Litigation in the Dominican Republic: A complete guide to judicial proceedings and dispute resolution

 

In the Dominican Republic, litigation represents one of the main avenues for resolving legal disputes arising in both business and personal contexts. Conflicts may stem from a wide variety of situations, such as breaches of commercial contracts, corporate disputes, contested dismissals, civil liability claims, or even criminal incidents affecting companies, such as internal fraud or asset theft.

When these disputes are not resolved through conciliatory or out-of-court means, they often escalate to judicial proceedings, making litigation a key tool for defending the rights and interests of companies in the country.

Understanding how these processes work, their stages, and the competent courts is essential to handle any dispute with legal backing and make informed decisions. For this reason, and with the goal of helping the public gain a clearer and more digestible understanding of the main litigation processes that frequently arise in Dominican society, it is timely to outline a practical guide that addresses these matters in a structured and summarized way.

 

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Common law in the Dominican Republic

That said, disputes between rights holders often begin with the breach of an obligation, which, in turn, results in the loss of an asset belonging to the other party.

Once this happens, the affected party must notify the party that committed the damage or breach, indicating the amount or obligation to be fulfilled.

This notification must be made through a notification by bailiff’s act , which will contain the general information of the affected party, as well as the obligation and the period within which it must be fulfilled.

If the counterparty fails to honor its commitment within the specified period, the affected party will be able to file and notify its lawsuit through ordinary channels. In civil matters, the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the domicile of the defendant will be empowered to do so.

Once the claim and the hearing date have been notified, the parties’ representatives appear in court to provide all the necessary evidence and arguments so the judge can rule in their favor.

Once this happens, the representatives issue conclusions on the merits of the case, where the appointed court is then ready to issue a ruling on the case, either accepting or rejecting the claim, all based on reasons that will be duly included in the ruling issued.

Litigation between merchants

With regard to commercial litigation, or ” litigation between merchants ,” as it is known in Dominican legal jargon , these are extremely similar to civil litigation, and their practical procedure is almost identical except for minor differences.

The first distinction to highlight is that for a dispute to be considered commercial, both parties involved must be legal entities, i.e., companies and/or corporations.

Likewise, when these cases reach the court, a specialized commercial court will be appointed to resolve the dispute.

It is important to note here that, with regard to the formalities of presenting arguments, evidence, and conclusions on the merits of the case, civil law and commercial law make no distinction. Therefore, upon reaching the conclusion of the proceedings based on the conclusions presented by the representatives of the parties, the Civil and Commercial Chamber Specializing in Trade Matters of the defendant’s domicile would be in a position to issue a judgment in favor of one party and detrimental to the other.

Labor law

Regarding litigation in this area, these are mostly initiated by workers or workers’ unions, who generally have the employers for whom they provide services as their counterparts.

Typically, these actions are caused by non-payment of employment benefits , acquired rights, overtime, bonuses, etc., as well as by resignations from the performance of their duties.

Once this dispute has arisen, the employee, through his or her attorney , must file the claim with the competent Labor Court . This jurisdiction will be determined by the location where the employee performed the duties that gave rise to the claimed amounts.

It is important to clarify that, along with their claim, the worker must attach the documents that will enforce it in court, thus enabling the Presiding Judge to designate the court that will resolve the dispute.

Subsequently, once the Presiding Judge has examined the complaint, he or she will issue an order stating the authorization to summon the opposing party, the date of the hearing, and the court responsible for resolving the dispute. These documents must be notified to the defendants in order to proceed with the proceedings.

The parties then appear before the appointed court in what is known as the conciliation hearing , where the parties discuss the possibility of reaching an agreement and an alternative dispute resolution.

If this does not occur, a next hearing will be scheduled for the presentation of evidence and merits, an ideal procedural stage where the parties must present their evidence to assert their claims.

Finally, once the parties have presented all their evidence, they will present their conclusions on the merits. As with the previous cases, the court will grant deadlines for justifying these closing arguments. Once this deadline has elapsed, the court will be ready to issue its decision.

It’s important to note here that labor matters are processed more quickly and expeditiously than the other matters mentioned so far. By way of comparison, if a decision takes a year to be issued in civil matters, it can be issued in half the time in labor matters.

Criminal law

There is another area of ​​law that regularly impacts the daily lives of citizens: criminal law.

This branch of public law provides for the imposition of custodial sentences to subsequently achieve the reintegration of individuals into society.

Based on the above premise, the source of conflict in criminal matters is the act itself: theft of property, assault on an individual, defamation of a person, etc. It is important to establish here that the place where the act is committed will determine the jurisdiction competent to hear the case.

In criminal law, the initiation of the action may begin with a complaint or lawsuit (depending on the type of crime being pursued), or by the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself , the body responsible for representing society in cases of this nature.

In cases where private interest prevails (public criminal action at the request of a private party), the Public Prosecutor’s Office will determine whether the complaint meets the minimum requirements to be admissible.

Once this happens, in many cases the prosecuting body will issue a summons for a conciliation hearing, which the affected party must notify to the defendants named in the criminal case.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the prosecutor assigned to the investigation will record a disagreement and begin the investigative phase.

Subsequently, once the prosecutor in charge considers that he or she has sufficient evidence, he or she will file a formal charge against the persons under investigation before the Examining Courts of territorial jurisdiction. He or she may also request the imposition of coercive measures to ensure that the accused remain in the proceedings.

Once the aforementioned final report has been submitted, the Coordination of the Investigative Courts will designate one of the chambers to hear the merits of the charges filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This stage concludes with the preliminary hearing, during which the appointed judge will issue one of two decisions:

• Order to open a trial , if it is understood that there is sufficient evidence to subsequently demonstrate the participation of the accused in the commission of a crime.
• Order of no place , in cases where there is no evidence to presume the participation of the accused in the commission of any crime.

Regarding the first decision, if adopted by the Examining Magistrate, he will refer the case to the Court of First Instance competent to hear the case, so that this court may decide on the merits of the accusation, declaring the accused guilty or acquitting him of the crimes indicated.

Conclusion

The Dominican legal system provides for various types of litigation processes that reflect the main disputes that arise in everyday life, whether between individuals or legal entities.

These proceedings, whether civil, commercial, labor, or criminal, follow defined procedural structures that allow the parties to present their claims and arguments before a competent court.

Civil and commercial litigation , although similar in their procedures, differ primarily in the nature of the parties involved, while labor litigation is faster and more accessible, given its protective function for the worker.

For its part, the criminal process , by involving the action of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the possible imposition of custodial sanctions, responds to a public logic focused on social protection and the prosecution of crime.

Ultimately, having a basic and practical understanding of the judicial mechanisms and procedures in force in the Dominican Republic is essential for the effective exercise of rights and the proper resolution of conflicts, both in personal and business settings.