7
boys and girls up to and including 12 years of age, may perform their late registration
of birth “as an exception.” It also establishes the late registration of birth for
adolescents 13 to 16 years old “that have not been declared,” with the additional
requirement of “the presence and verbal statement of the principal of the high school
where […] he/she studies […] and a certificate of approval […] by the Director of the
School District.” “The registration of birth of the minor […] must be performed by both
the father and mother. If the mother appears without the father, she will only be able
to declare him/her as her son or daughter.” The registration is carried out “by the boy
or girl appearing in person before the Civil Status Officer of the applicant’s domicile,
along with an affidavit.” It also states that the Central Electoral Board shall enact a
domestic regulation “to guarantee the registration of” those “boys and girls born after
the enactment of this law.”
21.
Furthermore, in the private hearing, the representatives expressed their concern over
the expansion of the foreigners “in transit” concept under which children born on Dominican
soil are not eligible for Dominican Citizenship, as it constitutes an exception to the jus soli
citizenship provided for in the Constitution, and it stated that in certain measures adopted by
the State the temporariness of this concept has been expanded, infringing their rights.
22.
In addition, in their observations dated January 21, 2010, the representatives stated
that “the children of Haitian individuals or individuals of Haitian descent still have no access to
Dominican citizenship in spite of the jus soli principle.” (f. 1114) They manifested that the
General Immigration Law of 2004,9 prior to the Judgment by this Court, “institutionalized a
practice that denies Dominican citizenship to Dominican Republic-born children of Haitian
immigrants, and henceforth Dominican authorities have gone against [the jus soli principle]
of the National Constitution.” (f. 1115) The representatives manifested their concern over the
Pilot Plan of the Project to Include Citizens’ Biometric Data, stating that it could “result in the
replacement of ID cards currently issued and the exclude from the issuance of the new
document those people currently affected by the provisions of Communication No. 017, and
Order No. 02-2007 [`Order on the Implementation of the Registry Book of Births of Children
of Foreign Non-Resident Mothers in the Dominican Republic´].” The representatives also
expressed their concern over the constitutional reform process, expressing that “this proposal
aims to contitutionalize a form of the jus soli principle, denies children of illegal residents in
the Dominican Republic the right to citizenship” and that “the horrific violation of the rights of
thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent does not have a solution in the constitutional text
proposed by the Executive Branch.” 10 In relation to the figures cited by the State in its
communication of October 13, the representatives stated “of all the persons registered [as
foreign], 87% are Haitian descendants. The State has not explained how the measures
adopted do not bear a differential impact on this 87% [of Haitian descent] of the population
to which it has been applied.”
23.
In its observations dated March 25, 2010, the Commission manifested that “the State
present[ed] information without explaining its impact in relation to compliance with the
Court’s Judgment. In this regard, there is no information in the file that facilitates the
9
Cf. General Immigration Law No. 285-04 (Dom. Rep.), sections 36 to 38, August 15, 2004, and several
documents annexed to the brief of observations of March 22, 2006, submitted by the representatives, including:
Lawsuit to declare the unconstitutionality of the General Immigration Law 285-04, of August 27, 2005; Judgment on
the appeal for registration of unconstitutionality of the General Immigration Law 285-04 of December 27, 2005, and
Suggestions for Amendments presented by the Special Commission created through Decree 410-01 of March 21,
2001, based on the draft of the Constitution of the Republic created by the Consejo Nacional de Reforma del Estado
[National Reform Council for the State] (CONARE).
10
The representatives annexed the project for the Constitution created by the Special Commission, in which
two options were presented to define the exceptions to the general application of jus soli: a) “except for children of
diplomatic foreign residents and those in transit or residing illegally therein” and b) “except for children of diplomatic
foreign residents and those in transit.” Cf. Suggestions for Amendments Presented by the Special Commission
Created through Decree 410-01 of March 21, 2001, supra note 9.