influence to obtain distinctions, jobs, competitions or any other favorable decision from the authority or public administration.

In the cases covered by this article, the judge or court may substitute the applicable fine with one equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the authority or public servant to whom the incriminating act is attributed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Paragraph 3 – Illegal appropriation of interests

Art. 526 (432) The act committed by any person holding public authority or service, or invested with a public elective mandate, who takes, receives or retains, directly or indirectly, any interest in a company or operation in which he or she has, at the time of the act, in whole or in part, the charge of ensuring the supervision, administration, liquidation or payment, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine equivalent to ten times the amount of the salary earned by the public servant to whom the incriminating act is imputed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Art. 527 (432) Any public official, agent, or delegate of the public administration, charged by reason of his functions, with: ensuring the surveillance or control of a private company; concluding contracts of any nature with a private company; carrying out investigations and submitting reports in relation to operations carried out by a private company; who, while performing such functions or before the expiration of the period of five years, from the cessation of his functions, takes or receives economic participation in one of those companies by way of work, services, consultations, or investment of capital made in favor of them, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine equivalent to ten times the amount of the salary that the public servant to whom the incriminating act is imputed receives, at the time of committing the infraction.

Any participation by work, consultation or investment of capital in another private company that has at least thirty percent of the common capital with one of the aforementioned companies, or that has entered into a contract with them that entails exclusivity in fact or in law, will be punished with the same penalties.

For the purposes of this article, any public company that operates in a competitive sector and in accordance with the rules of private law is considered a private company.

Paragraph 4 – Attacks on freedom of access and equality of participants in the

public tenders and public service concessions

Art. 528 (432) The act of procuring or attempting to procure for another an unjustified advantage through an act contrary to the legislative or regulatory provisions, which are intended to guarantee the freedom of access and equality of the participants in public tenders and public service concessions, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the public servant to whom the incriminating act is imputed, at the time of committing the infraction, when this is committed by a person deposited with public authority, or in charge of a public service, or invested with a public elective mandate, or exercising the functions of representative of the State, of public establishments, of the public companies or companies subject to private capitalization, in accordance with Law No. 141-97, on Reform of the Public Enterprise, of June 24, 1997; or by any person acting on behalf of one of the persons mentioned above.

Paragraph 5 – Theft and misappropriation of assets

Art. 529 (432) The act of destroying, diverting, removing or using an act or title or public or private funds, effects, pieces, or any other object that has been delivered to him by reason of his functions or his mission, when committed by a person in charge of public authority or in charge of a public service, or a public depositary or one of his subordinates, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine equivalent to five times the amount of the salary earned by the public servant to whom the incriminating act is imputed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Attempted commission of the crime described in the preceding paragraph shall be punished with the same penalty.

Art. 530 (432) When the acts stated in the previous article are committed by a third party and result from the negligence of a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service or public depositary, it will be sanctioned with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine equivalent to three times the amount of the salary earned by the public servant to whom the incriminating act is imputed, at the time of committing the infraction.

Section III

Complementary penalties

Art. 531 (432) In the cases provided for in this chapter, one, several or all of the following penalties may also be imposed, as a supplementary measure:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function or of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infringement has been committed;

        3° Confiscation, according to the modalities provided for in article 62, of the sums or objects irregularly received by the perpetrator of the infraction, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution;

        4° In the case provided for in article 518, the publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced, under the conditions provided for in article 76.

 

CHAPTER THREE – ATTACKS ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COMMITTED BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS

Section I

Active corruption and trafficking

influence committed by individuals

Art. 532 (433) The act of proposing, without right, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantages whatsoever to obtain from a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service or invested with a public elective mandate, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00, when committed in order that:

        1° Fulfill or refrain from fulfilling an act of your functions, mission or mandate or facilitated by your function, mission or mandate;

          2° Abuse of real or supposed influence in order to obtain from an authority or public administration distinctions, jobs, competitions or any other favorable decision.

The same penalties will be imposed for accepting from a person holding public authority, in charge of a public service or invested with a public elective mandate, who requests, without right, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantages to perform or abstain from performing an act included in paragraph 1 of this article, or for abusing their influence under the conditions included in paragraph 2.

Art. 533 (433) Any person who solicits or accepts, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantages to abuse their real or supposed influence in order to obtain from the authority, or the public administration, distinctions, jobs, contests or any other decision in favor of third parties, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for accepting the requests provided for in the preceding paragraph, or for proposing, without right, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or advantages of any kind, so that a person may abuse their real or supposed influence in order to obtain from the authority or the public administration, distinctions, jobs, competitions or any other favorable decision.

 

 

 

 

Section II 

Threats and acts of intimidation committed

against people who hold a public office

Art. 534 (433) The threat to commit a crime or offense against the person or property of a magistrate, or of a lawyer, when the latter is or will be involved in a process that involves the perpetrator of the offense; a public or ministerial official in the exercise of their functions; a military officer, officer or member of the National Police, customs, the penitentiary administration or any other person holding public authority or in charge of a public service in the exercise or on the occasion of the exercise of their functions, when it is repeated or materialized by a writing, image, or any other means, will be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

When the threat involves death or an attack on property, or is dangerous to people, the penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

The act of uttering threats, or exercising violence or committing any other act of intimidation, in order to obtain from a person mentioned in the first paragraph, or invested with a public elective mandate, that they fulfill or refrain from fulfilling an act of their function, their mission or their mandate, or facilitated by their function, their mission or their mandate; or that they abuse their true or supposed authority, in order to obtain from the authority or the public administration distinctions, jobs, competitions or any other favorable decision, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Section III

Theft or misappropriation of goods placed in public deposit

Art. 535 (433) The act of destroying, diverting or removing an act, title, public or private funds, effects, pieces or documents previously deposited, or any other object that has been delivered, by reason of his functions, to a person in charge of public authority or in charge of a public service, to a public depositary, or to one of his subordinates, will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Section IV

The outrage

Article 536 (433) Words, gestures, threats, writings, or images of any kind not made public; or the sending of any object directed at a person in charge of a public service, in the exercise of or on the occasion of the exercise of their duties, and of a nature intended to offend their dignity or the respect due to the function with which they are invested, constitute an insult. Such insult shall be punished with a fine of RD$2,500.00.

When directed at a person holding public authority, the insult will be punished with six months' imprisonment and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

When committed in a meeting, the outrage foreseen in the first paragraph of this article will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00; and the one foreseen in its second paragraph will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

In the cases provided for in the two preceding articles, public action cannot be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party, or a report from his legal representative or successors.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

Section V

Rebellion

Art. 537 (433) Rebellion is constituted by the act of violently resisting a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, acting in the exercise of their functions, for the execution of the laws, the orders of the public authority, the sentences or mandates of the judicial officials.

Rebellion will be punished with six months in prison and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

Rebellion committed in a meeting will be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00.

 

Art. 538 (433) Armed rebellion will be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Armed rebellion committed in a meeting will be punished with seven years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Art. 539 (433) When the author of the rebellion is detained, the penalties pronounced for this crime of rebellion are accumulated, by derogation of articles 93 to 96, without possibility of confusion, with that which the interested party was serving or that pronounced for the offense for whose commission he was detained.

