Law No. 311-14 — Bill on Sworn Asset Declaration

THE NATIONAL CONGRESS IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC Law No. 311-14 Bill on Sworn Asset Declaration

CONSIDERING FIRST: That currently the Dominican Republic is immersed in a regulatory improvement process, framed within the promotion and adoption of public policies that promote the formation of a functional normative framework, the institutionalization of mechanisms for access to public information and accountability that transparent the management of the administration, which leads to the eradication of administrative corruption that causes serious harm to democracy, governance, and the national economy;

CONSIDERING SECOND: That the Dominican State is committed to public ethics, therefore it must guarantee an honest behavior of public officials in the exercise of their functions, for which it is indispensable to equip the Dominican legal system with the legal tools that give security to the fulfillment of the pact of the public powers with the citizens within the Dominican democracy;

CONSIDERING THIRD: That information technologies offer the administration a tool for administrative simplification, the prevention, detection, and effective prosecution of acts of corruption within the public administration that degenerate into the illicit enrichment of public servants;

CONSIDERING FOURTH: That the correct performance of public officials and transparency in their actions can only be guaranteed through adequate legal provisions, provided with a sanctioning system that commits the responsibility of those who exercise public function, and that in turn guarantees the execution of sanctions, which would ensure the effectiveness and compliance of the norm, promoting good public management;

CONSIDERING FIFTH: That Law No. 82, of December 16, 1979, which regulates the publication of the Sworn Declaration of Income and of Assets and Rents of State Officials and Public Servants, does not establish an efficient mechanism for the presentation of the asset inventory, therefore it hinders the detection of cases of illicit enrichment of public officials, nor does it contemplate sanctions for cases where the official falsifies information;

CONSIDERING SIXTH: That the Dominican State is composed of the three characteristic powers of a republic, in addition to having various autonomous and decentralized institutions that may be affected by acts of corruption. In this sense, the current legislation has been ignored by different bodies, under the argument of the institutional dependence of the receiving body;

CONSIDERING SEVENTH: That the Dominican State must establish mechanisms aimed at proscribing corruption, through the configuration in its legal system of a criminal type on illicit enrichment that can be applied independently for the prosecution and sanction of disproportionate patrimonial increase, and that enables the recovery of goods that have been diverted from the administration;

CONSIDERING EIGHTH: That the Constitution of the Republic establishes in numeral 1) of its article 146, the obligation of officials to present a sworn declaration of their assets, and also states that it corresponds to them to always prove the origin of their assets, before or after having finished their functions or at the request of the competent authority, a measure that constitutes a constitutional inversion of the burden of proof regarding the origin of the assets of public officials;

CONSIDERING NINTH: That numeral 4) of article 146 of the Constitution of the Republic also establishes that persons convicted of corruption crimes will be required to restitute what was appropriated illicitly;

CONSIDERING TENTH: That numeral 5) of article 51 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes confiscation by final judgment of assets that have their origin in illicit acts committed against public property, as well as those used or derived from activities related to the illicit trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances or related to transnational organized crime and all information provided for in penal laws.

VIEWED: The Constitution of the Republic, proclaimed on January 26, 2010.

VIEWED: The Dominican Penal Code.

VIEWED: Law No. 82, of December 16, 1979, which obliges Public Officials to raise a detailed, sworn, and notarized inventory of the assets that constitute their patrimony at that moment.

VIEWED: Law No. 10-04, of January 20, 2004, of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic.

VIEWED: Law No. 41-08, of January 16, 2008, on Public Function and creates the State Secretariat of Public Administration.

VIEWED: The Organic Law of Public Administration No. 247-12, of August 9, 2012.

VIEWED: Resolution No. 489-98, of November 20, 1998, which approves the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, approved on March 29, 1996, at the Special Conference convened by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, in Caracas, Venezuela.

VIEWED: Resolution No. 333-06, of August 8, 2006, which approves the United Nations Convention against Corruption, signed by the Government of the Dominican Republic on December 10, 2003.

VIEWED: Decree No. 287-06, of July 17, 2006, which establishes the new Automated and Uniform System of Sworn Declaration of Assets, in accordance with Law No. 82, of December 16, 1979, as well as the form designed and administered electronically and digitally through the Internet page, enabled by the National Treasury and the Department of Prevention of Administrative Corruption.

VIEWED: Decree No. 324-07, of July 3, 2007, which provides that the Department of Prevention of Administrative Corruption, created by Decree No. 322-97, shall hereinafter be called the National Directorate for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption, dependent on the Attorney General's Office of the Republic.

HAS GIVEN THE FOLLOWING LAW:

CHAPTER I OBJECTIVE, OBLIGED OFFICIALS, MODALITY AND CONTENT OF THE SWORN DECLARATION

Article 1.- Objective. This law aims to institute the National Automated and Uniform System of Sworn Asset Declarations; establish the institutions responsible for its application and hierarchize its authority, facilitate institutional coordination, promote ethical management, and provide public control and investigation organs against administrative corruption with the normative tools that allow them to exercise their functions efficiently.

