TITLE IV. OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER
CHAPTER I. OF THE PRESIDENT AND OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
SECTION I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 122. The President of the Republic
The Executive Power is exercised in the name of the people by the President [feminine] or the President [masculine] of the Republic, in the condition of head of the State and of government in accordance with what is set forth by this Constitution and the laws.
Article 123. Requirements to be President of the Republic
To be President of the Republic it is required:
- To be a Dominican [feminine] or Dominican [masculine] of birth or of origin;
- To have completed thirty years of age;
- To be in full exercise of the civil and political rights;
- To not be in active military or police service at least during the three years prior to the presidential elections.
Article 124. Presidential election
The Executive Power is exercised by the [masculine or feminine] President of the Republic, who will be elected every four years by direct vote without being able to be elected for the following constitutional period.
Article 125. Vice-President of the Republic
There will be a [masculine or feminine] Vice-President of the Republic, elected jointly with the President, in the same form and for the same period. To be Vice-President of the Republic the same conditions to be President are required.
Article 126. Pledge of the President and the Vice-President of the Republic
The President and Vice-President of the Republic elected in the general elections, will be sworn into their offices on August 16th following their election, the date which ends the period of the outgoing authorities. In consequence:
- When the President of the Republic cannot be sworn in, due to being outside of the country, due to illness or for any other cause of force majeure, the Vice-President will be sworn in, who will exercise in an interim form the functions of the President of the Republic, and in default of this, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice. Once the cause which has impeded the elected President or Vice-President from assuming their offices has ceased, these will be sworn in and will enter into their functions immediately;
- If the elected President of the Republic should be absent in a definitive form without taking the oath of office, and such absence was recognized by the National Assembly, the elected Vice-President of the Republic will substitute for him, and in his absence, the form indicated above will proceed.
Article 127. Oath
The elected [masculine or feminine] President and the [masculine or feminine] Vice-President of the Republic, before entering into their functions, will take before the National Assembly, the following oath: “I swear before God and before the people, for the Fatherland and on my honor, to fulfill and uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, to protect and to defend its independence, to respect the rights and the freedoms of the citizens [masculine] and citizens [feminine] and faithfully fulfill the duties of my office.”
SECTION II. OF THE ATTRIBUTIONS
Article 128. Attributions of the President of the Republic
The [feminine or masculine] President of the Republic directs the internal and foreign policy, the civil and military administration, and is the supreme authority of the Armed Forces, of the National Police and the other security bodies of the State.
- In the condition of Head of State it corresponds to him to:
- Preside over the solemn acts of the Nation;
- Promulgate and publish the laws and resolutions of the National Congress and to see to their faithful execution. To issue decrees, regulations and instructions when necessary;
- Appoint or dismiss the members of the military and police jurisdictions;
- Celebrate and sign treaties or international conventions and submit them to the approval of the National Congress, without which they would not be valid or obligate the Republic;
- To make provisions, in accordance with the law, when it concerns the Armed Forces and the National Police, issued by himself, or through the corresponding ministry, always maintaining his supreme command. To establish the contingent thereof and deploy them for objectives of public service;
- Take the measures necessary to provide and to guarantee the legitimate defense of the Nation, in case of an actual or imminent armed attack on the part of a foreign nation or foreign powers, having to inform the National Congress concerning the provisions adopted and to solicit the declaration of a State for Defense if it proceeds;
- Declare, if the National Congress is not meeting, the states of exception in accordance with the provisions of Articles 262 to 266 of this Constitution;
- Adopt the provisional measures of policing and security necessary in case of violation of the provisions of Article 62, numeral 6 of this Constitution that disrupt or menace the public order, the security of the State, the regular functioning of the public services or of public utility, or that impede the development of the economic activities and that do not constitute the acts provided for in Articles 262 to 266 of this Constitution;
- Provide, in accordance with the law, all of what is relative to the air, sea, river, land, military, and police zones in matters of national security, with the previous studies conducted by the ministries and their administrative dependencies;
- Grant pardons on February 27th, August 16th and December 23rd of each year, in accordance with the law and the international conventions;
- Have arrested or expelled, according to the law, the foreigners whose activities were or might be prejudicial to the public order or to the national security;
- Prohibit, when it is deemed necessary for the public interest, the entry of foreigners to the national territory.
