{"id":12615,"date":"2026-09-15T01:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T01:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmklawyers.com\/?p=12615"},"modified":"2026-09-15T01:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T01:49:35","slug":"criminal-liability-of-entities-under-the-new-dominican-criminal-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmklawyers.com\/en\/criminal-liability-of-entities-under-the-new-dominican-criminal-code\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminal Liability of Entities under the New Dominican Criminal Code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I. Regulatory Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Dominican Criminal Code was enacted through Law No. 74-25, promulgated on August 3, 2025, with a twelve (12) month vacation legis. It entered into force generally in August 2026, replacing our previous Criminal Code that was from 1884.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before its entry into force, Congress passed Law No. 44-26, promulgated on July 27, 2026, which amended various articles of Law No. 74-25, substantially modifying the block of articles related to the Criminal Liability of Legal Entities (Articles 8, 9, 10 and 11). Additionally, Law No. 44-26 also modified the vacatio legis applicable specifically to this block of articles, deferring its entry into force to November 5, 2026, in order to grant legal entities an additional adaptation period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This constitutes a significant novelty within the Dominican legal systems. Prior to this reform, criminal liability of legal entities was not a general feature of our criminal law; it existed only in isolated instances, mostly in matters of money laundering under Law No. 155-17. With the enactment of the new Criminal Code, criminal liability of legal entities becomes, for the first time, a general principle applicable to any company, regardless of its sector or activity, whenever the conditions set out in Articles 8 through 11 are met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In broad terms, Article 8 establishes the core basis for this liability: a legal entity may be held criminally liable for offenses committed by its bodies, representatives, or subordinates acting on its behalf, provided that such offenses are, at the same time, a consequence of the entity’s failure to fulfill its duties of direction, control, orsupervision. The same article extends this liability to instances of the entity’s own institutional negligence or failure to observe applicable regulations, and it further sets out the conditions under which an implemented and effective compliance program may operate as a full defense or as a mitigating circumstance, together with the minimum elements such a program must contain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Articles 9 and 10 complement this framework by establishing the specific rules and criteria used to determine when this liability arises and how it operates in practice, while Article 11 extends liability to a parent or controlling entity within a corporate group when it intervened in, ordered, tolerated, knowingly benefited from, or created a serious organizational defect that facilitated the offense committed by a subsidiary or controlled entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken together, Articles 8 through 11 establish that legal entities may be held criminally liable individually, that this liability may extend to other legal entities within the same corporate structure, and that it may coexist with the individual criminal liability of the natural persons who acted on the entity’s behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II. Sanctions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Criminal Code establishes a tiered system of sanctions applicable to legal entities, calibrated according to the severity of the underlying offense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) very serious infractions;
b) serious infractions; and
c) minor infractions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For infractions classified as very serious and serious, article 39 establishes that sanctions are:
a) Fines;
b) Complementary Penalties; and
c) Dissolution of the entity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the Fines, article 40 establishes that fine range for:
a) Very Serious Infractions. From (100) to (1,500) minimum public-sector wages;
b) Serious Infractions. From (50) to (500) minimum public-sector wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 41 describes the Complementary Penalties for Very Serious and Serious infractions, namely:
a) Confiscation or seizure of proceeds, assets, or property derived directly or indirectly from the offense.
b) Permanent or Temporary Closure of one or more establishments.
c) Permanent or temporary disqualification of a firearm carry license.
d) Permanent or temporary disqualification from participating in public tenders.
e) Permanent or temporary revocation of any license or administrative authorization.
f) Permanent or temporary disqualification from publicly soliciting funds in the financial sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong>: The imposition of a complementary penalty does not preclude the court’s authority to simultaneously order fines or other complementary penalties jointly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For infractions classified as minor, article 43 establishes that penalties are:
a) Fines; and
b) Complementary Penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the Fine, article 44 establishes that the fine for a minor infraction will be double the fine imposed on natural persons for the same infraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 45 describes the Complementary Penalties for Minor infractions, namely:
a) Confiscation or seizure of proceeds, assets, or property derived directly or indirectly from the offense.
b) Temporary closure of one or more of the company’s business establishments, or of the installation directly or indirectly involved in the offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

III. Exemption and Mitigating Circumsances. Compliance Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 8 establishes that a legal entity is criminally liable when the offense committed by its bodies, representatives, or subordinates is, at the same time, a consequence of the entity’s failure to fulfill its dutiesof direction, control, or supervision. Liability persists even if the natural person who acted cannot be identified, including if that person has died or disappeared, provided it can be established that the act was only within reach of whoever held representation, direction, or management of the entity at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same criterion is what allows the entity to be exempted or have its liability mitigated, depending on the state of its compliance program at the time of the offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n