The Supreme Court of Justice Reaffirms Ruling Establishing the Right to Bank Secrecy and Personal Privacy 

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice reaffirmed the principle that one of the rules governing banking and financial activities is confidentiality and bank secrecy, such that the negotiations and transactions carried out by financial intermediaries may not be disclosed to third parties, except in cases where, in the interest of the administration of justice and upon a judge’s order, otherwise provided. 

In Judgment No. SCJ-SS-23-0335, dated March 31, 2023, the justices of the aforementioned Chamber hold that Article 44 of the Dominican Constitution clearly establishes the protection of privacy. 

“It is well known that bank secrecy is a fundamental right of all individuals, and access to any person’s banking information requires the review of an investigating judge, who must ensure, before issuing an order, that the fundamental rights of the person under investigation are guaranteed at all times,” the decision emphasizes.         

The case at hand began with a complaint of tax fraud filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office by the General Directorate of Internal Revenue (DGII), pursuant to the provisions of Article 234 of the Tax Code, which establishes, among other things, that The tax administration, in cases where it becomes aware of acts constituting a crime, must initiate criminal proceedings in the ordinary courts.. 

In this regard, the judges of the Criminal Chamber—Francisco Antonio Jerez Mena (presiding), Nancy I. Salcedo Fernández, Fran Euclides Soto Sánchez, and María G. Garabito Ramírez—dismissed the appeal against Criminal Judgment No. 502-2022-SSEN-00050, handed down by the Second Chamber of the Criminal Division of the National District Court of Appeals on April 28, 2022, the operative portion of which is reproduced in the preceding section of this ruling. 

Access the ruling via the following link: https://bit.ly/46JDSjb