View source for Constitution of the Dominican Republic

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{{Infobox document
|document_name = Constitution of the Dominican Republic
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|caption = Published in the Official Gazette No. 10805 of July 10, 2015
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|writer = [[Congress of the Dominican Republic]]
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}}
{{Politics of the Dominican Republic}}

The [[Dominican Republic]] has gone through 39 [[constitution]]s, more than any other country, since its [[History of the Dominican Republic#Independence from Haiti|independence]] in 1844.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Cordeiro, Jose Luis|author-link=José Luis Cordeiro|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/jet/dpaper/dpaper164.html |title=Constitutions around the world : A View from Latin America |journal=Ide Discussion Papers |date=September 29, 2008 |access-date=November 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/dominican-republic/government|title=Dominican Republic: Government >> globalEDGE: Your source for Global Business Knowledge|website=globaledge.msu.edu|language=en-us|access-date=September 27, 2017}}</ref> This statistic is a somewhat deceiving indicator of political stability, however, because of the Dominican practice of promulgating a new constitution whenever an amendment is ratified. Although technically different from each other in some particular provisions, most new constitutions contained only minor modifications of those previously in effect. Sweeping constitutional innovations were relatively rare.<ref name=cs>{{csref|country=dominican republic|author=Jonathan Hartlyn|section=Constitutional Development}}</ref>

A large number of constitutions do, however, reflect a fundamental lack of consensus on the rules that should govern the national political life. Most Dominican governments felt compelled upon taking office to write new constitutions that changed the rules to fit their own wishes. Not only did successive governments often strenuously disagree with their predecessors' policies and programs, but they often wholly rejected the institutional framework within which their predecessors had operated. [[Constitutionalism]]—loyalty to a stable set of governing principles and laws rather than to the person who promulgates them—became a matter of overriding importance in the Dominican Republic only after the death of [[Rafael Trujillo]].<ref name=cs/>

Dominicans historically had agreed that government should be [[representative government|representative]] and vaguely [[democracy|democratic]], that there should be [[civil rights|civil]] and [[political rights]], [[separation of powers]], and [[checks and balances]]. Beyond that, however, consensus broke down. The country had been alternately dominated throughout its history by two constitutional traditions, one relatively democratic and the other [[authoritarian]]. Rarely were there attempts to bridge the gap between these diametric opposites.<ref name=cs/>

The current Constitution was promulgated on June 13, 2015.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Constitution-Dominican-Republic-ebook/dp/B004SBWI3O|title=Constitution of the Dominican Republic|last=Republic|first=Dominican|date=December 21, 2013|publisher=Gaceta Judicial|language=en}}</ref>

==Constitutions through Trujillo==
The first Dominican constitution was promulgated on November 6, 1844, immediately after the nation achieved independence from Haiti. It was a liberal document with many familiar elements—separation of powers, checks and balances, and a long list of basic rights. However, an authoritarian government replaced the country's liberal, democratic government during its first year. The new regime proceeded to write its own constitution. This second constitution considerably strengthened the executive, weakened the legislative and judicial branches, and gave the president widespread emergency powers, including the power to suspend basic rights and to rule by decree. After that, the country's governance often alternated between liberal and authoritarian constitutional systems.<ref name=cs/>

Even the dictator Rafael Trujillo always operated under the banner of constitutionalism. Under Trujillo, however, the legislature was simply a rubber stamp; the courts were not independent, and basic rights ceased to exist. He governed as a tyrant, unfettered by constitutional restrictions.<ref name=cs/>

==Constitutions after Trujillo==
After Trujillo died in 1961, the constitution was amended to provide for new elections and to allow the transfer of power to an interim [[Council of State]]. Although promulgated as a new document, the 1962 constitution was a continuation of the Trujillo constitution, and it was thus unpopular.<ref name=cs/>