- In the condition of Head of Government he has the faculty to:
- Appoint the ministers and vice-ministers and the other public functionaries that occupy offices of free appointment or whose designation is not attributed to any other organ of the State recognized by this Constitution or by the laws, as well as accepting their resignations and removing them;
- Appoint the [masculine of feminine] titular members of the autonomous and decentralized organs of the State, as well as to accept their resignations and removing them, in accordance with the law;
- Change the place of the official residence when it is deemed necessary;
- Celebrate contracts, submitting them to the approval of the National Congress when they contain provisions concerning the encumbrance of the national revenue, the sale of the assets of the State, the termination of loans or when they stipulate tax exemptions in general, in accordance with the Constitution. The maximum amount of such contracts and exemptions that can be subscribed by the President of the Republic without congressional approval, shall be of two hundred minimum salaries of the public sector;
- See to the good collection and true investment of the national revenue;
- Deposit before the National Congress, at the initiation of the first ordinary legislature on February 27th of each year, the reports of the ministries and render account for his administration of the previous year;
- Submit to the National Congress, no later than the first of October of each year, the Bill of Law of the General Budget of the State for the following year.
- As Head of State and of Government it corresponds to him to:
- Appoint, with the approval of the Senate of the Republic, the ambassadors accredited abroad and the heads of permanent missions before international organs, as well as to appoint the other members of the diplomatic corps, in accordance with the Law of Foreign Service, and to accept their resignations and to remove them;
- Direct the diplomatic negotiations and to receive the foreign Heads of State and their representatives;
- Grant, or not, authorization to Dominican citizens by which they may exercise offices or public functions of a government or of international organizations in the Dominican territory, and by which they may accept and use decorations and titles granted by foreign governments;
- Authorize, or not, the town councils to transfer properties and approve, or not, the contracts that involve, when constituted as a guarantee, municipal properties or incomes;
- The other the attributions set forth in the Constitution and the laws.
SECTION III. OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
Article 129. Presidential succession
The presidential succession will be governed by the following norms:
- In case of the temporary absence of the President of the Republic the Executive Power will be assumed by the Vice-President of the Republic;
- In case of the definitive absence of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President will assume the Presidency of the Republic for the time remaining for the termination of the presidential period;
- On definitive absence of both, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice will assume the Executive Power in an interim manner, and within the fifteen days following the date of having assumed those functions, will convoke the National Assembly to meet within the following fifteen days to elect the new President and Vice-President of the Republic, in one session that can neither be closed nor be declared in recess until having achieved the election;
- In the case that, for any circumstance, such convocation cannot be made, the National Assembly will meet of plain right, immediately, to complete the election in the previously indicated form;
- The election will be made through the favorable vote of more than half of the assembly members present;
- The substitutes of the President and Vice-President of the Republic will be chosen from the ternas [lists of three names] presented to the National Assembly by the superior organ of the political party that made the postulation, in accordance with their statutes, within the time set forth in numeral 3) of this Article. If the time expires without the party having presented the ternas, the National Assembly will conduct the election.
Article 130. Vice-Presidential succession
In case of the definitive absence of the Vice-President of the Republic, before or after the oath, the President of the Republic, in a time of thirty days, will present a terna to the National Assembly for his election. If the time expired without the President having presented the terna, the National Assembly will conduct the election.
SECTION IV. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Article 131. Authorization to travel abroad
The [masculine or feminine] President of the Republic cannot travel abroad for more than fifteen days without the authorization of the National Congress.
Article 132. Resignation
The [masculine or feminine] President and Vice-President of the Republic can only resign before the National Assembly.
Article 133. Immunity for deprivation of freedom
Without prejudice to what is set forth in Article 80, numeral 1) of this Constitution, the [masculine or feminine] President and Vice-President of the Republic, elected or in their functions, cannot be deprived of their freedom.
CHAPTER II. OF THE MINISTRIES
Article 134. Ministries of the State
For the conduct of the affairs of government there will be the ministries that will be created by law. Each ministry will be the responsibility of one minister and will include the vice-ministers considered necessary for the conduct of its affairs.
Article 135. Requirements to be a minister or vice-minister
To be a minister or vice-minister it is required to be Dominican [feminine] or Dominican [masculine] in full exercise of the civil and political rights and have reached the age of twenty-five years. Naturalized persons can only be ministers or vice-ministers ten years after having acquired the Dominican nationality. The ministers and vice-ministers may not exercise any professional or commercial activity that could create conflicts of interest.
Article 136. Attributions
The law will determine the attributions of the ministers and vice-ministers.
SECTION I. OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
Article 137. Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers is the organ of coordination of the general affairs of the government and it has as its goal to organize and to expedite the conduct of those aspects of the Public Administration in benefit of the general interests of the Nation and for the serving the citizenry. It will be integrated by the President of the Republic, who will preside over it, the Vice-President of the Republic and the ministers.
