Law No.

489 on Extradition in the Dominican Republic

NATIONAL CONGRESS
On behalf of the Republic
He HAS PASSED THE FOLLOWING LAW
Art. 1. The Executive Branch is the competent authority to request and to grant
extradition, in his capacity as organ of relations between States and because it
is an act of sovereignty that can only request or grant authority to represent
the State compared with foreign countries.
Art. 2. The extraditions proceed and be processed in the cases and according to
the procedures established in treaties and in this law.
Art. 3. Although there is no treaty, extradition may be requested or granted by
the Dominican State in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and the
practice of law between states.
Art. 4. (Amended by Law 278-98 of 29 July 1998) The executive branch is
competent to grant extradition of a Dominican in cases where there is
agreement on extradition between the requesting State and the Dominican
State where to be reflected the principle of reciprocity and when the request of
the applicant State refers to:
"Illicit traffic in drugs and controlled substances and laundering of assets from
this activity, murder, kidnapping, rape, abduction or seduction of minors fifteen
(15) years, trade camal or pimping, robbery, counterfeiting of money scams ,
offenses relating to trafficking of historical and archaeological objects and air
piracy.

Paragraph I. This provision shall apply without prejudice to the provisions of

existing extradition agreements that consigned this power by the executive
branch.
Paragraph II In extradition agreements signed by the Dominican State with
other states, where extradition of a national is granted, it shall not apply a
higher penalty than the maximum established in the country, which, at the
time of application this Act is thirty (30) years.
Art. 5. (Amended by Law 278-98 of July 29, 1998). Extradition of a foreigner
may not be granted in the following cases:
a) For political offenses as defined by the 5007 Act of 1911, amending the
Penal Code Dominicano;
b) Why they are not classified as offenses punishable by Dominican criminal
law facts;
c) For purely military offenses;
d) enjoy the right of asylum;
e) When the offense was against religion or constitutes a crime or crimes of
opinion;
f) When public action is prescribed according to the law of the applicant
country or the Dominican legislation.
g) When the offense is punishable in law the applicant country or the
Dominican legislation, with lesser penalty of a year in prison.
h) When the requesting State is not competent to judge the fact that he is
charged.

i) When the person whose extradition is requested, it is serving a sentence for

an act of the same nature or more serious which underlies the requirement.
Art. 6. Any request for extradition, and emanating from the Dominican State or
whether addressed to it, will be processed through the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs.
Art. 7. Any request for extradition addressed to the Dominican State must be
accompanied by the documents listed below, written in Spanish or translation
into this language, certified by the competent official and legalized by the
Dominican Consul in the country requesting:
a) A copy of the trial proceedings so far intervened demand.
b) Copy of the elements that prove or evidence that might determine the guilt
of the person sought.
c) A copy of the judgment, if there intervened some, or commandment or
author of imprisonment or document of equal legal force that serves to
translate the repressive justice to the person whose extradition is requested.
d) Copies of documents which may serve to determine the identity of the
accused including photography or marks or circumstances cooperate with
determining your identity.
e) Copy of criminal legal texts of the requesting State and other measures that
establishing the legal definition of the fact that motivates the request for
surrender, describing the participation attributed to the defendant, and
prescribing penalties.
f) A copy of the legal provisions that establish the deadline and the conditions
under which the prescription or expiry of the action of the offense on which the
request for surrender occurs.

Art. 8. (Amended by Law 278-98 of July 29, 1998). The extradition of a

foreigner shall be granted in appropriate cases only for accused or convicted of
any of the following offenses, except what about treaties and conventions have
persons:
a) trafficking in drugs and controlled substances and laundering from this
activity;
b) murder, infanticide, parricide, murder, poisoning and conspiracy;
c) Attempted crimes mentioned in the preceding paragraph,
d) statutory rape and child abduction or sexual intercourse with children under
12 years;
e) Bigamy;
f) Arson;
g) Robbery with violence;
h) terrorism, sabotage and other acts against the foundation of all social
organization;
i) Attacks on individual freedom;
j) Counterfeiting or altering scripts public or official documents and commercial
or private use of such documents knowing they are forged or altered;
k) Manufacture of coins, banknotes, securities or other false documents
change, or alteration of legitimacy, or put them in circulation that are
knowingly false or altered.