In 1964, [[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]]'s freely elected, [[social-democratic]] government drafted a new and far more liberal constitution. It [[separation of church and state|separated church and state]], put severe limits on the political activities of the [[Military of the Dominican Republic|armed forces]], established a wide range of civil liberties, and restricted the rights of property relative to individual rights. These provisions frightened the more conservative elements in Dominican society, which banded together to oust Bosch and his constitution in September 1963. Subsequently, the more conservative 1962 constitution was restored. In the name of constitutionalism, Bosch and his followers launched a revolution in 1965, the objective of which was the restoration of the liberal 1963 constitution.<ref name=cs/>

Largely due to the United States military intervention of April 1965, the civil war had died down by 1966. With [[Joaquín Balaguer]] and his party in control, the Dominicans wrote still another constitution. This one was intended to avert the conflicts and polarization of the past by combining features from both the liberal and the conservative traditions. The 1966 Constitution incorporated a long list of basic rights and provided a strengthened legislature; however, it also gave extensive powers to the executive, including emergency powers. In this way, the country sought to bridge the gap between its democratic and authoritarian constitutions by compromising their differences.<ref name=cs/>

Later constitutions were enacted in 1994 and 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/DomRep/dominicanrepublic.html |title=Dominican Republic: Constitutions |website=Pdba.georgetown.edu |access-date=November 6, 2016}}</ref>

== Constitution of 2010 ==
[[List of Presidents of the Dominican Republic|President]] [[Leonel Fernández]] ordered for a new constitution to be drafted. The constitution has faced notable criticism, both abroad and at home, with opponents referring to it as an "injustice" and as a "step backward" for ensuring [[human rights]] in the country, especially towards women and homosexuals. A ban on [[same-sex marriage]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-268?l%3Denglish |title=ZENIT – Dominican Republic Rejects Changes to Marriage Law |access-date=August 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627075705/http://zenit.org/article-26152?l=english |archive-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref> and [[abortion]] (Article 55)<ref>{{cite web|access-date=28 May 2023
|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Dominican_Republic_2010.pdf|title=Dominican Republic 2010|website=constituteproject.org}}</ref> was included at the behest of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-26152?l%3Denglish |title=ZENIT – Dominican Republic Rejects Changes to Marriage Law |access-date=August 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627075705/http://zenit.org/article-26152?l=english |archive-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref> and [[Evangelical Christians]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} As a result, the Dominican Republic has become the fifth jurisdiction in the world with a complete (no exceptions) ban on abortion ([[Abortion in Malta|Malta]], [[Abortion in El Salvador|El Salvador]], [[Abortion in Nicaragua|Nicaragua]], and [[Vatican City]]).

== Constitution Day ==
Until 2011, a public holiday was held to commemorate Constitution Day ({{Langx|es|Día de la Constitución}}) on November 6. Since then, it has been held on the closest Monday to that date to ensure a three-day weekend. In 2020, it fell on November 9. In 2021, it fell on November 8. In 2022, it fell on November 7. It will occur on these days in coming years:<ref>{{cite web|title=Constitution Day|url=https://publicholidays.la/dominican-republic/constitution-day/|website=Public Holidays|access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref>{{update after|2023|11|06}}

* 2023: November 6
* 2024: November 4
* 2025: November 3
* 2026: November 9

==See also==
* [[Constitutional law]]
* [[Constitutional economics]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*[https://www.amazon.com/The-Constitution-Dominican-Republic-ebook/dp/B004SBWI3O 2015 Constitution in English]
*[https://www.amazon.com/Constituci%C3%B3n-Rep%C3%BAblica-Dominicana-tem%C3%A1tico-Spanish-ebook/dp/B003UHW0XA 2015 Constitution in Spanish] {{in lang|es}}

==External links==
*[https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Dominican_Republic_2015.pdf 2015 Constitution] {{in lang|en}}
*[http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/DomRep/domrep94.html 1994 Constitution] {{in lang|es}}
*[http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/DomRep/domrep02.html 2002 Constitution] {{in lang|es}}
*[https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/dominican-republic/government Dominican Republic: Government] {{in lang|es}}
{{Americas topic|Constitution of|title=Constitutions of states and dependencies in the Americas}}
{{Dominican Republic topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution of the Dominican Republic}}
[[Category:Government of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Constitutions by country|Dominican Republic]]