Bicameral commission approves report on the new Penal Code

The bicameral committee studying the proposed reform to the Penal Code completed its analysis of the bill on Tuesday and approved a favorable report on the bill, which will be presented at Thursday's Senate session.

Although the study stalled in the final phase of the meetings due to differences between the congressmen on issues such as abortion and sexual assault , they finally managed to reach an agreement and unanimously approved the Penal Code report.

The committee's chairman , Senator Santiago Zorrilla, stated that the report was adopted "unanimously," meaning that all 24 legislators present at the last meeting on Tuesday voted in favor of the report.

At today's meeting, congressmen focused on at least nine points , which were left for last in order to discuss them more calmly due to the controversies surrounding them.

Penalty for abortion

One of the most controversial topics was abortion and its penalties. During the meeting, it was approved that the penalties for consensual abortion carry a maximum of three years in prison , instead of ten years as proposed internally by the team.

Furthermore, the three controversial grounds that would allow abortions to be terminated without any criminal consequences were left out of the debate. This aspect contemplated the decriminalization of abortion if it was performed when the pregnancy was the result of rape , when the fetus is not viable for life, or when the mother's life is in danger.

Zorrilla, who coordinated the bicameral commission for months, stated that the draft Penal Code contains clear sanctions for serious crimes such as sexual violence , which will carry sentences of between 10 and 20 years in prison .

Although the bill originally had 421 articles , the committee will perform a technical renumbering , so the final number of provisions has not yet been determined. This is because articles were removed and added during the legislative process, and the official count must be done according to legislative technique .

Without setbacks

The President of the Chamber of Deputies , Alfredo Pacheco, attended the meeting and expressed confidence that the report would be presented without major setbacks to the Senate and the Lower House, given that both bodies had been represented on the bicameral committee and had actively participated in the discussions.

Both the Senate and the Lower House, he said, have had representatives who "have worked intensively" to deliver a bill that meets the expectations of Dominican society .

Although comments or objections may arise during the reading in the plenary session, the general disposition is to move forward with the approval of the bill during this legislative session, Pacheco stated.

What follows

Although the Penal Code bill has already passed its first test, the Senate must approve it in two discussions, and then the Senate must do the same.

If approved without any obstacles, the bill would go to President Luis Abinader , who would have to enact it into law or return it to Congress if he finds flaws.

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