Art. 540 (433) Direct incitement to rebellion manifested by shouts or public speeches, writings posted or distributed by posters, or by any other means of transmission of the writing, word or image, will be punished with a fine of RD $2,500.00.

When the crime foreseen in the preceding paragraph is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws that govern these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of responsibilities.

Section VI

Opposition to the execution of public works

Art. 541 (433) The act of opposing by force or violence to the execution of public works or works of public utility, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Section VII

usurpation of functions

 

Article 542 (433) Usurpation of functions constitutes the act of a person, without the authority to do so, interfering in the exercise of a public function by performing or attempting to perform one of the acts reserved for the holder of that function. This act shall be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

Art. 543 (433) The following act, committed by any person, shall be punished with one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD$3,000.00:

        1° To carry out an activity under conditions of such a nature that it tends to create in the mind of the public a confusion with the exercise of a public function or of an activity reserved to public or ministerial officials;

        2° Use documents or writings that present, with judicial, extrajudicial or administrative documents, similarities of such a nature that they cause confusion in the minds of the public.

 

Section VIII

Usurpation of insignia and badges reserved for public authority

 

Art. 544 (433) Any person who publicly and without having the quality or right to do so will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00:

        1° Wear a suit, uniform or decoration whose use is reserved for public authority;

        2. Use a document justifying a professional qualification that you do not have; or a badge or emblem whose use is reserved for public authority;

        3° Use a vehicle whose exterior characteristics are identical to those used by public officials or authorities.

 

Art. 545 (433) Any person who publicly uses a suit, or uniform; uses a vehicle, or makes use of badges or documents that present such a resemblance to the suits, uniforms, vehicles, badges, emblems or documents, reserved to public officials and authorities, to the Armed Forces or to the National Police, that causes confusion in the mind of the public, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and RD $2,500.00 of fine.

Art. 546 (433) When the infractions provided for in this section are intended to prepare or facilitate the commission of a crime or offense, they shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Section IX

Usurpation of title

 

Art. 547 (433) The use, without right, of a title granted to a profession regulated by the public authority, or an official diploma, or a quality whose conditions of granting are set by the public authority, will be sanctioned with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and RD $3,000.00 of fine.

Section X

Irregular use of quality

Art. 548 (433) The founder or de jure or de facto leader of a company that pursues a profit-making purpose, who makes or allows to appear in an advertisement made in the interest of the company that he proposes to found or that he directs, shall be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00:

        1° The name, with mention of their status, of a member or former member of the Government, National Congress, City Council, National Council of the Magistracy, Supreme Court of Justice, Chamber of Accounts, Central Bank, members of the Monetary Board, or of a collegiate body, invested by law with a mission of public control and oversight;

        2° The name, with mention of his function, of a magistrate or a former magistrate, of an official or a former official, or of a public or ministerial officer;

        3° The name of a person with mention of the regulated decoration that has been awarded to him/her by the public authority.

The same penalties will be imposed on the act committed by a banker or a commercial agent of using the advertising referred to in the first paragraph.

Section XI

Attacks against the civil status of persons

Art. 549 (433) The following constitute an attack against the civil status of persons, committed in a public or authentic act or in an administrative document intended for the public authority, and outside of the cases in which the law permits it:

        1. Take a name different from the one assigned by the civil status;

        2° Change, alter or modify the name assigned by the civil status.

This type of attack on the civil status of persons will be punished with a prison sentence of six months and a fine of RD$2,500.00.

Art. 550 (433) Bigamy is the act of a person committed by the bond of marriage, contracting another before the dissolution of the previous one, and this infraction will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

The same penalty will be imposed on the Civil Registry Official or religious minister who officiated the marriage, knowing of the existence of the precedent.

Section XII

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

Art. 551 (433) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition for a period not exceeding five years from exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

        3° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 76.

Art. 552 (433) In the cases provided for by articles 532, 533 and 535, the confiscation of the sums or objects irregularly received by the perpetrator of the infraction may also be ordered, with the exception of objects susceptible to restitution.

Art. 553 (433) Natural persons guilty of one of the offenses provided for in article 538, shall also be subject to one or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The prohibition of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization for a period not exceeding five years;

        2° The confiscation of weapons that he owns or has free disposal of.

Art. 554 (433) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22 for the infractions provided for in sections I, VI, VII, IX and X of this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 6° and 7° of article 81, for a period not exceeding five years;

        3° The confiscation provided for in article 62;

        4° The publication by posters or the dissemination of the sentence pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 76.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which, or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER FOUR – ATTACKS ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

Section I

Obstacles to the seizure of justice

Art. 555 (434) Anyone who, having knowledge of a crime whose effects can still be prevented or limited, or whose perpetrators are capable of committing new crimes that could be prevented, does not inform the judicial or administrative authorities, or hinders the investigations carried out for this purpose by them, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

The provisions above do not apply, except with regard to crimes committed against children or adolescents:

        1° The direct line relatives and the brothers and sisters of the perpetrator or accomplice of the crime, as well as the spouses of said relatives and siblings of the offenders;

        2° The spouse of the perpetrator or accomplice of the crime or the person who lives with him in a notorious concubinage relationship.

Likewise, persons obliged to keep a secret under the conditions provided for in article 299 are excepted from the provisions of the first paragraph.

Art. 556 (434) When the crime referred to in the first paragraph of the previous article constitutes an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation, provided for in the first title of this Book, or an act of terrorism provided for in the second title of this Book, the penalties will be increased to five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

 

Art. 557 (434) Anyone who, having knowledge of deprivations, mistreatment or sexual assaults inflicted on a child or adolescent, or on a person who is unable to protect himself or herself due to his or her age, illness, disability, physical or mental deficiency or state of pregnancy, does not report the fact to the judicial or administrative authorities, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Except where otherwise provided by law, persons obliged to keep a secret, under the conditions provided for in article 299, are excepted from the provisions above.

Art. 558 (434) Anyone who obstructs or hinders the discovery of the truth of the events that occurred, by any of the following means, will be punished with three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00:

        1° By modifying the scene of a crime or offense, by altering, falsifying or disappearing traces or clues, or by placing or moving, or suppressing any object useful to discovering the truth of the facts;

        2° For destroying, removing, hiding, or altering a public or private document or an object intended to facilitate the discovery of a crime or offense, the search for evidence that serves for the acquittal or conviction of the accused.

When the acts foreseen in this article are committed by a person who, by virtue of their functions, is called upon to contribute to the manifestation of the truth, the penalties will be increased to five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 559 (434) Any threat or any other act of intimidation made against a person, in order to induce the victim of a crime or offense not to file a complaint or to withdraw a complaint filed, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 560 (434) Anyone who provides the perpetrator or accomplice of a crime or an act of terrorism, punishable by at least ten years of imprisonment; lodging, a place of hiding, subsidies, means of subsistence or any other resource, to remove him from investigations or detention, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00 when the offense is committed habitually.

The following are excepted from the preceding provisions:

        1° The direct line relatives and their spouses, as well as the brothers, sisters and their spouses, of the perpetrator or accomplice of the crime or act of terrorism;

        2° The spouse of the perpetrator or accomplice of the crime or act of terrorism, or the person who lives in a concubinage relationship in a notorious manner with him.