Article 2.- Officials obliged to declare. The following officials are obliged to present sworn asset declarations:

1. The President and Vice President of the Republic;
2. Senators and deputies, as well as the administrative secretaries of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies;
3. Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, of the superior administrative tribunals, and the other judges of the judicial order;
4. Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal;
5. Judges of the Superior Electoral Tribunal;
6. The Attorney General of the Republic, and his adjoints, and the other members of the Public Ministry;
7. Ministers and Vice Ministers;
8. The Ombudsman;
9. The Governor and Vice Governor, Manager and Comptroller of the Central Bank;
10. Members of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic;
11. Members of the Central Electoral Board, the National Director of Elections, the National Director of Civil Registry;
12. The Comptroller General of the Republic;
13. Administrators and managers of state banks;
14. Mayors, vice mayors, councilors, and municipal treasurers;
15. Directors and treasurers of municipal districts;
16. The General Secretary and Undersecretaries of the Dominican Municipal League;
17. Ambassadors and Consuls General of the Dominican Republic, accredited in other countries and representatives before international organizations;
18. General administrators and sub-administrators;
19. National, general, and sub-directors of centralized and decentralized organs of the State;
20. Presidents, vice presidents, superintendents, and administrators of state companies;
21. Members of administration boards of autonomous organs of the State;
22. Provincial governors;
23. Chiefs and deputy chiefs of the General Staff of military institutions, general officers, and other officers in operational command or administrative positions;
24. The Chief and Deputy Chief of the National Police, departmental and regional managers, and other officers in operational command or administrative positions;
25. Heads of specialized security and intelligence bodies of the State, departmental and regional managers, and other officers in operational command or administrative positions;
26. The President of the National Directorate for Drug Control and departmental and regional managers, and other officers in operational command or administrative positions;
27. Members of the National Drug Council;
28. Members of the National Social Security Council, the General Manager, the Treasurer, and the Comptroller of Social Security;
29. The National Treasurer;
30. The Rector and Vice Rectors of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo;
31. Members of the Monetary Board;
32. Purchasing officers of legislative chambers, the Supreme Court of Justice, ministries, and general directorates and other organs established in the application regulation of this law;
33. Officials of any other autonomous, centralized, or decentralized institution of the State that is created in the future and that administers public funds.

Article 3.- Modality of the declaration. The sworn asset declaration consists of an inventory of assets authenticated by a public notary, which will be published by any means, electronic or printed.

Article 4.- The Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic will be the body responsible for the control, auditing, and application of this law.

Article 5.- Initial sworn declaration. Public officials obliged to declare must present, within thirty (30) days following their assumption of office, the sworn declaration of the assets that constitute their patrimony and that of the marital community. Paragraph I.- Whenever a public official mentioned in Article 2 begins the exercise of a position, or is re-elected for a new term, they will present a sworn asset declaration. Paragraph II.- When a public official is the object of an investigation regarding their patrimony, the competent authority may require the update of their sworn asset declaration.

Article 6.- Final declaration. Within a maximum period of thirty (30) days after ceasing in office, obliged public officials must present a final sworn declaration, indicating their patrimony and that of the marital community.

Article 7.- Obligation to inform. It is the obligation of the holders of the public powers and bodies responsible for the designation or election of obliged public officials, to inform the entity responsible for the application and execution of this law of each designation, election, or cessation of functions of public officials. Paragraph I.- The communication of information referred to in this article, in cases of designation, election, or cessation, will be made within five (5) days following, from the date of the designation, election, or cessation of functions. Paragraph II.- The communication of relevant information, in the case of elected officials, will be processed by the electoral governing body, within five (5) days following the issuance of the election certificates.

Article 8.- Content of the declaration. The sworn asset declaration will contain the following information:

1. Full name, date and place of birth, nationality, ID and electoral number, permanent home address, civil status, profession or occupation, permanent professional address, and telephone numbers of the declarant, as well as the name and ID and electoral number of the spouse, if applicable;
2. Identification of workplace and income from work and other activities;
3. Detail of current accounts, savings, financial certificates, and any other type of financial investment in the Dominican Republic and abroad, if any;
4. Detailed list of all assets and liabilities of the declarant's marital community;
5. Information on membership in boards or administrative councils in public or private institutions;
6. Information regarding their status as partner or shareholder in corporations, societies, or associations of public or private character, whether for profit or not;
7. Detailed and updated list of patrimonial assets, movable and immovable, registered or not, both in the Dominican Republic and abroad, with their estimated values;
8. Declaration from the General Directorate of Internal Taxes regarding patrimony. Paragraph I.- The description of immovable assets contemplated in the inventory will indicate their physical description and the date of acquisition by the declarant. Paragraph II.- The deposited inventory will contain the documentary supports that justify the possession of the declared assets. Paragraph III.- The information referring to bank account numbers, registration identification numbers of registered immovable assets, and the address of the immovables, must be integrated into a section of the sworn declaration of a confidential nature, which can only be consulted in case of an investigation initiated under the terms established by this law, with the authorization of the competent authority.

Article 9.- Exemption from taxes. The asset inventory presented by the declarant is exempt from the payment of legalization taxes.