CHAPTER III. OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Article 138. Principles of the Public Administration
The Public Administration is subject in its actions to the principles of efficacy, hierarchy, objectivity, equality, transparency, economy, publicity and coordination, with full submission to the juridical order of the State. The law shall regulate:
- The statute of the public functionaries, the access to the public function in accordance with the merit and capacity of the candidates, the specialized instruction and training, the regime of incompatibilities of the functionaries that assures their impartiality in the exercise of the legally conferred functions;
- The procedure by which the decisions and administrative acts must be produced, guaranteeing the hearing of the interested persons, with the exceptions established by the law.
Article 139. Control of legality of the Public Administration
The tribunals will control the legality of the acts of the Public Administration. The citizenry may require that control through the procedures established by the law.
Article 140. Regulation for the increase in remunerations
No public institution or autonomous entity that handles public funds will establish norms or provisions that will tend to increase the remuneration or the benefits of its administrators or executives, except for the subsequent period to which they were elected or appointed. The inobservance of this provision will be sanctioned in accordance with the law.
SECTION I. OF THE AUTONOMOUS AND DECENTRALIZED ORGANS OF THE STATE
Article 141. Autonomous and decentralized organs
The law will create autonomous and decentralized organs in the State, provided with juridical personality, and with administrative, financial and technical autonomy. These organs will be attached to the sector of the administration that is compatible with its activity, under the oversight of the minister [feminine] or minister [masculine] who is the head of the sector. The law and the Executive Power will regulate the policies of de-concentration of the Public Administration services.
SECTION II. OF THE STATUTE OF THE PUBLIC FUNCTION
Article 142. The Public Function
The Statute of the Public Function is a regime of public law based in the merit and professionalism for an efficient management and the fulfillment of the essential functions of the State. This statute will determine the form of entrance, promotion, evaluation of performance, permanence and dismissal of the public servants in their functions.
Article 143. Statutory regime
The law will determine the statutory regime required for the professionalization of the different institutions of the Public Administration.
Article 144. Regime of Compensation
No functionary or employee of the State may perform, in a simultaneous form, more than one remunerated office, except for teaching. The law will establish the modalities of compensation of the [feminine and masculine] functionaries and employees of the State, in accordance with the criteria of merit and the characteristics of the rendering of service.
Article 145. Protection of the Public Function
The dismissal of public servants that belong to the Administrative Career in violation of the regime of the Public Function, will be considered as an act contrary to the Constitution and to the law.
Article 146. Proscription of corruption
All forms of corruption within the organs of the State are condemned. In consequence:
- Any person who steals public funds or that by taking advantage of their positions within the organs of the State, its dependencies or autonomous institutions, obtains for himself or for third persons an economic advantage, will be punished with the penalties established by the law;
- In the same form, the person who provides advantages to their associates, family members, relatives, friends or related persons will be sanctioned;
- The sworn declaration of the assets of the [feminine and masculine] public functionaries, to whom it always corresponds to prove the origin of their assets, before and after having finalized their functions or at the requirement of the competent authority, is obligatory, in accordance with what is set forth by the law;
- The penalty of civic degradation will be applied to the persons convicted of crimes of corruption, without prejudice to the other sanctions set forth by the law, and the restitution of that appropriated in an illicit manner will be required of them;
- The law may provide for periods of prescription of longer duration than the ordinary ones for the cases of crimes of corruption and a regime of restrictive procedural benefits.
SECTION III. OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES
Article 147. Purpose of the public services
The public services are destined to satisfy the needs of the collective interest. They will be declared by law. In consequence:
- The State guarantees the access to quality public services, directly or by delegation, by means of concession, authorization, association in participation, transfer of actionable property or other contractual modality, in accordance with this Constitution and the law;
- The public services rendered by the State or by individuals, in the legal or contractual modalities, must respond to the principles of universality, accessibility, efficiency, transparency, responsibility, continuity, quality, reasonableness and equity of rates;
- The regulation of the public services is the exclusive faculty of the State. The law may establish that the regulation of these services and of other economic activities be the responsibility of the organs created for such purposes.
SECTION IV. OF THE CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PUBLIC ENTITIES, THEIR FUNCTIONARIES OR AGENTS
Article 148. Civil responsibility
The juridical persons of public law and their functionaries or agents will be responsible, jointly and severally, in accordance with the law, for the damages and losses caused to physical or juridical persons by an anti-juridical administrative act or omission.