Paragraph No extradition of a foreigner is granted whose presence in the

Dominican territory has been through the efforts of the requesting State.
Art 9. STATE DEMAND issued DOMINI-CANO. When demand emanating from the
Dominican State the following procedure shall be followed:
The competent Public Prosecutor, via the Attorney General of the Republic,
submit to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of a reasoned request
accompanied by a conviction or a warrant of arrest which shall contain the
necessary information to establish the identity of the forewarned : First name,
last name, nickname, age, profession, marital status, indicating full details of
the facts constituting the offense, text of the law that is the basis for the
prosecution and, if possible, photograph the accused.
Art. 10. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive the file, will refer to the Head
of the Legal Affairs Division for it to check whether the existing treaties
authorize extradition in the species and to the facts that the charge relates and
if it fits and have met the requirements of this law.
Art. 11.- the Head of the Legal Affairs Division, after making the checks
indicated in the previous article, return it to the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs with its report and opinion.
Art. 12.- The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, will submit the file to the
Executive, with its recommendations, to take whatever the final decision.
Art. 13. If the Executive welcomes the extradition request, return the dossier to
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to formulate this demand through the
Dominican diplomat accredited representative in the country required.
Art. 14- EXTRADITION REQUEST ADDRESSED TO DOMINICAN Status: The
request will be processed through diplomatic channels and through the
Dominican Government accredited to the diplomatic agent.

Art. 15.- The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs shall refer the request to the
Head of the Legal Affairs Division to enable it to determine the regularity of
demand, who will then forward the diplomatic agent if there was need to
complete the record.
Art. 16. Once complete record return it to the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs refers you to the Attorney General of the Republic who will examine the
merits of the claim.
In case of doubt, this official may request additional data through the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs.
Art. 17- (Amended by Law 278-98 of July 29, 1998). Attorney of record, the
Attorney General's Office will check:
a) The requesting State has jurisdiction to try the criminal act that is imputed.
b) the fact that the application refers to falls within the list in Article 4 of this
law, and is sanctioned in law the applicant country and Dominican law and not
fall within the exceptions established by this law.
c) That the act is punishable by more than one year in prison in law the
applicant country and Dominican law.
d) That the action has not expired or expired, or under the law of the
requesting country or under Dominican law.
e) That the person has either been acquitted or discharged by a judgment
issued by a Dominican court nor served time in the Dominican Republic for the
crime as a basis to demand.
Art. 18.- The Attorney General of the Republic will summon the accused by the
ministry of Bailiff, for interrogation purposes and for the purpose of hearing
before formulating its opinion, and shall state that fact in its opinion. The

defendant to appear with the Attorney General of the Republic has the right to
be accompanied by a lawyer for advice or defense, and attend only to discuss
the extradition request and prove the failure to comply with the laws, if you
believe convenient.
Art. 19.- If the individual whose extradition is sought claims to have Dominican
nationality or have acquired by naturalization before the commission of the act
that is the basis for the extradition request or demand for extradition relates to
another person; or asserts a fact of nature to establish his innocence; or order
sought to prove that the offense he is charged does not fall within the cases
provided for in the treaty or the law; or is within the exceptions that prohibit
granting it, the Attorney General's Office will verify by all means at their
disposal accuracy and source of these allegations and decide, in its opinion, on
each of them.
Art. 20.- If the accused claim the help of an interpreter or advice of a lawyer,
the Attorney General's Office will seek the necessary facilities and, if need, you
will designate a lawyer and an interpreter .
Art. 21. The attorney who use the accused may not intervene in interrogations,
because it is an informative trade and not a contradictory debate; but you can
witness them, observe them, or have copies of them and writing a letter with
their allegations that the Attorney General of the Republic refer to the Foreign
Ministry in conjunction with interrogations.
Art. 22.- When in the course of the procedure judged necessary to hear
statements or reports of people who have in the requesting country, or perform
any act or instructional procedures will address this effect a letter rogatory by
means diplomatic or consular, which will be fulfilled by officials in accordance
with the laws of the requesting country.
Art. 23. Upon completion of the interrogation, the Attorney General's Office
asked the accused if he agrees or not, to be delivered to the authorities of the
requesting country without extradition other formalities are met.

