Dominican President Abinader pushes consensual amendments to new Penal Code

President Luis Abinader announced that the executive has deposited a set of consensual amendments to the Dominican Republic’s new Penal Code and the Law on Expression and Dissemination of Thought in the National Congress, aiming for approval before the law takes effect on 3 August. He acknowledged that both the government and civil society should have begun reviewing the legislation earlier and said the changes seek to balance freedom of expression with protection of honor, privacy and dignity.

The Senate received 18 proposals drafted by the president’s team, covering articles on defamation, privacy, cyber‑bullying and sexual‑assault statutes, among others. While some sectors, such as the Society of Dominican Newspapers, supported the reforms, other voices – including PLD leader Johnny Pujols and lawyer Eduardo Saint‑Hilaire – warned that certain amendments could weaken protection for victims of sexual assault and maintain prison sentences for defamation.

Prosecutor General Yeni Berenice Reynoso stressed that delaying the entry into force of the new Code would benefit criminal groups, noting the previous code dated from 1884 was obsolete for modern crimes. A broad consultation process involving journalists, legal experts and civil‑society groups has taken several weeks, resulting in the presented consensus package.