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National law and policies on minimum ages – Dominican Republic

 

According to the CRC, laws and policies must be directed to the best interest of the child. This is especially so in provisions that aim to safeguard the child against exploitation or an early end to childhood, i.e. in the instances where children are most vulnerable and at risk. Yet such safeguards are often ignored and different areas of legislation found to clash with each other. What happens if the age for the end of compulsory education is 14 but the minimum age of employment is 12? Or vice versa? What if a girl can be married before school leaving age - will she then return to school? And who ensures schooling in prisons, when in reality education should protect children from incarceration?

 

 

 

 

With 192 parties to it, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified UN treaty. Each State Party must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which uses this process to monitor State compliance with the treaty. The vast majority of the information on minimum ages presented on these pages is taken directly from such reports (occasionally, if these failed to include relevant information concerning minimum ages, other components of the reporting process - such as the Committee’s Concluding Observations - were consulted). States Parties’ reports constitute self-assessment by governments and are therefore authoritative sources, emanating directly from those empowered to make decisions. Using this type of sources also permits a range of actors to hold governments accountable for the standards which they report under the CRC. The sections of these reports have been reproduced faithfully, and readers are encouraged to make use of the full original text, available here.

 

Individual country reports are often written by diverse parts of the government, and frequently run to more than 100 pages. Moreover, within some states’ legal systems there are various recognised sources of law, which frequently generate conflicting minimum ages. Distilling precise numbers out of such documents is therefore a precarious task. While we would encourage cross-country comparison, we would also stress the danger that those countries with a more honest engagement with the reporting process might come off worse when compared with those which would mis-represent the degree of compliance, whether wilfully or not. For a full explanation of the principles that guided us in our analysis, please visit the introductory pages here.

 

Sources:
2nd periodic report: CRC/C/DOM/2, 16 July 2007
Initial report: CRC/C/8/Add.40, 26 August 1999
 
Minimum age for the end of compulsory education
From initial report
92. The Education Act (No. 66-97) was promulgated on 15 April 1997 and guarantees the right to education for all inhabitants of the country. Under the Act, the education system comprises four levels: pre-school, primary, secondary and higher. The pre-school level is intended for children up to the age of six, the last grade at this level beginning at age five. In State schools education is free. In addition, the State will endeavour to promote and expand community initiatives and set up nursery schools for the various grades of pre-school education. Primary education is of eight years' duration, begins at the age of six, and is compulsory and free of charge. Secondary education is of four years' duration and is divided into three streams - the general, technical and arts streams - which enable students to proceed to employment and/or higher studies.
 
Minimum age for admission to employment
From 2nd report
517. The employment of young persons under the age of 14 is prohibited. Any person who, by whatever means, observes the violation of this prohibition must report the fact to the Ministry of Labour and the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI), for these to take the necessary steps to ensure that the young person involved stops working and returns to school, if he or she is outside the education system.
From initial report
33.The employment situation of children and adolescents is regulated by the Labour Code, which assigns to the Secretary of State for Labour (SET) the authority to deal with exceptional   cases in which work before the age of 16 is justified by need for training or precocious talent.
44.[…] the minimum age of employment is 14, although in our country a considerable number of children aged between 7 and 14 perform some kind of work. 114. Our labour legislation prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14. A decision (9-93) of 1993 by the Secretary of State for Labour (SET) prohibits juveniles under the age of 16 from being employed on night work (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.).
 
Minimum age for marriage
From 2nd report
318. According to article 56 (2) of Act No. 659 concerning the Civil Status Acts of 1944: “Minors under the age of 18 may not marry without the consent of their parents or surviving parent.” This means at the age of 17. Article 56 (5) adds a minimum age restriction, subject to dispensation by a lower court judge: “Male persons, before they have completed 16 years, and female persons before they have completed 15 years may not enter into a marriage contract; this age rule may be waived by a lower court judge if appropriate.”
From initial report
34.All young persons who have reached the age of 18 may marry without the consent of their parents or guardians. Provided they have such consent, young women may marry from the age of 15 and young men from the age of 16.
 
Minimum age for criminal responsibility
From 2nd report
321. Children cannot be held criminally responsible until they have completed 13 years. For the purposes of the law, the legal age applies on the day following the child’s birthday.
From initial report
36.Boys and girls under the age of 12 cannot incur criminal responsibility. […]
 
Sources:
2nd periodic report: CRC/C/DOM/2, 16 July 2007
Initial report: CRC/C/8/Add.40, 26 August, 1999