Law No. 107-13 on the Rights of Persons in Their Relations with the Public Administration and Administrative Procedure

-1- NATIONAL CONGRESS In the Name of the Republic Law No. 107-13

FIRST CONSIDERATION: That the Constitution of the Republic proclaimed on January 26, 2010, establishes the Dominican State as a Social and Democratic State under the Rule of Law.

SECOND CONSIDERATION: That the model of the Social and Democratic State under the Rule of Law transforms the nature of the relationship between the Public Administration and persons.

THIRD CONSIDERATION: That the Public Administration must act objectively in service of the general interest, with its full submission to the legal order of the State, expressly proclaimed in Article 138 of the Constitution, being of great relevance.

FOURTH CONSIDERATION: That in a Social and Democratic State under the Rule of Law, citizens are not subjects, nor silent citizens, but persons endowed with human dignity, and are consequently the legitimate owners and masters of the general interest. They cease to be inert subjects, mere recipients of administrative acts and provisions, as well as of public goods and services, to acquire a central position in the analysis and evaluation of public policies and administrative decisions.

FIFTH CONSIDERATION: That one of the aspects derived from the constitutional clause of the Democratic State constitutes the exercise of the administrative function based on the principles of objectivity and impartiality, from which derives the constitutional option for a professionalized bureaucratic system, as well as the establishment of behavioral rules aimed at ensuring the correct use of administrative powers.

SIXTH CONSIDERATION: That in accordance with the above, the Constitution of the Republic expressly contains a mandate to the legislator in its Article 138, to regulate by law the procedure for the issuance of administrative acts, guaranteeing the right to be heard of persons in cases where it is necessary.

SEVENTH CONSIDERATION: That the mandate of the Fundamental Charter of the State to incorporate administrative procedure generally in the Public Administration, in addition to guaranteeing the effective validity of the constitutional clause of the Democratic State, constitutes an essential instrument that enables the correctness of administrative decisions and enhances respect for the fundamental rights of persons in their relationship with the Administration and other organs and entities that exercise functions of an administrative nature in the State.

EIGHTH CONSIDERATION: That likewise, administrative procedure has the virtue of generating greater acceptance and consensus among the recipients of administrative decisions, as it allows them to obtain adequate information and a better weighing of the interests at stake, avoiding judicial conflict or, if applicable, facilitating its subsequent adjudication, which inspires confidence, legal certainty, and the attraction of economic investment.

NINTH CONSIDERATION: That the administrative procedure of the 21st century cannot be sustained on the old forms of administrative action, since in the context of the Social and Democratic State under the Rule of Law, the role corresponding to the Public Administration has expanded, having assumed new roles in the State-Society relationship, which generates the need to foresee new procedural mechanisms that allow effectively satisfying these new duties.

TENTH CONSIDERATION: That as a consequence of what is stated in the previous Consideration, the legal order must contemplate different types of procedures, covering the various fields of administrative action.

ELEVENTH CONSIDERATION: That as reputable administrative doctrine in Latin America has had the opportunity to point out, until the appearance of administrative procedure laws, "almost all powers, authorities, and rights had been in the hands of the Administration, with very few duties and obligations towards the individual; and the administrated person, what they had normally found before the Administration, were only situations of duty, subjection, subordination, without really having rights, nor having mechanisms to demand the guarantee of their right."

TWELFTH CONSIDERATION: That the redimensioning of the fundamental rights of persons entails the inclusion within them of a fundamental right to good administration, which is manifested not exclusively for the legal guarantees of persons, but is fundamentally oriented towards increasing the quality of the services and activities carried out by the Public Administration, as well as the right of persons to be indemnified for damages to their goods or rights caused by an unlawful act of the Administration or in cases of regular action when a particular sacrifice occurs.

THIRTEENTH CONSIDERATION: That it is equally indispensable to enshrine the rules and principles applicable to administrative acts that result from some administrative procedures, which includes the requirements for their formation, their effects, invalidity, the revocatory regime, and the remedies to which they may be subject in the administrative arena.

