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| Dominican Republic |
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
[1]
General Information
The Dominican Republic is a unitary state
composed of thirty-one provinces and the National District, with a population in
2004 of 8,960,000[2].
The country’s population grew at an average annual rate of
1.79% between 1993 and 2002[3].
ECLAC figures indicate that 67.9% of the country’s inhabitants lived in cities
in 2005, up from 61.8% in 1995. In 2000, 16.3% of adults (over the age of
fifteen) were illiterate, compared to 20.6% in 1990[4].
4 Today, those under fifteen account for 33% of the total population, slightly
less than in 1993 (35%), while average life expectancy at birth for 2000-2005 is
70.1 years[5].
In 2002, 44.9% of the population lived in poverty, 2%
less than in 2000. There was a similar decrease in extreme poverty, which
accounted for 20.3% of the population in 2003. The GDP fell by 1% in 2003[6],
in contrast to its 4% rise in 2002. Per capita income also fell, decreasing from
US$2,310 in 2002 to US$2,070 in 2003, equivalent to US$6,310 in purchasing power
parity. Urban unemployment stood at 16.1% in 2002,
slightly higher than its average level of 15.2% during the previous decade.
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Judicial System Highlights
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In 2003, there were seven judges, eight
prosecutors and 321 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants.
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The Judicial Branch received 1.23% of the
total fiscal budget in 2003 and 1.14% in 2004.
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In September 2004, Law 76-02 modifying
the Criminal Procedure Code entered into effect, introducing an adversarial
model that replaced the mixed continental inquisitorial model that had been in
place.
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In October 2004, Law 136-03, the Code on
the Protection of the Basic Rights of Children and Adolescents, entered into
force.
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That same year the Servicio Nacional de
la Defensa Pública (National Public Defense System) was formally legislated;
up to that date, it had operated under a resolution issued by the Supreme
Court. This new law governs the organization, powers and functioning of the
public defense system in this country.
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In 2003, the first instance courts’
clearance rate (cases disposed over cases filed) was
123%.
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In 2004, there were 1,750 murders in the
Dominican Republic, or 19.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.
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As of early 2005, the prison system held
13,585 persons, or 155.4 prisoners per 100,000
inhabitants.
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There were 25,871 attorneys in the
country, or 296 per 100,000 inhabitants, in 2004.
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