Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 14. Disputes › Disputes in the Dominican Republic: courts, arbitration, enforcement and investor claims at a glance

Disputes in the Dominican Republic: courts, arbitration, enforcement and investor claims at a glance

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

Commercial cases start in the civil and commercial chamber of a first instance court, go on appeal within one month, and reach the Supreme Court on cassation only within the limits of Ley 2-23. Arbitration under Ley 489-08 is the main alternative: annulment must be sought within one month, and awards of chamber of commerce courts have direct force under Ley 36-23. The country is a New York Convention party but only a signatory of ICSID, so treaty investors use the ICSID Additional Facility or UNCITRAL rules.

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

New York Convention party	Yes yes/noNew York Convention, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
New York Convention in force	2002-07-10 dateNew York Convention, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
ICSID Convention party	No, signatory only yes/noICSID Convention, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
ICSID signature	2000-03-20 dateICSID Convention, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Arbitration law	Ley 489-08 lawLey 489-08, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Cassation money threshold	1499400 DOPLey 2-23 art. 11 num. 3, 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. Justice is administered free of charge by the Poder Judicial, led by the Supreme Court with at least 16 judges, and any decision can go to a higher court subject to the conditions the law sets.Constitución de 2024, art. 149 and art. 152, 2024-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Claims on commercial dealings go before the courts with commercial jurisdiction, and the parties may agree when contracting to send those disputes to arbitrators.Código de Comercio, art. 631, 1978-07-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. The time limit to appeal a civil or commercial judgment is one month. Residents abroad get the extra distance period of art. 73 on top.Código de Procedimiento Civil, art. 443 and art. 445, 1978-07-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Cassation lies for a legal error only. A purely money claim of up to 50 of the highest private sector minimum wages cannot reach the Supreme Court. At the general large company tariff of RD$29,988 that is RD$1,499,400 (about US$24,637.11).
Example: A RD$1,000,000 debt judgment cannot go to cassation; the limit is RD$1,499,400. / A claim of about US$16,431.32 stays below the limit of about US$24,637.11.Ley 2-23 sobre Recurso de Casación, art. 11 num. 3, art. 12, 2023-01-17 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. A court must decline a dispute covered by an arbitration clause if the defendant asks, and that ruling cannot be appealed.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 12, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Awards can only be attacked by an annulment action on closed grounds, filed within one month of notice, before the court of appeal of the place of the award.Ley 489-08 sobre Arbitraje Comercial, art. 9 num. 5, art. 39 and art. 40, 2008-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Awards of chamber of commerce arbitration courts need no recognition step and have the same enforceable force as second instance judgments.Ley 36-23, amending Ley 50-87, art. 7, new art. 17 par. II, 2023-06-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 36-23 of 2023 renamed the chamber centers as Cortes de Arbitraje y Resolución Alternativa de Conflictos and restated art. 17.

8. Foreign contentious judgments are recognised through exequatur before the civil and commercial chamber of the First Instance Court of the Distrito Nacional, in a non contentious procedure, subject to the refusal grounds of art. 90.Ley 544-14 de Derecho Internacional Privado, art. 89 to art. 91, 2014-12-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. The Dominican Republic acceded to the New York Convention on 11 April 2002, in force from 10 July 2002, and the UN table lists no reservation note.New York Convention 1958, status table, 2002-04-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. The Dominican Republic signed the ICSID Convention on 20 March 2000. The ICSID list of 17 July 2026 shows a signature and no deposit of ratification.ICSID Convention, list of contracting and signatory states, 2026-07-17 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. The State can arbitrate: art. 220 allows public bodies to send contract disputes to national or international arbitration, or to treaty based jurisdictions.Constitución de 2024, art. 220, 2024-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Route	Who decides	Main deadline	Review
Civil or commercial suit	First instance chamber	Appeal in 1 month	Court of appeal, then cassation if admissible
Urgent relief	President of the court in referimiento	Appeal in 15 days	Provisional only
Domestic arbitration	Tribunal under Ley 489-08	Annulment in 1 month	Court of appeal, then cassation
Foreign award	Cámara Civil y Comercial, Distrito Nacional	Per art. 44 Ley 489-08	Court of appeal in sole instance
Foreign judgment	Same chamber	Appeal under general rules	Court of appeal, then cassation
Act of the State	Tribunal Contencioso Tributario y Administrativo	30 days	Cassation, Third Chamber
Treaty claim	ICSID Additional Facility or UNCITRAL	3 years under DR-CAFTA	Under the rules and seat

Which route fits which dispute

Worked example

A foreign supplier holds an unpaid RD$10,000,000 invoice (about US$164,313.15). Without an arbitration clause it sues in the first instance chamber of the buyer's domicile. With a clause naming the chamber court of Santo Domingo, the award is directly enforceable and can only be attacked by annulment.

Step by step

Check the contract for an arbitration, forum and governing law clause.
Diarise the limitation period first, since the contractual default can be two years.
Consider a conservatory attachment before the debtor hears of the claim.
Choose the route from the table above.
Keep translated and apostilled copies of foreign documents ready.

Common traps

Treating ICSID as available: a DR-CAFTA claim cannot run under the ICSID Convention, because the Dominican Republic is not a party.
Assuming every judgment can reach the Supreme Court: Ley 2-23 filters by value and by cassation interest.
Filing a court case despite an arbitration clause invites a final dismissal on request.

Sources

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