VIEWED: Article 138 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic.

HAS ENACTED THE FOLLOWING LAW:

PRELIMINARY TITLE OBJECT AND SCOPE OF APPLICATION

Article 1. Object. This law aims to regulate the rights and duties of persons in their relations with the Public Administration, the principles that support these relations, and the administrative procedure rules that govern administrative activity.

Paragraph. This law also contains measures for administrative modernization, deregulation and bureaucratic simplification, functioning of collegiate bodies, regime of administrative sanctions, and liability of public entities and their officials.

Article 2. Scope of application. The provisions of this law shall be applicable to all organs that make up the Central Public Administration, to autonomous organisms established by law, and to entities that make up the Local Administration.

Paragraph I. The administrative organs and entities of the Armed Forces and the National Police shall be governed by the principles and rules provided in this Organic Law, provided that they are compatible with the specificity of the functions assigned to them by the Constitution and their respective Organic Laws.

Paragraph II. The organs that exercise functions or activities of an administrative nature in the Legislative and Judicial Powers, as well as in organs and entities of constitutional rank, shall be subject to the principles and rules of this law, provided that they are compatible with their specific regulations, do not distort the functions granted to them by the Constitution, and guarantee the principle of separation of powers.

Paragraph III. When this law refers to the concept Administration or Public Administration, it refers to the public organs and entities included in its scope of application.

Paragraph IV. To the extent that it is compatible, the concept of persons contained in this law includes both natural persons and legal persons.

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FIRST TITLE PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.

Article 3. Principles of administrative action. Within the framework of respect for the legal order as a whole, the Public Administration serves and guarantees the general interest objectively and acts, especially in its relations with persons, in accordance with the following principles:

1. Principle of legality: By virtue of which all administrative action is fully subject to the legal order of the State.

2. Principle of objective service to persons: Which extends to all administrative actions and their agents and is concretized in respect for the fundamental rights of persons, proscribing any administrative action that depends on partialities of any kind.

3. Promotional principle: Expressed in the creation of conditions for the freedom and equality of opportunities of persons and the groups they belong to to be real and effective, removing obstacles that prevent their fulfillment and equally fostering participation.

4. Principle of rationality: Which extends especially to the motivation and argumentation that must serve as the basis for the entire administrative action. The Administration must always act through good administrative decisions that objectively value all interests at stake in accordance with democratic good governance.

5. Principle of equal treatment: By which persons who find themselves in the same situation shall be treated equally, with expressly motivated reasons in concrete cases justifying any difference in treatment.

6. Principle of efficiency: By virtue of which, in administrative procedures, authorities shall remove purely formal obstacles ex officio, avoid lack of response to requests made, delays, and postponements.

7. Principle of publicity of norms, procedures, and the entire administrative activity: Within the framework of respect for the right to privacy and the reserves for reasons of confidentiality or general interest that are pertinent in each case.

8. Principle of legal certainty, predictability, and normative certainty: By which the Administration submits to the law in force at each moment, without being able to arbitrarily change legal norms and administrative criteria.

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9. Principle of proportionality: The decisions of the Administration, when they result in restrictions on rights or entail a negative effect for persons, must observe the principle of proportionality, according to which the limits or restrictions must be suitable, coherent, and useful to achieve the general interest goal pursued in each case; they must be necessary, as no alternative less restrictive means with the same degree of efficacy in achieving the public purpose sought exists; and finally, they must be proportionate in the strict sense, by generating greater benefits for the general interest and the interests and rights of citizens than harms to the right or freedom affected by the restrictive measure.

10. Principle of normative exercise of power: By virtue of which the Public Administration will exercise its competencies and powers within the framework of what has been attributed to them by law, and in accordance with the purpose for which that competence or power is granted, without incurring in abuse or deviation of power, with respect and objective observation of general interests.

11. Principle of impartiality and independence: Personnel in the service of the Public Administration must abstain from any arbitrary action or action that causes preferential treatment for any reason and act in function of the objective service to the general interest, prohibiting the participation of such personnel in any matter in which they themselves, or persons or close family members, have any type of interest or where there may be a conflict of interest.