Art. 561 (434) The act of concealing or moving the corpse of a person who is a victim of homicide, or who died as a result of violence, will be punished with the penalties of two years in prison and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Section II

Obstacles to the administration of justice

Art. 562 (434) The act of a judge or court refusing to judge and provide the requests presented to it, after having been required to do so, and persevering in its refusal after the warning or intimation of its superiors or the parties, will be sanctioned with the penalties of a fine of RD $10,000.00 and the prohibition of the exercise of public functions, for no more than five years.

The same penalties will be imposed on any other civil, administrative or municipal authority that refuses, under the conditions indicated above, the requirements made to it.

Art. 563 (434) Any threat, or act of intimidation, made against a magistrate, or any other person, acting in a jurisdictional function; an arbitrator, interpreter or expert, or the lawyer of a party, in order to influence their behavior in the exercise of their functions, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 564 (434) Any magistrate, or any other person exercising a jurisdictional function, arbitrator or expert appointed by the judge or court or by the parties; or the person charged by the judicial authority with a mission of conciliation or mediation, who requests or accepts without right, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or advantages of any kind for the fulfillment or abstention from an act of his function, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Giving in to the requests of a person included in the preceding paragraph, or making offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantage, in order to obtain from one of these persons the fulfillment or abstention from an act of his function, will be punished with the same penalties.

When the offense defined in the first paragraph is committed by a magistrate for the benefit or detriment of a person who is the object of criminal prosecution, the penalties will be increased to fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$300,000.00.

Art. 565 (434) Anyone who, knowing the proof of the innocence of a person provisionally detained or tried for a crime or offense, voluntarily refrains from immediately providing testimony of this to the judicial or administrative authorities, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

However, he is exempt from punishment if he provides his testimony late, but spontaneously.

The provisions of the first paragraph do not apply to:

        1° The perpetrator or accomplice of the offense that motivates the prosecution, their direct relatives and their spouses, as well as their brothers, sisters and their spouses;

        2° The spouse of the perpetrator or accomplice of the offense that motivates the prosecution, or the person who lives in a concubinage relationship in a notorious manner with him.

Also exempt from the provisions of the first paragraph are persons obliged to keep secret under the conditions provided for in article 299.

Art. 566 (434) Anyone who, having publicly declared knowing the perpetrators of a crime or offense, refuses to answer the questions posed to them in this regard by a judge or court, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 567 (434) False testimony made under oath before any jurisdiction, public official, judicial or administrative official shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

However, the false witness is exempt from punishment if he spontaneously retracts his testimony before the ordinance or sentence that ends the proceedings before the investigating or trial court is issued.

Art. 568 (434) False testimony shall be punished with seven years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when:

        1° It is induced by the delivery of a gift or any reward;

        2° When it is issued in favor of or against a person being prosecuted for the commission of a crime.

Art. 569 (434) The act of making use of promises, offers, gifts, pressures, threats, acts of force, maneuvers or artifices in the course of a procedure, or in view of a claim or defense in justice, in order to induce another, to make or give a false statement, declaration, or testimony, or to refrain from making or giving a false statement, declaration or testimony, shall be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00, even if the bribe has not achieved its effect.

Art. 570 (434) The publication, before the final jurisdictional sentence is issued, of comments intended to exert pressure, in order to influence the statements of witnesses, or the order or sentence of the jurisdictions of instruction or trial, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

When the infringement is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Art. 571 (434) False oaths, whether supplementary or decisive, in civil matters, will be punished with three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

Art. 572 (434) The interpreter who, in any matter, distorts the substance of the words or documents translated, shall be sanctioned according to the distinctions of articles 567 and 568, with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00, or with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00, as the case may be.

Art. 573 (434) Bribery of the interpreter will be punished according to the conditions provided for in article 569.

Art. 574 (434) The expert who, in any matter, falsifies, in his written reports or in his oral presentations, the data or results of the expert report, will be sanctioned, according to the distinctions of articles 567 and 568 with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and RD $10,000.00 of fine, or with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and RD $14,000.00 of fine, as the case may be.

Art. 575 (434) The bribery of the expert will be sanctioned according to the conditions provided for in article 569.

Art. 576 (434) The breaking of seals affixed by the judicial authority shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Attempts to break seals will be punished with the same penalties.

Any distraction or displacement of objects placed under seal or in the hands of the justice system will also be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 577 (434) The act of taking the name of a third party, in circumstances that have determined or that could have determined criminal prosecutions against him, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000,00.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 93 and 96, the penalties imposed for this crime are cumulative, without possibility of confusion, with those that have been pronounced for the offense on the occasion of which the usurpation has been committed.

The false declaration relating to the civil status of a person, which has determined or could have determined criminal prosecutions against a third party, will be punished with the penalties provided for in the first paragraph of this article.

Section III

Attacks on the authority of justice

Paragraph 1 – Attacks on the respect due to justice

Art. 578 (434) Outrage by words, gestures or threats; by writing or images of any nature, not made public; or by sending any objects, directed to a magistrate, or to any person exercising jurisdictional functions, in the exercise of their functions or on the occasion of this exercise; tending to attack their dignity or the respect due to the function with which they are invested, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and RD $3,000.00 of fine.

If the outrage takes place in a hearing or before a judge in the exercise of his functions, the penalties will be increased to two years in prison and a fine of RD$4,000.00.

Art. 579 (434) The act of publicly discrediting, through records, words, writings or images of any nature, a jurisdictional act or decision, under conditions that threaten the authority of justice or its independence, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to technical comments, nor to acts, words, writings or images of any nature intended to modify, review or overturn a judgment.

When the infringement is committed through the written or audiovisual press, the particular provisions of the laws governing these matters are applicable, with regard to the determination of the responsible persons.

Public action for this offense shall be time-barred after two months from the day on which the offense provided for in this article is committed, if no act of investigation or prosecution has been carried out during this interval.

 

Art. 580 (434) The act of falsely reporting to the judicial or administrative authority facts constituting a crime or offense, which have prompted the judicial authorities to conduct useless investigations, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Paragraph 2 – Evasion

Art. 581 (434) It constitutes punishable evasion when a detainee escapes from the custody to which he is subjected, by means of violence, breaking and entering or corruption, even when these have been committed in concert with him by a third party.

Tax evasion will be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

Art. 582 (434) For the purposes of this paragraph, any person who: is considered a detainee

        1° Be under arrest;

        2° Is in the process of being presented before the judicial authority that has issued a preventive detention order, or in execution of a warrant for transport or provisional detention;

        3° He has been notified of a warrant for prevention or provisional imprisonment that has been fulfilled;

        4° Is serving a prison sentence, or has been arrested to carry out said sentence;

        5° Is imprisoned for extradition purposes.

Art. 583 (434) He also commits evasion, and will be punished with the same penalties:

        1° The detainee who escapes from the surveillance to which he was subjected in a health or hospital establishment;

        2° The convicted person who escapes from the control to which he was subject, when he is the object of a sentence of release, or while he benefits from the regime of semi-freedom or permission to leave;

        3° The convicted person who does not return to the penitentiary establishment, after a measure of suspension or division of imprisonment, release, semi-freedom or permission to leave has been issued.