CHAPTER II OF THE BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR APPLICATION

Article 10.- Creation of the verification body. The Office for the Evaluation and Auditing of Public Officials' Assets is created as a special body of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic, which has the following functions:

1. To verify the truthfulness of the information contained in the sworn declarations;
2. To control the compliance with the presentation of the sworn declaration by the officials that this law obliges to make. Paragraph.- This office depends directly on the Plenary of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic; its organization and functioning are regulated by said body.

Article 11.- Designation of the director. The director of the Office for the Evaluation and Auditing of Public Officials' Assets is designated by the Plenary of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic, through a public competitive examination.

Article 12.- Request for inspection and analysis. In those cases where a complaint of falsehood or fraud is presented regarding a sworn asset declaration, or if the Attorney General's Office of the Republic, during an investigation, detects any responsibility on the obliged official that merits an investigation, it will request the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic to carry out an inspection and analysis of the same. Paragraph.- If any falsehood or fraud is proven in a sworn asset declaration or in the documents supporting it, the responsible investigation body may use said documentation as evidence before the corresponding jurisdictional body. In addition, it will communicate said finding to the hierarchical superior of the obliged public official.

Article 13.- Place of presentation. The sworn asset declaration is presented in printed format before the Office for the Evaluation and Auditing of Public Officials' Assets of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic. Paragraph I.- When the public official does not comply with said requirement in the form and deadlines established by this law, or when they do not justify their failure to present it, the declaration is deemed as not deposited with all the consequences provided by law. In any case, the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic will communicate the fact to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic. Paragraph II.- All information contained in the inventory is subject to being supported by truthful documentation, at the request of the bodies responsible for its verification and investigation. The information supplied by the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic may be used by the Attorney General's Office of the Republic to initiate a preliminary investigation regarding said official. Independently of the foregoing, the latter may initiate preliminary investigations with the information or identification of patrimonial increases by any public official.

CHAPTER III OF SANCTIONS

Article 14.- Sanctions for omission of declaration. The public servant in office who is obliged to present a sworn declaration of their patrimony and does not comply within the deadline established in this law or omits to declare any asset, will incur in serious faults or faults of the third degree, as the case may be, provided for in Law No. 41-08, on Public Function.

Article 15.- Crime of falsification of data. Whoever, by reason of their position, is obliged by law to present a sworn declaration of assets and falsifies the data that said declarations should contain, will be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to two (2) years and a fine of twenty (20) to forty (40) minimum salaries of the Central Government.

Article 16.- Proof of the origin of the patrimony. Any public official, obliged by this law, is obliged to prove the lawful origin of their patrimony obtained during the exercise of the position at the moment it is required by the competent authority. Paragraph.- In case the origin of the patrimony cannot be proven, the competent authority can take legal action and promote the confiscation of the unproven assets.

Article 17.- Destination of confiscated patrimony. The patrimony that is demonstrated to constitute illicit enrichment in favor of the public official or their relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or related, whose confiscation has been ordered by a judgment that has acquired the authority of res judicata irrevocably, becomes the property of the Dominican State, as ordered by the competent judge.

Article 18.- Sanctions for illicit enrichment. Public officials found responsible for illicit enrichment will be sanctioned with a penalty of four (4) to ten (10) years of major imprisonment, a fine equivalent to double the amount of the increase, and disqualification from holding public functions for a period of ten (10) years. Paragraph.- The penalty of disqualification for ten (10) years is imposed as a complementary penalty, whose fulfillment begins from the end of the deprivation of liberty sanction imposed. Interposed persons found guilty of the infractions attributed to the officials will be sanctioned as accomplices of the infractions they are found guilty of.

Article 19.- Investigation by presumption. The Public Ministry will initiate the opening of an investigation by presumption of illicit enrichment of the public official obliged to make the sworn asset declaration, in the case of having finished the term or having been removed from office without complying with the requirements of this law, according to the deadline established in it.

CHAPTER IV GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 20.- No limitation on banking secrecy. For the effective application of this law, the Public Ministry and the Office for the Evaluation and Auditing of Public Officials' Assets of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic will not be limited by banking, fiduciary, or fiscal secrecy; consequently, they may obtain from the Superintendence of Banks and the General Directorate of Internal Taxes all information related to any banking or financial institution regarding financial movements of any nature, particularly the accounts maintained by or in the name of persons who perform or have performed the public functions indicated in this law, their relatives, and collaborators. Paragraph.- The Public Ministry may also order the immobilization of funds, securities, and resources, total or partial property of the investigated official. The said immobilization may be objected to before the competent jurisdictional body by the affected person.

Article 21.- Obligation to inform. Public and private institutions of the country, in the person of their holder, are obliged to supply the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic and the Attorney General's Office of the Republic with all the information required for the purposes of the application of this law within a maximum period of ten (10) days; otherwise, the corresponding sanctions will be imposed and they may be prosecuted for obstruction of justice and sanctioned with penalties of one month to one year of imprisonment and a fine of two to three salaries.

Article 22.- Publication of declarations. The non-confidential section of the sworn asset declaration of each public official will be published by the Chamber of Accounts of the