Constitutional Court strikes down ban on same-sex relations in Police and Armed Forces

Santo Domingo.- The Constitutional Court (TC) struck down provisions that criminalized same-sex relationships within the National Police and the Armed Forces, ruling them unconstitutional. The decision allows military and police personnel to maintain same-sex romantic relationships without the risk of disciplinary sanctions.

In judgment TC/1225/25, the Court annulled Article 210 of Law 285, which governs the National Police Justice Code, and Article 260 of Law 3483, which forms part of the Armed Forces Justice Code. The justices determined that these provisions violated the principle of reasonableness and imposed unjustified discrimination against homosexual individuals.

The now-invalidated articles defined “sodomy” as sexual relations between people of the same sex and imposed correctional imprisonment of six months to one year when committed by an officer.