        4° The convicted person subject to electronic surveillance who neutralizes by any means the procedure that allows detecting his presence at a distance, or his absence from the place designated by the judge of application of the sentences.

 

Art. 584 (434) When the violence, referred to in the infractions typified in article 581 and in paragraph 1 of article 583, consists of the threat with a weapon or with an explosive, incendiary or toxic substance, or when they have been committed within the framework of a concerted action between several, they will be sanctioned with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and RD $14,000.00 of fine.

The penalties will be increased to ten years in prison and a fine of RD$20,000.00 when a weapon or an explosive, incendiary or toxic substance has been used.

Art. 585 (434) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 93 to 96, the penalties imposed for the crime of escape are added together, without possibility of confusion, with those that the escapee suffered, or those that could be imposed for the offense for which reason he was detained.

Art. 586 (434) The act of providing a detainee or escapee with any means to escape from the custody to which he was subjected, will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

If the contest thus provided is accompanied by violence, break-ups or corruption, the offense will be punished with five years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

If this contest involves the supply or use of a weapon or an explosive, incendiary or toxic substance, the offense will be punished with seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$14,000.00.

Art. 587 (434) Any person in charge of the surveillance of a detainee, who facilitates or prepares, even by means of voluntary abstention, the escape, will be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and RD $20,000.00 of fine.

These provisions also apply to any person authorized by their duties to enter a prison establishment, or to approach detainees in any capacity.

In the cases provided for in this article, if the assistance provided consists of the supply or use of a weapon, or an explosive, incendiary or toxic substance, the offense will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

Art. 588 (434) The persons included in articles 586 and 587, may be jointly and severally condemned to the damages that the victim would have had the right to obtain from the detainee, by the exercise of the civil action, by reason of the infraction that motivated the detention of the latter.

Art. 589 (434) The act, in any place where it occurs, of delivering or making available to a detainee, or of receiving and transmitting to him sums of money, correspondence, objects or any substances, outside of the cases authorized by the law and the regulations relating to penitentiary matters, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to three years in prison and a fine of RD$6,000.00 if the guilty party is in charge of the surveillance of the detainee or if he is authorized by his functions to enter a penitentiary establishment or to approach, in any capacity whatsoever, the detainees.

Art. 590 (434) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this paragraph shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 591 (434) Any person who has attempted to commit, as a principal or accomplice, one of the offenses provided for in this paragraph shall be exempt from punishment when, having warned the judicial authority or the penitentiary administration, he has prevented the escape from taking place.

Paragraph 3 – Other attacks on the authority of criminal justice

Art. 592 (434) Any person sentenced to interdiction of residence, who appears in a place where they are prohibited, shall be punished with two years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$4,000.00. The same penalties shall apply to the act of said person evading the surveillance or control measures prescribed by the judge or court.

Art. 593 (434) When a sentence orders, as a penalty, the posting of the sentence of conviction by posters, the act of suppressing, concealing or damaging totally or partially the posted posters, will be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

In this case, the sentence will again order the posting of signs, at the expense of the offender.

Art. 594 (434) When the prohibition of exercising a professional or social activity provided for in articles 68 to 70 has been pronounced as a penalty, any violation of that prohibition will be sanctioned with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 595 (434) The violation by the convicted person of the obligations or prohibitions resulting from the penalties of suspension or annulment of the driver's license, prohibition of possessing or carrying a weapon, prohibition of issuing checks or using credit cards; closure of establishments or exclusion from participating in public competitions; imposed in application of articles 47, 51, 55, 58 and 59, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for destroying or diverting, or attempting to destroy or divert, an immobilized vehicle, or a vehicle, weapon or any other object confiscated in application of articles 47, 51, 55 to 58.

The same penalties will be imposed on any person who, upon receiving notification of a decision issued against him in application of the aforementioned articles, ordering the suspension or cancellation of the driver's license, the confiscation of a vehicle, weapon or any other object, refuses to hand over the suspended, canceled or withdrawn permit, or the confiscated item, to the agent of the authority in charge of the execution of that decision.

Art. 596 (434) The violation, by the convicted person, of the obligations resulting from the sentence of community service, imposed as a principal or complementary sentence, will be sanctioned with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Art. 597 (434) When one of the penalties provided for in article 81 has been imposed against a legal entity, the violation by a natural person of the obligations that he or she has to fulfill in this regard, will be sanctioned with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Section IV

Additional penalties applicable to individuals

individuals and criminal liability of legal entities

Art. 598 (434) Natural persons guilty of one of the crimes provided for in articles 558 to 563; 565, 567 to 569; 571 to 577; 581, 583, 584, 586, 587, 589, 590 and 594 to 597 shall also be subject to the interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67.

In the cases provided for in articles 570 and 579, the posting of the sentence by signs or its dissemination under the conditions provided for in article 76 may be ordered.

In the cases provided for in article 587 and in the second paragraph of article 589, the prohibition may be imposed, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, on exercising a public function or the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed.

Art. 599 (434) In all cases provided for in this chapter, the confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction will also be ordered, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution.

Art. 600 (434) The prohibition of use of the Dominican territory may be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 71, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of any of the infractions provided for in the second paragraph of article 564 to 584, the last paragraph of article 586 and article 587.

Art. 601 (434) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 593 and 597.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in paragraphs 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 6° and 7° of article 81, for a period not exceeding five years;

        3° The confiscation provided for in article 62;

        4° The posting of the sentence issued under the conditions provided for in article 76.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 shall apply to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of which the infraction has been committed.

TITLE FOURTH – ATTACKS ON PUBLIC TRUST

CHAPTER I – FALSEHOODS

Art. 602 (441) Falsity constitutes any fraudulent alteration of the truth, of such a nature that it causes harm, committed by any means, in a writing or in any medium of expression of thought, which has as its object or which may have as its effect the establishment of proof of a right or of a fact that has legal consequences.

Falsification and the use of falsehoods will be punished with three years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$6,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00 when the infraction is committed under any of the following circumstances:

        1° To the detriment of a charity, social assistance, asylums for children or adolescents or the elderly, or other non-profit entity;

        2° To the detriment of five or more persons;

        3° Causing economic damage in an amount equal to or greater than RD $100,000.00.

Art. 603 (441) Falsification committed in a document issued by the public administration for the purpose of verifying a right, identity or quality, or that grants an authorization, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The use of the false document mentioned in the preceding paragraph will be punished with the same penalties.

The penalties will be increased to seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00, when the falsification or use of the false document is committed in any of the following circumstances:

        1° By a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, acting in the exercise of their functions;

        2. On a regular basis;

        3° With the intention of facilitating the commission of a crime or of ensuring the impunity of its perpetrator.

Art. 604 (441) The fraudulent possession of one of the false documents defined in the previous article shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to five years in prison and a fine of RD$10,000.00 in cases of fraudulent possession of several false documents.

Art. 605 (441) Falsification committed in a public or authentic deed or in a register ordered by the public authority, will be punished with the penalties of fifteen years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $300,000.00.

The use of the false document mentioned in the preceding paragraph will be punished with the same penalties.