12. Principle of relevance: By virtue of which administrative actions must be adopted based on the most relevant aspects, without it being possible, as a basis for the decision to be made, to value only aspects of little consideration.

13. Principle of coherence: Administrative actions will be congruent with practice and administrative precedents unless, for reasons explicitly stated in writing, it is pertinent in some case to depart from them.

14. Principle of good faith: By virtue of which authorities and individuals will presume the legal behavior of one another in the exercise of their competencies, rights, and duties.

15. Principle of legitimate expectation: By virtue of which administrative action will be respectful of the expectations that the Administration itself has reasonably generated in the past.

16. Principle of advisory services: Personnel in the service of the Public Administration must advise persons on the manner of presentation of requests and their processing.

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17. Principle of responsibility: By which the Administration will be liable for damages to the goods or rights of persons caused as a consequence of the functioning of administrative activity. Authorities and their agents will assume the consequences of their actions in accordance with the legal order.

18. Principle of facilitation: Persons will always find in the Administration the greatest facilities for the processing of matters affecting them, especially regarding identifying the responsible official, obtaining a stamped copy of requests, knowing the status of processing, sending, if applicable, the procedure to the competent organ, being heard, and formulating allegations or reference to the remedies susceptible of filing.

19. Principle of speed: By virtue of which administrative actions will be carried out optimizing the use of time, resolving procedures within a reasonable period that, in any case, shall not exceed two months from the presentation of the request to the corresponding organ, unless sectoral legislation indicates a longer period. In particular, authorities will ex officio promote procedures and incentivize the use of information and communication technologies so that procedures are processed diligently and without unjustified delays, in writing or through electronic techniques and means.

20. Principle of privacy protection: In such a way that personnel in the service of the Public Administration who handle personal data will respect the private life and integrity of persons, prohibiting the processing of personal data for unjustified purposes and their transmission to unauthorized persons.

21. Principle of ethics: By virtue of which all personnel in the service of the Public Administration as well as persons in general must act with rectitude, loyalty, and honesty.

22. Principle of due process: Administrative actions will be carried out in accordance with the procedural and competence rules established in the Constitution and laws, with full guarantee of the rights of representation, defense, and contradiction.

SECOND TITLE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF PERSONS IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION.

THE RIGHT TO GOOD ADMINISTRATION.

Article 4. Right to good administration and rights of persons in their relations with the Public Administration. The right of persons to a good Public Administration is recognized, which is concretized, among others, in the following subjective rights of an administrative order:

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1. Right to effective administrative protection.
2. Right to motivation of administrative actions.
3. Right to an administrative resolution within a reasonable time.
4. Right to a fair resolution of administrative actions.
5. Right to present written requests.
6. Right to a timely and effective response from administrative authorities.
7. Right not to present documents that are already in the possession of the Public Administration or that concern uncontested or irrelevant facts.
8. Right to be heard always before measures that may affect them unfavorably are adopted.
9. Right to participate in administrative actions in which they have an interest, especially through hearings and public information sessions.
10. Right to fair indemnification in cases of damage to goods or rights as a consequence of the activity or inactivity of the Administration.
11. Right to access public services under conditions of universality and quality, within the framework of the principle of subsidiarity.
12. Right to choose and access under conditions of universality and quality the general interest services of their preference.
13. Right to opine on the functioning of services under the Public Administration.
14. Right to know the obligations and commitments derived from services under the Public Administration.
15. Right to formulate allegations at any time during the administrative procedure.
16. Right to present complaints, claims, and appeals before the Administration.
17. Right to file appeals before the judicial authority without the need to exhaust the prior administrative route.
18. Right to know the evaluations of public entities and to propose measures for their permanent improvement.

