{"id":519299,"date":"2026-08-03T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/new-penal-code-comes-into-effect-this-monday-in-the-dominican-republic\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T07:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:00:20","slug":"new-penal-code-comes-into-effect-this-monday-in-the-dominican-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/dominican-news\/justice\/new-penal-code-comes-into-effect-this-monday-in-the-dominican-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"New Penal Code comes into effect this Monday in the Dominican Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Santo Domingo.<\/strong>\u2013 The Dominican Republic began implementing the new Penal Code<\/strong> this Monday, August 3, a piece of legislation that replaces the legal framework in force since 1884 and incorporates new criminal offenses, modifies the sanction regime, and updates the criminal treatment for different types of crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entry into force occurs one year after the enactment of Law 74-25, signed on August 3, 2025, in compliance with the 12-month period established in article 393 of the regulation itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the implementation of the new Penal Code<\/strong>, the authorities have a renewed legal framework that incorporates offenses that were not contemplated in the previous legislation, strengthens the prosecution of technological crimes, and increases penalties for various infractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the provisions of the law are sentences of up to 40 years in prison for certain crimes and the possibility of cumulative sentences which, in cases provided for by the regulations, can reach 60 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Luis Abinader had previously confirmed that the entry into force of the Penal Code<\/strong> would not be postponed, despite requests from some sectors that proposed extending the implementation period while new modifications were being analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal Code Reforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the National Congress recently approved changes to several articles of the Penal Code, those modifications do not go into effect this Monday along with the rest of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Legal Consultant to the Executive Branch, Jorge Subero Isa, explained that the reforms enacted through Decree 507-26 on July 27 will only begin to take effect after their publication in the Official Gazette and once the deadlines established in Article 1 of the Civil Code have elapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Validity of the Penal Code<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, criminal proceedings initiated as of this Monday will be governed by the original text of Law 74-25, enacted in August 2025, even if some of its articles have been subsequently amended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subero Isa also indicated that, in accordance with the current Civil Code, new legal provisions enter into force first in the National District the day after their official publication and, subsequently, in the other provinces of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislative process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The approval of the new Penal Code was the result of a legislative process that spanned nearly 30 years. During that period, the initiative was the subject of multiple debates, presidential observations, decisions by the Constitutional Court<\/a>, and several failed attempts at approval in the National Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before it came into effect, Congress modified several articles related to freedom of expression, the dissemination of private images, defamation, the criminal liability of legal entities, and other aspects, following questioning from different sectors of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the entry into force of the new Penal Code<\/strong>, the country leaves behind legislation that had been in effect for more than 140 years and begins the application of a legal framework adapted to new forms of crime and the evolution of the Dominican penal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Santo Domingo.\u2013 The Dominican Republic began implementing the new Penal Code this Monday, August 3, a piece of legislation that replaces the legal framework in force since 1884 and incorporates new criminal offenses, modifies the sanction regime, and updates the criminal treatment for different types of crimes. The entry into force occurs one year after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133533,"featured_media":519300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[36952],"tags":[42552,44182,41678,41205],"class_list":["post-519299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-justice","tag-constitutional-court","tag-cover","tag-executive-branch","tag-penal-code"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2b5N","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/codigo-penal-d.jpg","dum_api":{"author_name":"Wendy Mora","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-wendy-mora-1-96x96.jpg","categories_name":["Justice"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/codigo-penal-d.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}