Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 14. Disputes › Commercial arbitration in the Dominican Republic: Ley 489-08, chamber courts and the State

Commercial arbitration in the Dominican Republic: Ley 489-08, chamber courts and the State

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Ley 489-08 covers arbitration seated in the country, domestic or international, with a written clause, default sole arbitrator and limited court role. Annulment is due in one month on closed grounds and does not by itself stop the award. Chamber of commerce courts under Ley 36-23 can administer cases, including those with the State, and their awards have direct force.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.8594 per US dollar for 28 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Arbitration law	Ley 489-08 lawLey 489-08, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Annulment deadline	1 monthLey 489-08 art. 39, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Advance waiver of recourse	Contemplated in art. 40 textLey 489-08 art. 40, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Default number of arbitrators	1 arbitratorsLey 489-08 art. 14, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
State can arbitrate	Yes yes/noConstitución art. 220, Ley 489-08 art. 2, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Tribunal can order interim measures	Yes yes/noLey 489-08 art. 21, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Rate used for USD conversions	60.8594 DOP per USDBanco Central reference selling rate, 28 October 2026, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The law applies to arbitrations held in the Dominican Republic, subject to treaties. An arbitration is international if parties have establishments in different States, are domiciled abroad, or a substantial part of performance is abroad.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 1, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Disputes on matters open to free disposal and settlement can go to arbitration, including those with the State. In an international case a State party cannot invoke sovereignty to escape the clause.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 2, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Excluded are civil status, family support matters, public order causes and disputes that cannot be settled.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 3, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. When the State is a party, the claim is served on the Procuraduría General and the Contraloría General. Treaty and investment claims go to the coordinating authority at the trade ministry. The State has 10 days to name its representative, and the tribunal must see proof of service on pain of nullity.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 5, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. The clause must be in writing, which includes email and exchanged messages that remain accessible. Exchanged pleadings that assert it without denial also count.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 10, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. The clause is separate from the contract, so nullity of the contract does not by itself void it. It falls only if a final court judgment voids the whole contract.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 11, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. The tribunal rules on its own jurisdiction. The objection is due no later than the defence, and a ruling can be attacked only by annulment of the award.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 20, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Parties choose an odd number of arbitrators. Without agreement there is one.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 14, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Arbitrators, parties and centers must keep information confidential.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 22, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. The award is written and reasoned unless agreed otherwise, states date and place, decides costs, and is delivered within 5 days unless agreed otherwise. Correction or a further award can be requested in 10 days.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 36 and art. 38, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Annulment grounds are incapacity or invalid clause, breach of due process harming defence, excess of the clause, irregular tribunal or procedure, non arbitrable subject, and public order. The action is due within one month of notice, or of the ruling on a correction.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 39, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. If the parties did not waive all recourse, the court of appeal of the place of the award hears annulment. The award stays enforceable unless the president suspends it, and it is suspended by law between the suspension demand and the first hearing. A stay needs a cash or insurance bond. Cassation lies against the annulment ruling.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 40, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

13. Chamber arbitration courts can hear all disputes open to settlement, including those of the State and its agencies, act for international institutions, and handle sports disputes. Awards are decided by majority, with the president's vote decisive in a tie.
Cost to do it: Each chamber sets tariffs for arbitrators and administration under new art. 16.1 letter p. The current Santo Domingo tariff was not found, so no figure is given.Ley 36-23, amending Ley 50-87, art. 4 and art. 7, 2023-06-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 36-23 restated arts. 15 to 17 of Ley 50-87. The chamber reported it in force for the Distrito Nacional on 1 July 2023.

14. The Código de Comercio confirms that parties can agree when contracting to arbitrate commercial disputes.Código de Comercio, art. 631, 1978-07-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A hotel builder and a developer dispute RD$50,000,000 (about US$821,565.77). Their clause names three arbitrators at the Santo Domingo chamber court. The award is enforceable directly, and the loser has one month to seek annulment before the court of appeal, posting a bond if it wants a stay.

Step by step

Write the clause: institution, seat, number of arbitrators, language, governing law.
Add an express waiver of recourse only after advice, given the open questions below.
For a State party, serve as art. 5 requires.
Consider court interim measures and file within 60 days.
Diarise the one month annulment term.

Common traps

Art. 40 refers to a waiver of recourse, but whether an advance waiver of annulment holds in every case was not confirmed in the Supreme Court decisions read for this page.
Serve the State correctly: without proof of notice the arbitration is null under art. 5.
A public order objection can be raised by the court on its own under art. 39 par. 3.
Art. 39 par. 4 cites Apartado 1 and art. 41 par. 2 cites art. 38, which look like drafting errors for art. 39. Do not rely on the literal numbering.
Older centers and rules still carry the old name; the 2011 CRC rules should be checked against the current Corte rules.

Sources

← Collecting debts in the Dominican Republic: titles, seizures, mortgage foreclosure and movable collateralEnforcing arbitral awards in the Dominican Republic: domestic awards, foreign awards and exequatur →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.