Lawyers slam Dominican Republic´s media over ´cartel´ bill

Santo Domingo.- DominicanRepublic´s Notaries Association on Thursday called "bad examples of professionalpractice" the media which have the criticized the Notary Act that setsminimum rates considered exaggerated and have stressed the proposedlegislation´s rebuke from various sectors.

"The behavior ofEl Dia and other newspapers should be marked as bad examples of professional practice,and used for communication researchers to quantify the imbalance and the abuseof power," said Bar president Pedro Rodriguez in a letter to the outlet.

The organization criticizedEl Dia´s editorial which had said the bill´s provisions would turn the Bar intoa "legal cartel."

The Supreme Court, theJustice Ministry, the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation, the National BusinessCouncil (Conep), the National Young Entrepreneurs Association (ANJE) and the BanksAssociation have opposed the bill, among other eneities.

The Senate passed abill to postpone the enforcement of that legislation for one year, to revisethe part of the content that has been criticized.

The piece is now inthe Chamber of Deputies.