When the falsification or use of a false document is committed by a person holding public authority, a public official, or in charge of a public service, acting in the exercise of their functions or service, they will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 606 (441) The act of fraudulently procuring for another a document issued by any public administration body for the purpose of verifying a right, identity, or quality, or granting authorization, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The penalties will be increased to seven years in prison and a fine of RD$14,000.00 when the infraction is committed under any of the following circumstances:

        1° By a person holding public authority or in charge of a public service, acting in the exercise of their functions;

        2. On a regular basis;

        3° With the intention of facilitating the commission of a crime or ensuring the impunity of its perpetrator.

Art. 607 (441) The act of improperly obtaining from the public administration or from an agency in charge of a public service, by any fraudulent means whatsoever, a document intended to verify a right, identity, quality, or to grant authorization, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

Making a false statement in order to obtain an allocation, payment or undue advantage from the public administration or an agency in charge of a public service will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 608 (441) Regardless of the cases provided for in this chapter, any of the following acts shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00:

        1. Submitting a statement or certificate containing materially inaccurate facts;

        2° Falsifying a statement or certificate that was originally truthful;

        3. Making use of an inaccurate or falsified statement or certificate.

When the infraction is committed with the purpose of causing harm to the treasury or the property of another; or if as a consequence of the issuance of such certificate, a mentally healthy person has been confined in a medical-psychiatric treatment center or other public or private mental health medical establishment, the penalties will be increased to three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

 

Art. 609 (441) Any person who, acting in the exercise of his profession, requests or accepts, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantages, to present a declaration or a certificate stating materially inaccurate facts, shall be punished with the penalties of two years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $4,000.00.

The same penalties will be imposed for yielding to the requests provided for in the preceding paragraph, or for using force, threats; or making, directly or indirectly, offers, promises, gifts, presents or any advantages to obtain from a person acting in the exercise of their profession, a declaration or certificate that states inaccurate facts.

When the person mentioned in the first two paragraphs of this article practices a medical or health profession and the declaration states inaccurate facts that conceal or falsely certify the existence of an illness, disability or pregnancy, or provides false indications about the origin of an illness, disability or the cause of death, the penalties will be increased to five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD$10,000.00.

Art. 610 (441) The attempt to commit the crimes provided for in articles 602, 603 and 606 to 609, will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 611 (441) Natural persons guilty of the crimes and offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition of exercising a public function or an activity of a professional or social nature, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3. Exclusion from participating in public competitions;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense or of the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution.

Art. 612 (441) The prohibition of use of Dominican territory may be pronounced under the conditions provided for in article 71, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in this chapter.

Art. 613 (441) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER TWO – COUNTERFEITING BANKNOTES

BANK AND CURRENCY

Art. 614 (442) The imitation or counterfeiting of pieces of currency or banknotes that have legal tender in the Dominican Republic, or those issued by foreign or international institutions authorized to do so, will be punished with the penalties of thirty years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $600,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the security period, shall apply to the infringements provided for in this Article.

       

Art. 615 (442) The transport, the putting into circulation, or the possession for the purpose of putting into circulation the imitated or counterfeit monetary signs, included in the previous article, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

When committed by an organized gang, the same acts will be punished with penalties of thirty years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$600,000.00.

The first two paragraphs of Article 113, relating to the safety period, shall apply to the infringement provided for in the second paragraph of this Article.

Art. 616 (442) The imitation or counterfeiting of Dominican or foreign currency or banknotes that are no longer legal tender or are no longer authorized, will be punished with five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 617 (442) The putting into circulation of any unauthorized monetary sign, which is intended to replace the pieces of coins or banknotes that have legal tender in the Dominican Republic, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 618 (442) The use or possession without authorization of materials and instruments specially intended for the manufacture of coins and banknotes will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 619 (442) The manufacture, sale or distribution of all objects, printed materials or formulas that bear such a resemblance to the monetary symbols provided for in article 614, that it induces the acceptance of said objects, printed materials or formulas in place of the imitated ones, shall be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 620 (442) Anyone who, having received the imitated or counterfeit monetary signs provided for in article 614, accepting them as valid, puts them back into circulation, after having discovered such defects, shall be sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Art. 621 (442) The attempt to commit the crimes provided for in the first paragraph of article 615 and in articles 616 to 620, shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 622 (442) Any person who has attempted to commit any of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall be exonerated from penalties when, by his warning to the administrative or judicial authority, the offense has been prevented from being carried out, and this has allowed the identification of the other guilty parties.

Art. 623 (442) The custodial sentence applicable to the author or accomplice of the offenses provided for in articles 614 to 617, shall be reduced by half when, by the warning made to the administrative or judicial authorities, the incriminating actions have ceased and this has allowed the identification of the other guilty parties.

Art. 624 (442) Natural persons guilty of the crimes and offenses provided for in articles 614 to 619 shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

        1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

        2° The prohibition of exercising a public function or an activity of a professional or social nature, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

        3° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 72.

Art. 625 (442) The prohibition of the use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided for in Article 70, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the offenses provided for in Articles 614 to 617.

The provisions of the last five paragraphs of Article 71 shall not apply.

Art. 626 (442) In all cases provided for in this chapter, the confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product, may also be ordered, except for objects susceptible of restitution.

The confiscation of coins and banknotes imitated or counterfeited in this way, as well as the materials and instruments used for their manufacture, is mandatory.

Whenever the imitation or counterfeiting involves coins or banknotes, the imitated or counterfeit monetary instruments shall be sent to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic for destruction. Likewise, any materials and instruments confiscated by the judge or court in connection with the aforementioned offense shall be sent to the Central Bank for the same purpose.

The confiscation of the objects or printed materials indicated in Article 619 is mandatory. This entails the transfer of the confiscated item to the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.

Art. 627 (442) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions included in this chapter.

          The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

        2° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

        3° Confiscation, according to the modalities provided for in article 626.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 refers to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

CHAPTER THREE – FALSIFICATION OF SECURITIES OR OTHER FIDUCIARY INSTRUMENTS ISSUED BY PUBLIC AUTHORITY

Art. 628 (443) The imitation or falsification of securities issued by the State, with its seals or marks, or effects issued by foreign States with their seals or marks, as well as the use or transport of these imitated or falsified securities and effects, shall be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

Art. 629 (443) The imitation or falsification of postage stamps or other postal fiduciary values, as well as of the stamps issued by the administration of public finances, and the sale, transport, distribution or use of these imitated or falsified stamps or values, shall be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

Art. 630 (443) The manufacture, sale, transport or distribution of all objects or printed materials that present such a resemblance to the securities or fiduciary values ​​issued by the State, the National District and the Municipalities, that may induce the acceptance of said objects or printed materials in place of the imitated ones, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

 

Art. 631 (443) The imitation or falsification of foreign postage stamps or other postal values ​​issued by the postal service of a foreign country, as well as the sale, transport, distribution or use of these imitated or falsified stamps or values, shall be punished with the penalties of six months of imprisonment and a fine of RD $2,500.00.

Art. 632 (443) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this chapter shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 633 (443) Natural persons guilty of the crimes provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

2° The prohibition of exercising a public function or an activity of a professional or social nature, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution.

In all cases, the confiscation of the evidence is mandatory. This entails handing the confiscated item over to the affected public body or institution for its eventual destruction.