Art. 24. If the defendant consents to be delivered without formalities, the

Attorney General of the Republic sent its report and opinion to the Foreign
Ministry in conjunction with the verbal interrogation process and provide the
provisional arrest of the accused.
Art. 25.- If the alien refuses to be delivered before completion of formalities,
the Attorney General of the Republic shall return the dossier, with:
a) The documents accompanying the request for extradition;
b) The verbal interrogation process; Y
c) His reasoned opinion, which can be accepted or estimated by the Executive.
Art. 26.- Once the file returned by the Attorney General's Office, the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs will refer to the Head of the Legal Division to check
whether they have complied with all legal procedures and if demand is set to
treaties, principles of reciprocity or practice of law between States and return
to the Secretary of State said the dossier, with its opinion.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in turn, will send it to the Executive
Branch, with its recommendations for final decision. The Executive will
announce its decision to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify it in the form of
style to the requesting State.
Art. 27.- The Executive Power by extraditing Decree shall be included in an
express provision grasp the purpose of extradition to the condition that the
requesting State undertakes not to judge the extradited for a different offense
to which motivated extradition.
Paragraph: However, this requirement shall cease to apply: 1 st. If the
defendant, and free expressly consents to be tried by other facts; 2do. if it were
a related offense based on the same evidence of demand; . 3ero, if once

released, continue in territory for more than three months; and 4th. if he is
subsequent to extradition offenses.
Art. 28.- The delivery will be prosecuted to the requesting State with objects
found in their possession, as a result of the offense or parts that can serve for
testing, according to Dominican law, while respecting the rights of others.
Art. 29. If granted after extradition and delivery to the requesting State, the
Extradited manages to evade justice and retreats back into Dominican territory
or transiting through its territory, may be stopped by simple diplomatic or
consular request and delivered a second time, without further formalities, to
state that if it had granted the extradition.
Art. 30.- The requesting State shall have a maximum period of one month from
the date of notification to the diplomatic agent, to provide the requested
person, if it has accepted the demand. If I did at that time, the person claimed
shall be released and never be detained for the same reason of extradition.
Art. 31.- Every person arrested under an extradition request may apply for bail
under the same conditions and with the same procedure if the alleged offense
had been committed in the Republic.
Art. 32.- All expenses from the time of delivery shall be borne by the requesting
State. The requesting State will not have to pay any sum for the services they
have provided Dominican officials or employees.
Art. 33. If extradition is refused, will not accept new application for the same
offense, because it would be contrary to the rule non bis in idem.
Art. 34.- When the extradition request was turned down by procedural defects,
the supporting documents will be returned to the requesting State indicating
the basis for the denial. In this case you can renew properly documented
demand, corresponding to the Dominican State appreciate the convenience
and timeliness of the detention of the accused during the retrial.

Art. 35. (Added by Law 278-98 of July 29, 1998). In case of contradiction of this
Law with extradition treaties, agreed between the Dominican State and other
States, treaties prevail.
Art. 36 .-. (Added by Law 278-98 of July 29, 1998). the validity of the extradition
treaties signed between the Dominican State and other states intervene is
maintained until a new treaty on the subject.
GIVEN in the Hall of Sessions of the Senate, National Congress, in Santo
Domingo, National District of the Dominican Republic first of October in 1969,
years 126th of Independence and 107th of the Restoration.