San Francisco de Macorís. — The First Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Court of the Court of First Instance of the Judicial District of Duarte, acting in its capacity for Municipal Administrative Contentious matters, declared the absolute nullity by operation of law of Ordinance no. 04-2024, issued by the Council of Councilors of the Municipal City Hall of San Francisco de Macorís, through civil judgment no. 132-2026-SCON-00430, dated July 20, 2026.
The judicial decision upholds the contentious-administrative appeal filed by municipal resident José Ernesto Melo Guerrero, under the legal representation of attorney Rey A. Fernández Liranzo, managing partner of public law at the firm Lara Fernández Abogados, a renowned administrative law expert, who took on the defense of the affected residents and the legitimate interests of the local business community against the aforementioned municipal provision.
The court determined that Ordinance 04-2024 was approved with substantial defects in its formation, especially due to the absence of mechanisms for public consultation, citizen participation, and due administrative process, despite being a regulation of general scope with tax, regulatory, and sanctioning effects on the citizenry and the productive sectors of the municipality.
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Likewise, the court observed that the ordinance was approved on November 1, 2024, and set its entry into force just four days later, which was considered contrary to legal certainty and the regulatory predictability required by the legal system.
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As a consequence, the court upheld the appeal filed and declared the absolute nullity of Ordinance 04-2024, further ordering the City Council to keep Ordinance No. 02-2011 in force until a new regulation is drafted and approved in accordance with the applicable legal procedures, within the scope of its powers and duly justified.
This judicial result constitutes an important precedent for the municipality of San Francisco de Macorís and for Dominican administrative law, by reaffirming that municipal authorities must exercise their regulatory power within the limits established by the Constitution, Law No. 107-13 on Administrative Procedure, and Law No. 176-07 of the National District and Municipalities.
The annulment of the ordinance is a direct result of the legal strategy promoted by administrative lawyer Rey A. Fernández Liranzo, who, representing affected citizens and the local business community, argued that a municipal regulation with economic, tax, and punitive impacts cannot be imposed without respecting due administrative process, citizen participation, sufficient justification, and legal certainty.
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Fernández Liranzo highlighted that this decision “reaffirms that the municipal public administration is fully subject to the Constitution and the law, and that no authority can impose regulatory or tax burdens on citizens and the business sector without observing essential legal procedures.”
The ruling represents a victory for institutionality, administrative transparency, freedom of enterprise, and the rights of citizens, by consolidating the principle that every administrative action must be legitimate not only in its purpose, but also in the manner in which it is approved.