Art. 634 (443) The prohibition of the use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided for in Article 70, on a permanent basis or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in Articles 628 to 629.

Art. 635 (443) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible under the conditions set forth in Article 22, for the infractions provided for in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

2° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

3° Confiscation, according to the modalities provided for in article 633.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR – COUNTERFEITING OF TRADEMARKS AND SIGNS

OF THE AUTHORITY

Art. 636 (444) The imitation or falsification of the State seal and the national stamps and punches used to mark pieces of gold, silver, platinum, or any other metal; or the use of these imitated or falsified seals, stamps and punches, shall be punished with the penalties of ten years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $20,000.00.

Art. 637 (444) The fraudulent use of the State seal and the national stamps and punches used to mark pieces of gold, silver or platinum or any other metal, will be punished with the penalties of seven years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $14,000.00.

Art. 638 (444) The act of imitating, falsifying, selling or distributing the seals, stamps or marks of the public authority; printed papers or envelopes for official use, will be punished with the penalties of five years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $10,000.00.

The use of seals, stamps or marks of public authority, printed papers or envelopes for official use, whether imitated or counterfeit, will be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 639 (444) The fraudulent use of the seals, marks, stamps, papers or printed materials indicated in the previous article will be punished with the penalties of three years of imprisonment and a fine of RD $6,000.00.

This article and the previous one shall apply without prejudice to the provisions of Law 11-92 or the Tax Code.

Art. 640 (444) The manufacture, sale, distribution or use of printed materials that resemble official printed materials, which may create confusion in the minds of the public, will be punished with the penalties of one year of imprisonment and a fine of RD $3,000.00.

Art. 641 (444) Attempts to commit the crimes provided for in this chapter shall be punished with the same penalties.

Art. 642 (444) Natural persons guilty of the crimes and offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

2° The prohibition of exercising a public function or an activity of a professional or social nature, according to the modalities provided for in article 68;

3. Exclusion from participating in public competitions;

4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product, with the exception of objects susceptible of restitution.

In all cases, the confiscation of the evidence is mandatory. This entails handing over the confiscated item to the affected public body or institution for its eventual destruction.

Art. 643 (444) The prohibition of the use of Dominican territory may be imposed under the conditions provided in article 70, on a permanent basis, or for a period not exceeding ten years, against any foreigner guilty of one of the infractions provided for in this chapter.

Art. 644 (444) Legal entities may be held criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions included in this chapter.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

2° The penalties mentioned in article 81;

3° Confiscation, according to the modalities provided for in article 642.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

 

 

TITLE FIVE – PARTICIPATION IN AN ASSOCIATION

OF CRIMINALS

 

 

Art. 645 (450) Any group formed or agreement established with the aim of preparing, through material acts, one or more crimes or offenses constitutes an association of wrongdoers, provided that the latter are punishable by a sentence of ten years of imprisonment.

Participation in a criminal association will be punished with ten years' imprisonment and a fine of RD$20,000.00.

Art. 646 (450) Any person who has participated in the group or agreement defined in the preceding article shall be exempt from punishment if, before any prosecution, he has revealed the existence of the group or agreement to the competent authorities, and has allowed the identification of the other participants.

Art. 647 (450) Natural persons guilty of the offense provided for in article 645 shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following penalties:

1° The interdiction of civic, civil and family rights, according to the modalities provided for in article 67;

2° The prohibition, according to the modalities provided for in article 68, of exercising a public function or of exercising the professional or social activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise, the infringement has been committed;

3° The interdiction of residence, according to the modalities provided for in article 68.

These persons may also be subject to other supplementary penalties applicable to the crimes and offenses that the group or agreement was intended to prepare.

Art. 648 (450) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infraction provided for in article 645.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 80;

2° The penalties mentioned in article 81.

The prohibition mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 81 applies to the activity in the exercise of which or on the occasion of whose exercise the infraction has been committed.

BOOK FIVE

OFFENSES

 

TITLE ONE – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 649 (510) Contraventions and their sanctions are determined as established in this Book, independently of those provided for in procedural legislation and municipal ordinances.

Art. 650 (510) An accomplice to a contravention, as defined in article 27, shall be given the same penalty as the perpetrator.

Art. 651 (510) The contraventions provided for in this Book shall be sanctioned, according to the following scale:

        1th Fine not exceeding RD$2,000.00;

        2th Fine not exceeding RD$1,500.00;

        3th Fine not exceeding RD$1,000.00;

        4th Fine not exceeding RD$500.00;

        5th Fine not exceeding RD$100.00.

Art. 652 (510) The judge may, if he considers it appropriate, reduce the fine penalty to one-quarter of the amount provided.

           

TITLE TWO – OFFENSES AGAINST PERSONS

 

 

CHAPTER ONE – OFFENSES AGAINST HONOR

 

Section I

Non-public defamation and slander

Art. 653 (521) Non-public defamation against a person will be punished with a fine of RD $500.00.

Art. 654 (521) Non-public insult against a person will be punished with a fine of RD $100.00.

 

Section II

Defamation and slander not in public,

with a racist or discriminatory character

Art. 655 (521) Non-public defamation committed against a person or group of persons, based on their origin or their belonging or not, real or supposed, to a specific ethnicity, nation, race or religion, will be punished with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

Art. 656 (521) Non-public insult committed against a person or group of persons, by reason of their origin, belonging or not, real or supposed, to a specific ethnicity, nation, race or religion, will be punished with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

Art. 657 (521) Persons guilty of the offenses provided for in this chapter shall also be punished with one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The prohibition of possessing or carrying one or more weapons subject to authorization, for a period not exceeding three years;

        2° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or the thing that is its product, except those susceptible of restitution to third parties.

Art. 658 (521)Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided for in article 22, for the infractions provided for in articles 655 and 656.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or the thing that is its product.

Art. 659 In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

The public action and the civil action resulting from the defamation and slander provided for in this chapter shall be subject to a statute of limitations after two months have elapsed, from the day on which such offenses were committed or from the day of the last act of prosecution, if this has taken place.

CHAPTER TWO – ATTACKS ON INTEGRITY

OF THE PERSON THAT DO NOT ENTAIL

NO TOTAL WORK DISABILITY

Art. 660 (522) Outside of the case provided for in article 672, the act of attacking the integrity of another, through clumsiness, imprudence, inadvertence, negligence or failure to comply with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, without resulting in incapacity for work, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $500.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article will also be subject to the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has been used to commit the infraction.

Art. 661 (522) Legal entities may be declared criminally responsible, under the conditions provided by article 22, for the infraction defined in the preceding article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has been used to commit the infraction.

Art. 662 (522) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

CHAPTER THREE – VAGRANCY AND EXCITATION OF

DANGEROUS ANIMALS

Art. 663 (523)The owner or guardian of an animal dangerous to people, who lets it roam, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $500.00.

In the event of conviction of the owner or guardian, or if these are unknown, the court may order the delivery of the animal to a recognized public or private animal protection institution, or to any other institution intended for such purposes, which may freely dispose of the animal.

Art. 664 (523) The owner or guardian of an animal dangerous to people, who excites or does not stop said animal when it attacks or chases a passerby, even if the passerby has not suffered any injury, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,000.00.