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19. Right of access to administrative files that affect them within the framework of respect for the right to privacy and motivated declarations of reserve that in all cases must concretize the general interest to the concrete case.
20. Right to a rational and efficient organization of physical or digital administrative archives, registers, and databases.
21. Right of access to Administration information, under the terms established in the law regulating the matter.
22. Right to a stamped copy of the documents they present to the Public Administration.
23. Right to be informed and advised on matters of general interest.
24. Right to be treated with courtesy and cordiality.
25. Right to know the person responsible for the processing of the administrative procedure.
26. Right to know the status of administrative procedures that affect them.
27. Right to be notified in writing or through new technologies of the resolutions that affect them in the shortest possible time, which shall not exceed five business days.
28. Right to participate in associations or institutions of users of public services or general interest services.
29. Right to act in administrative procedures through a representative.
30. Right to demand compliance with the responsibilities of personnel in the service of the Public Administration and of individuals who perform administrative functions.
31. Right to receive special and preferential attention if they are persons with disabilities, children, adolescents, pregnant women, or elderly persons, and in general persons in a state of defenselessness or manifest weakness, and
32. All other rights established by the Constitution or laws.

Article 5. Duties of persons in their relations with the Public Administration. Correlatively with the rights that assist them, persons have, in their relations with the Public Administration, the following duties:

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1. Comply with what is established in the Constitution, laws, and the legal order in general.
2. Act in accordance with the principle of good faith, abstaining from employing dilatory maneuvers in procedures, and knowingly making or providing false declarations or documents, or making reckless statements, among other conduct.
3. Exercise their rights responsibly, avoiding the repetition of inappropriate requests.
4. Observe respectful treatment towards personnel in the service of the Public Administration.
5. Collaborate in the proper development of procedures, complying with their obligations provided in the laws.

Paragraph: The non-compliance with these duties cannot be invoked by the Public Administration as an argument to ignore the right claimed by the person. However, when appropriate, it may give rise to the penal or administrative sanctions established in the laws.

Article 6. Duties of personnel in the service of the Public Administration in the framework of administrative actions and procedures. Personnel in the service of the Public Administration, in the framework of administrative actions and procedures that relate them to persons, will have, among others, the following duties:

1. Foster effective administrative protection.
2. Adequately motivate administrative resolutions.
3. Resolve procedures within a reasonable time.
4. Guarantee due process of the procedure or administrative action in question.
5. Resolve in accordance with the legal order of the State.
6. Facilitate the presentation of requests by persons.
7. Respond effectively to requests from persons.
8. Resolve without needing to request documents from persons that are in the possession of the Public Administration.
9. Always hear persons before adopting resolutions that affect them unfavorably.

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10. Facilitate citizen participation through hearings and public information sessions.
11. Provide and/or guarantee public services and general interest services according to reasonable quality standards.
12. Facilitate the right to choose general interest services for persons.
13. Periodically conduct surveys or polls on the opinion of users of services under the Public Administration.
14. Periodically publish the obligations of the Administration and the rights of persons in services under the Public Administration.
15. Facilitate the formulation of allegations by persons at any time during the procedure or administrative action in question.
16. Facilitate the presentation of complaints, appeals, or claims before the Public Administration itself.
17. Periodically publish the evaluations of the functioning of administrative organs and entities.
18. Facilitate access to public and general interest information under the terms provided in the law.
19. Have physical or digital administrative archives, registers, and databases, duly ordered and updated, allowing easy access for persons.
20. Deliver a stamped copy of writings presented by citizens.
21. Treat persons with courtesy and cordiality.
22. Identify the person responsible for resolving the administrative procedure in question.
23. Periodically inform about the status of the processing of procedures.
24. Notify by any effective means to persons of the resolutions that affect them in the shortest possible time, which shall not exceed five days.
25. Foster the association of users of public services and general interest services.
26. Facilitate the action of persons who wish to do so through a representative in administrative procedures.

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27. All those duties established in the Constitution or in the laws.

Article 7. Duties of the Public Administration and its personnel in matters of information to the public. Personnel in the service of the Public Administration will have, in relation to persons who approach it within the framework of any procedure or administrative action, among others, the following duties:

1. Treat all persons with respect, consideration, and diligence without any distinction.
2. Guarantee permanent and personal attention to requests.

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