New bill proposes special regime for those facing identity documentation uncertainty

Santo Domingo.- A bill submitted to the Dominican National Congress proposes creating a special regime to reconstruct identities and regularize documentation for people who have lived for years under a Dominican identity card but now face legal uncertainty because of irregularities, impersonation or inconsistencies in their Civil Registry records.

The initiative was introduced by Representative Maribel Almánzar de Ogando of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), who said the proposal seeks to address gaps left by previous regulations, including Law No. 169-14, which excluded records containing false information from its benefits.

The bill recognizes that many affected individuals have built their civil, family and economic lives in the Dominican Republic under official documents issued by the State. They have married, registered children, acquired property, obtained employment and opened bank accounts, creating legal relationships that the proposal says should be protected.

According to the initiative, historical and institutional shortcomings in the Civil Registry contributed to situations in which people received official documents under a presumption of legality that was later challenged, potentially affecting their fundamental rights to identity, a name, equality and legal personality.

The proposed regime would establish procedures to correct irregular records while preserving the legal effects of actions carried out under the questioned identity. These would include marriages, birth registrations, contracts, pensions, property rights and inheritances, protecting the rights of those affected and their families.

The proposal also establishes shared responsibility between the State and affected individuals when irregularities resulted from deficiencies within the Civil Registry, while seeking to preserve legal certainty and the stability of the financial and civil systems.

The bill’s explanatory memorandum argues that correcting past registration problems should not result in the loss of rights accumulated over decades under state-issued documentation. It emphasizes that the initiative is intended to provide legal certainty and address cases of prolonged civil vulnerability rather than legitimize unlawful conduct.