In the event of conviction of the owner or guardian, or if these are unknown, the court may order the delivery of the animal to a public or private animal protection institution, which may freely dispose of the animal.

Art. 665 (523) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon withdrawal of the complaint or report by the aggrieved party or his attorney with special and express power of attorney.

CHAPTER FOUR – THREATS OF VIOLENCE

Art. 666 (524)Outside of the cases provided for by articles 199 and 200, the threat to commit violence against a person, when it is repeated or materialized by a writing, image or any other means, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,000.00.

Art. 667 (524) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

CHAPTER FIVE – INJURIOUS NOISES OR DISTURBANCES

OR NIGHTTIME

Art. 668 (525) Injurious or nocturnal noises or disturbances that disturb the tranquility of another, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,000.00.

Those guilty of the contraventions provided for in this article will also be subject to the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction.

The act of knowingly facilitating, through aid or assistance, the preparation or commission of the offenses provided for in this article, will be punished with the same penalties.

CHAPTER SIX – VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE

 

Section I

Minor violence

 

Art. 669 (526)Outside of the cases provided for by articles 194 and 195, voluntary violence that has not caused total incapacity for work, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding three years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying a weapon subject to authorization, for a period not exceeding three years;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons, of which the convicted person is the owner or has free disposal;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product, except those susceptible to restitution.

The act of knowingly facilitating, through aid or assistance, the preparation or commission of the contravention foreseen in this article, shall be punished with the same penalties.

Section II

Other forms of violence

Art. 670 (526) Outside of the cases provided for in articles 194 and 195, voluntary violence that results in total incapacity for work for a duration less than or equal to eight days, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the supplementary penalties provided for in the previous article.

Section III

Voluntary and negligent attacks on the integrity of people

Art. 671 (526) Outside of the case provided for by article 206, the act of causing another, through clumsiness, imprudence, inadvertence, negligence or failure to comply with a safety or prudence obligation, imposed by law or regulations, a total incapacity for work of a duration less than or equal to three months, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Art. 672 (526) Anyone who commits an attack on the safety of another, due to the deliberate noncompliance with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, without resulting in a total incapacity for work, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding three years. This suspension may be limited to the right to drive outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product;

        5° Carrying out community service work for a duration of twenty to one hundred and twenty hours.

The act of knowingly facilitating, through aid or assistance, the preparation or commission of the contravention foreseen in this article, shall be punished with the same penalties.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with article 102.

Art. 673 (526) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN – DISSEMINATION OF CONTRARY MESSAGES

TO DECENCY

Art. 674 (527) The act of disseminating in public places or places accessible to the public, messages contrary to the decency of another, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

Sending or distributing such messages to a home address without prior request from the recipient will be punished with the same penalty.

Those guilty of the contraventions provided for in this article will also be punished with the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction, or of the thing that is its product.

The act of knowingly facilitating, through aid or assistance, the preparation or commission of the offenses provided for in this article, will be punished with the same penalties.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the infringements provided for in this article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

 

TITLE THREE – OFFENSES

AGAINST PROPERTY

CHAPTER ONE – THREATS OF DESTRUCTION, DEGRADATION OR DETERIORATION THAT ONLY CAUSE MINOR DAMAGE

 

Art. 675 (531) Outside of the case provided for by article 439, the threat to destroy, degrade or damage the property of another, which only entails a slight damage, when it is repeated, or materialized by a writing, image or any other means, will be sanctioned with the penalty of RD $100.00 of fine.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one or all of the following supplementary penalties:

1st The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

2th The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the offense defined in this article.

The penalty applicable to legal entities is a fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83.

Art. 676 (531) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

CHAPTER TWO – ATTACK AGAINST PUBLIC PROPERTY

  

Section I

Abandoning garbage, waste, materials or other objects

Art. 677 (532) The act of depositing, abandoning or throwing away, in a public or private place, with the exception of places designated for these purposes by the competent municipal authority, garbage, waste, materials or any other object, of any nature, if said deposit is not made by the person who has the enjoyment of the place or with his authorization, will be sanctioned with the penalty of RD $500.00 of fine.

The same penalty will be imposed on the driver of a motor vehicle, regardless of its type, who throws, or allows one of his passengers to throw such objects onto the public road.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the infringement set forth in this article.

The penalty applicable to legal entities is a fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83.

 

Section II

Abandoning vehicle remains or garbage,

waste, materials and other objects transported in a vehicle

 

Art. 678 (532) The act of depositing, abandoning or throwing away, in a public or private place, except for premises designated for this purpose by the competent municipal authority, scrap metal, or remains of motor vehicles, garbage, waste, materials or any other object, of any nature, when these have been transported with the help of a vehicle, if this deposit is not made by the person who has possession of the place or has the authorization of it, will be sanctioned with the penalty of RD $2,000.00 of fine.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction or of the thing that is its product.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the offense defined in this article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

CHAPTER THREE – THREAT OF DESTRUCTION, DEGRADATION OR DETERIORATION THAT DOES NOT CAUSE HARM TO PEOPLE

 

Art. 679 (533) Outside of the case provided for in article 439, the threat of destruction, degradation or deterioration that does not present danger to persons, when it is repeated or materialized by a writing, image or any other means will be sanctioned with the penalty of RD $1,500.00 of fine.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1st The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

        2. The confiscation of one or more weapons owned by the convicted person or with free disposal.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the offense defined in this article.

The penalty applicable to legal entities is a fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83.

CHAPTER FOUR – DESTRUCTION, DEGRADATION AND DETERIORATION RESULTING IN MINOR DAMAGE

        Art. 680 (534) The destruction, degradation or voluntary deterioration of property belonging to another, which results in minor damage, will be punished with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding three years. This suspension may be limited to driving outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned by the convicted person, or which he has free disposal of;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product;

        5° The performance of community service for a period of twenty to one hundred and twenty hours.

The act of knowingly facilitating, with help or assistance, the preparation or commission of the contravention foreseen in this article, will be punished with the same penalties.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable, under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the offense defined in this article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

Art. 681 (534) For the infractions provided for in the two previous chapters, public action cannot be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

 

TITLE FOURTH – OFFENSES AGAINST THE NATION, THE STATE OR PUBLIC PEACE

CHAPTER ONE – ABANDONMENT OF WEAPONS OR OTHERS

DANGEROUS OBJECTS

        Art. 682 (541) The act of abandoning, in a public place or open to the public, one or more weapons or any other object that presents a danger to people and that is susceptible to being used to commit a crime or offense, will be punished with a fine of RD $100.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article will also be subject to the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has been used to commit the infraction.

CHAPTER TWO – REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A REQUIREMENT FROM JUDICIAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES

         Art. 683 (542) The act, without legitimate reason, of refusing to comply with a requirement issued by a magistrate or a judicial police authority, acting in the exercise of their functions, in case of an attack on public order or disaster, or in any other situation that presents a danger to persons, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $500.00.

