Getting the Deal Through-Real Estate SDL y CS
De León, Sarah and Silié, Carolina (2009)
How would you explain your jurisdiction’s legal system to an investor? Due to its history, the Dominican Republic follows a civil law system predominantly based on the French Codes drafted during the reign of Napoleon in France. Consequently, Dominican statutory law is primarily codified in the Civil, Commercial, Civil Procedure and Penal Codes, sometimes referred to as the Napoleon Codes. In light of the connection to the French legal system, Dominican judges are generally influenced by French case law and their interpretation of he Napoleon Codes. Nonetheless, some more recent statutes have departed from the French legal system influence (for example the Criminal Procedure Code).
However, the Dominican real estate property system is based on the Torrens System, which originated in Australia (common law). In this system, recorded real estate property rights are binding and enforceable against all third parties once said rights have been recorded, and provides that the person who records first has priority.
Therefore, the Dominican real estate property system can be assimilated to a record-notice jurisdiction. Dominican courts do not rule in equity. The Dominican legal system acknowledges the possibility of obtaining either mandatory or prohibitive injunctions as equitable remedies to prevent unlawful actions or for the execution of certain types of contracts and obligations.
An example of this remedy applicable for real estate property matters would be the possibility of obtaining provisional measures before the land court, aimed at preventing an eventual damage or eliminating any illegal or excessive disturbance. Parol or oral evidence is admissible.
View PDF