We
The Constitution of the Republic establishes that there shall be courts of appeal and their equivalents as determined by the law creating them, as well as the number of judges that must compose them and their territorial jurisdiction.
The appellate courts hear appeals of sentences, in accordance with the law; in the first instance of criminal cases brought against judges of first instance or their equivalents; public prosecutors, heads of autonomous and decentralized organs and agencies of the State, provincial governors, mayors of the National District and of the municipalities; and other matters determined by law.
Each court of appeal and its equivalents as a jurisdictional unit is composed of five (5) judges, a president, a first substitute for president, a second substitute for president and two members, with the exception of the Children and Adolescents Courts which are composed of at least three (3) judges, the Superior Administrative Court which shall be composed of no less than 3 judges and the Superior Land Court composed of no less than five (5) judges.
De acuerdo con el artículo 32 de la Ley núm. 821 del 21 de noviembre de 1927, de Organización Judicial, modificada por las Leyes núms. 107 de 1983, 259 de 1998, 17 de 2001, 141 de 2002 y la Ley núm. 108-05 of March 23, 2005, on Real Estate Registry; there shall be eleven (11) Ordinary Courts of Appeal; six (6) Labor Courts; five (5) Children and Adolescent Courts and in operation; four (4) Superior Land Courts; and one (1) Superior Administrative Court in operation, distributed in the eleven judicial departments nationwide.
We can define the structure of the appellate courts or courts of second degree as follows:
The ordinary courts of appeal hear second degree criminal, civil and commercial matters, in accordance with the jurisdiction given to them by law, of which eight (8) are divided into chambers and by subject matter, located in the judicial departments of Barahona, La Vega, San Cristóbal, San Francisco de Macorís, San Pedro de Macorís, Santo Domingo, Santiago and the National District; and three (3) have Full Jurisdiction that also hear labor matters and children and adolescents, which are located in the Judicial Departments of Montecristi, Puerto Plata and San Juan de la Maguana.
The civil and commercial chamber of the ordinary appellate court is competent to hear appeals in labor and/or children's matters in judicial departments where there are no specialized courts in these matters. In the case of criminal matters involving children and adolescents, the criminal chamber of the ordinary court of appeal will hear them.
The Labor Court. It hears appeals of the sentences pronounced in first degree by the labor courts and in sole instance, the lawsuits related to the qualification of strikes and work stoppages, as well as the formalities provided in Article 391 of the Labor Code for the dismissal of workers protected by the union privilege. There are six (6) courts, distributed in the Judicial Departments of La Vega, San Francisco de Macorís, San Pedro de Macorís, Santiago, Santo Domingo and the National District.
The Courts for Children and Adolescents. They hear appeals of decisions of the civil and criminal chambers of the Court of First Instance for Children and Adolescents; incidents that are filed during the proceedings in the Courts for Children and Adolescents; complaints of procedural delay or denial of justice by the Courts for Children and Adolescents; approval of the Family Council; recusals or inhibitions of the judges of the Court for Children and Adolescents; appeals regarding decisions of the Court for Children and Adolescents; homologation of the Family Council; recusals or inhibitions of the judges of the Courts for Children and Adolescents; appeals regarding the decisions of the Court for the Execution of the Sanction; as well as any other attribution or competence assigned by law.
There are five (5) Courts for Children and Adolescents distributed in the Judicial Departments of San Cristobal, La Vega, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago and the National District.
The Superior Land Courts. They hear in second instance all appeals filed against decisions issued by the courts of original jurisdiction under their jurisdiction, as well as in last instance of the actions expressly conferred by law.
There are four (4) Superior Land Courts distributed in the National District (Central Department); in Santiago (North Department); in El Seibo (East Department) and in San Francisco de Macoris (Northeast Department).
The Superior Administrative Court. The powers of the Superior Administrative Court, without prejudice to others provided by law, are the following: to hear appeals against decisions in administrative, tax, financial and municipal matters of any contentious administrative court of first instance, or which in essence has that character; to hear contentious appeals against acts, actions and dispositions of administrative authorities contrary to law as a consequence of the relations between the administration of the State and individuals, if these are not heard by the contentious administrative courts of first instance; to hear and resolve in the first instance or on appeal, in accordance with the law, contentious-administrative actions arising from conflicts arising between the public administration and its civil servants and employees; as well as other powers conferred by law.
Currently, there are thirty-three (33) courts of appeal and equivalents in operation nationwide, divided into fifty (50) chambers.
