Courts of First Instance and Equivalent Courts

They hear in the first degree all matters that are not attributed by law to another court and other matters expressly attributed to them by law. There will be courts of first instance or their equivalents with the number of judges and territorial jurisdiction determined by law. The courts of first instance of the Judicial Districts corresponding to the National District, Santiago, La Vega, Duarte, Puerto Plata, Barahona, San Juan de la Maguana, San Cristóbal, El Seibo, San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana, Valverde, Espaillat and Montecristi are divided into chambers.

The courts of first instance are organized as follows:

1. Ordinary courts of first instance divided into chambers or chambers.
   The main function of these jurisdictional bodies is to hear criminal, civil and commercial matters, as appropriate, under the terms established by law.
2. Courts of first instance with full jurisdictionto hear criminal, civil, commercial, labor, children and adolescent matters, in accordance with the competence granted by law.
3. Specialized courts of first instance.
   Its own denomination indicates that they will hear a specific case, being the following:

4. Courts for Children and Adolescents. They hear criminal judicial proceedings in family and protection matters concerning children and adolescents and, exceptionally, any other matter attributed to them. They will be composed of a civil chamber and a criminal chamber, which will function independently of each other, in their respective competencies.

    

5. Labor Courts.
   They hear as a court of first degree the claims in labor matters in accordance with Article 480 of the Labor Code.
6. Land Court of Original Jurisdiction.
   They are unipersonal courts that constitute the first degree of the real estate jurisdiction, they hear in first instance all the actions before the real estate jurisdiction, by means of direct power of attorney by the interested party and according to its territorial delimitation. Their territorial jurisdiction is determined by the physical location of the property.
7. Sentence Execution Judges.
   They are in charge of controlling the adequate compliance with the sentences of conviction and resolves all issues that arise during the execution of the sentences. It also controls compliance with the conditions imposed in the conditional suspension of proceedings, according to the reports received, and, if necessary, transmits them to the competent Judge for revocation or extinction of the criminal action, as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
8. Court for the Control of Adolescent Sanctions.
   It is competent for the control of the execution of irrevocable sentences and of all questions that may arise regarding the execution of the penalty of deprivation of liberty and of any other sanction or measure ordered against the adolescent in accordance with the provisions of Law 136-03 Code for the System of Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents of August 7, 2003. There are two (2) courts in the Judicial Departments of La Vega and San Cristobal. In the remaining nine (9) Judicial Departments, by disposition of Resolution No. 1618-2004 dated two (2) August 2003, there are two (2) courts in the Judicial Departments of La Vega and San Cristóbal. 1618-2004 dated December 2, 2004 of the Supreme Court of Justice, the functions of said courts are performed by one (1) judge of the Court of Appeals for Children and Adolescents and in the Judicial Departments where the Court of Appeals for Children and Adolescents are not functioning, a judge of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals or a judge of the Court of Appeals with Full Jurisdiction, as the case may be, exercises said functions on a provisional basis.
9. Juzgados de la Instrucción.
   They are responsible for the control of the proper enforcement of convictions and resolves all issues that arise during the execution of sentences. It also controls compliance with the conditions imposed in the conditional suspension of proceedings, according to the reports received, and, if necessary, transmits them to the competent Judge for their revocation or extinction of the criminal action, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
10. Court of Control of Sanctions of the Adolescent Person. They have the jurisdictional competence to resolve all matters in which the law requires the intervention of a judge during the preparatory proceedings, to conduct the preliminary hearing, to issue the relevant resolutions and to pass sentence according to the rules of the abbreviated procedure.
11. Currently, there are one hundred and seventy-one (171) courts of first instance and equivalent courts in operation nationwide, divided into two hundred and seventy-seven (277) chambers.