Condemnation from high Court ruling inevitable, lawyers say

Santo Domingo.- The Constitutional Court ruling which denies Dominican nationality to offspring born in the country of undocumented immigrants, ensures condemnation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), said the lawyers Cristóbal Rodríguez and Nassef Perdomo on Sunday.

Rodriguez called the IACHR ruling inevitable for "the simple reason" that it would be upholding a criterion already issued when it heard the "Yean and Bosico" case in 2005, rejecting the notion of illegality inherited by descendants.

"It is a ruling with many contradictions. It’s deciding for a retroactive enforcement of the law and with that creating a climate of legal insecurity," said Rodríguez on "Leaders" on Color Vision Channel 9. "It tried to convince readers that there’s a difference in being in transit and being transient. There’s no difference, being in transit and being non-resident is the same."

For Perdomo, the Constitutional Court’s ruling denies its very essence and the reason why it was created. "I don’t understand how they ignored basic issues of the Dominican Constitution, such as the prohibition of retroactive effect. The Court ignored its constitutional mandate that says it has to interpret and enforce the Constitution in favor of the rights of the people"

Perdomo noted however that while he agrees with Rodriguez that the ruling paves the way for a condemnation by the IACHR. “I believe there’s another possibility to solve the problems unleashed, a kind of amnesty is possible for persons affected by the Constitutional Court’s decision."