Abinader enacts reform of the Criminal Procedure Code

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader enacted Law 97-25 on Sunday, officially reforming the Criminal Procedure Code after its approval by the Senate. According to Antoliano Peralta Romero, legal advisor to the Executive Branch, the updated code aligns the country’s criminal procedures with democratic principles and incorporates key rulings from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

Peralta explained that the reform modernizes much of the existing legislation, strengthening many of the 28 core principles of criminal procedure and promoting a more agile, rights-based model consistent with the social and democratic rule of law. The new law will be published in the Official Gazette and take effect Tuesday in the National District and Wednesday nationwide.

Key changes include expanded mechanisms for resolving criminal conflicts—such as restorative justice, opportunity criteria, plea agreements, conciliation, abbreviated procedures, and conditional suspension of proceedings—now available for offenses punishable by up to five years. The reform also reinforces the right to defense, enhances protections for vulnerable individuals, and clarifies when rights for those under investigation begin, including during summonses and asset freezes.

The updated code sets clearer rules for arrests and coercive measures, imposes stricter judicial oversight, and establishes maximum time limits of four years for ordinary cases and five for complex cases. It also guarantees more effective appeals by eliminating the “new trial” requirement and allowing higher courts to conduct proceedings under trial rules.

The reform was developed through broad collaboration among legislators, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Judiciary, the Executive Branch’s Legal Counsel, and legal-sector representatives. Together with recent measures such as the Law on Extinction of Ownership and the new Penal Code, the changes aim to consolidate a more modern, humane, and efficient criminal justice system in the Dominican Republic.