Dominican Republic · Courts
Court structure of Dominican Republic
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Constitutional — Tribunal Constitucional
- Created 2011; 13 judges with nine-year non-renewable terms.
- Supreme — Suprema Corte de Justicia
- Court of cassation with civil, criminal and labour chambers.
- Specialised — Tribunal Superior Electoral
- Final authority on electoral disputes.
- Appellate — Cortes de Apelación
- Regional appellate courts.
- First instance — Juzgados de Primera Instancia and Juzgados de Paz
- Trial courts and justices of the peace.
Every court in the hierarchy
- constitutionalSanto DomingoTribunal ConstitucionalDirect actions of unconstitutionality with general effect, review of amparo judgments, preventive review of treaties, and conflicts of competence between public powers.
- supremeSanto DomingoSuprema Corte de JusticiaCassation review of civil, commercial, criminal, labour, tax and administrative judgments, and first-instance jurisdiction over senior officials.
- specialisedSanto DomingoTribunal Superior ElectoralContentious electoral disputes, disputes internal to political parties, and challenges to candidacies and results.
- appellateSanto DomingoCortes de ApelaciónAppeals from courts of first instance in civil, commercial, criminal, labour and juvenile matters.
- first-instanceSanto DomingoJuzgados de Primera Instancia y de PazCivil, commercial and criminal trials, labour and land disputes, and small claims and municipal matters before the Juzgados de Paz.
Found something out of date on Dominican Republic · Courts?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.