CHAPTER THREE – OBSTACLES TO FREE MOVEMENT

ON PUBLIC ROADS

Art. 684 (543) The act of obstructing the public road by depositing in it or leaving unnecessarily materials or other objects that obstruct or diminish the freedom or safety of passage, will be sanctioned with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to the additional penalty of confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the infraction, or of the thing that is its product.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR – INTRUSION INTO SCHOOL ESTABLISHMENTS

        Art. 685 (544) The act of entering the premises of a school establishment, public or private, without having been authorized by the competent authorities, will be punished with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Those guilty of the contravention provided for in this article shall also be subject to one or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The confiscation of the thing that has been used to commit the offense or of the thing that is its product;

        2° Carrying out community service work for a duration of twenty to one hundred and twenty hours.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

Art. 686 (544) In the cases provided for in this chapter, public action may not be exercised except after a complaint from the aggrieved party or a report from his legal representative.

The public action will cease upon the withdrawal of the complaint or report made by the aggrieved party or his attorney provided with special and express power.

CHAPTER FIVE – ATTACKS AGAINST ANIMALS

Art. 687 (545) Anyone who, through clumsiness, imprudence, inattention, negligence, or failure to comply with a safety or prudence obligation imposed by law or regulations, causes the death or injury of a domestic or domesticated animal or one kept in captivity, shall be punished with a fine of RD$1,500.00

In the event of a conviction of the animal's owner or if said owner is unknown, the judge may decide to send the animal to a recognized public or private animal protection institution, or to any other institution intended for such purposes, which may freely dispose of the animal.

        Art. 688 (545) Anyone who, without need, publicly or not, voluntarily mistreats a domestic or domesticated animal or one kept in captivity, will be punished with a fine of RD $1,500.00.

In the event of a conviction of the animal's owner, or if the owner is unknown, the judge may decide to send the animal to a recognized public or private animal protection institution, or any other institution designated for such purposes, which may freely dispose of the animal.

Art. 689 (545) Anyone who, without need, voluntarily kills, publicly or not, a domestic or domesticated animal or one kept in captivity, will be punished with a fine of RD $2,000.00.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

TITLE FIVE – OTHER OFFENSES

 

Art. 690 (550) Anyone who commits any of the following acts will be punished with a fine of RD$100.00:

        1. To those who neglect the repair and cleaning of ovens, chimneys and machines where fire and flame are used, or do not take precautions to prevent smoke from penetrating surrounding residences and buildings;

        2° Those who fire fireworks without authorization from the competent public authorities;

        3° Those who cause scandal with their drunkenness in the public way.

        Art. 691 (550) Persons guilty of the contravention provided for in the preceding article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

        2° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        3° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product;

        4° Carrying out community service for a period of twenty to one hundred and twenty hours;

        5° The prohibition for a period of no more than five years of visiting certain places;

        6° The definitive suspension or for a period not exceeding five years, of the license required to operate a certain commercial enterprise;

        7° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding six months, of consuming alcoholic beverages, which may only be applied to paragraph 4 of the preceding article.

The act of knowingly facilitating, with help or assistance, the preparation or commission of the contravention foreseen in said article will be punished with the same penalties.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the contraventions defined in this article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

Repeat offenses of the contravention provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

Art. 692 (550) A fine of RD$500.00 will be imposed on those who commit one or more of the following acts:

        1° Installing fuel-powered electric plants that cause noise or pollution;

        2. Firing unnecessary shots into the air;

        3. Causing unnecessary noise on public roads through the use of motorcycles or other motor vehicles;

        4. To relieve oneself in public;

        5° Using sound devices that create unnecessary and harmful noises to the peace and mental health of others;

        6° To fraudulently obtain school exams or tests to which students of any educational center will be subjected;

        7° Smoking in enclosed places to which the public has free access, except in those areas reserved for such purposes.

        8° To draw inscriptions, signs or drawings, without prior authorization, on the facades of buildings, vehicles or public roads.

        9° Do not provide cable television service users with the installation of devices intended to prevent easy access by children or adolescents to programs with pornographic or violent content displayed on their media.

Art. 693 (550) Persons guilty of the contraventions provided for in the previous article shall also be subject to one, several or all of the following supplementary penalties:

        1. Suspension of the driver's license for a period not exceeding three years. This suspension may be limited to driving outside of professional activity;

        2° The prohibition of possessing or carrying, for a period not exceeding three years, one or more weapons subject to authorization;

        3° The confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person;

        4° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product;

        5° Carrying out community service for a period of twenty to one hundred and twenty hours;

        6° The prohibition, for a period not exceeding five years, of visiting certain places;

        7° The definitive cancellation or suspension for a period of no more than three months, of the license required to operate a certain commercial enterprise.

The act of knowingly facilitating, with help or assistance, the preparation or commission of any of the offenses provided for in this article, will be punished with the same penalties.

Legal entities may be held criminally liable under the conditions provided for in Article 22, for the offense defined in this article.

The penalties applicable to legal entities are:

        1° The fine, according to the modalities provided for in article 83;

        2° The confiscation of the thing that has served or was intended to commit the offense, or of the thing that is its product.

Repeat offenses of the contraventions provided for in this article will be sanctioned in accordance with articles 102 and 106.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL PROVISIONS

ON THE OBSERVANCE OF THIS CODE

 

 

Art. 694 The figures in digits mentioned without other specifications refer to the present Penal Code.

Art. 695 In all cases in which any procedural law refers to one or more of the articles provided in the Penal Code of the Dominican Republic of August 20, 1884, the corresponding provisions that, typified in this Code, are similar to it shall be applied.

Art. 696 For cases in which any special law refers to the application of the mitigating circumstances provided for in articles 463 and 483 of the former Penal Code, henceforth these references will be subject to the provisions contemplated in articles 109, 110 and 111 of this Code.

Art. 697 The execution of the penalty of publication by posters, provided for in articles 76 and 77 of this Code, is excepted from the application of article 1 of Law 917 of May 7, 1928.

Art. 698 This law repeals in its entirety:

        1°Decree-law No. 2274, of the twentieth (20) of August of the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four (1884) or Penal Code of the Dominican Republic, as well as subsequent laws that have introduced repeals, modifications or substitutions in its provisions, or have expanded the content of its articles.

        2°Article 26, paragraphs 1°, 2°, 7°, 9°, 10°, 11° and 12°; articles 31, 40, 41 and 43, paragraphs 5°, 11°, 14°, 15° and 19°; articles 88 and 97, of Law 4984 of March 27, 1911, or Police Law, GO 2182 of April 12, 1911.

        3°Law 5007 of June 28, 1911, which defines Political crimes, GO 2209 of June 28, 1911.

        4°Article 1 of Law 847 of February 21, 1935, GO 4768 of February 23, 1935.

        5°Law 1549 of October 20, 1947, on Piracy, GO 6703 of October 25, 1947.

        6°Article 241 of Law 1542 of October 11, 1947, GO 6707 of November 7, 1947.

        7°Articles 333, 337, 342 and 343, of Law 14-94 of April 22, 1994, or Code for the Protection of Children, Girls and Adolescents, GO 9883 of April 25, 1994.

Art. 699 This law modifies:

        1°Article 3 of Law 3483, of February 13, 1953, GO 7532 of March 5, 1953, which creates the Code of Justice of the Armed Forces, insofar as it is contrary to the fifth principle provided for in this Code.

        2°Article 25 of Law 285 of June 29, 1966, GO 8992 of June 29, 1966, which creates the National Police Justice Code, insofar as it is contrary to the fifth principle provided for in this Code.

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