SANTO DOMINGO– “There can be no sustainable economic growth and development without national and foreign investment, but there can be no investment without legal certainty,” stated former Supreme Court President Jorge Subero Isa, who called for continued efforts to maintain legal certainty in order to achieve the country's development.
“Let us trust in the legal security we have in the country and not falter in maintaining it. Without legal security, we will never have development,” the prominent lawyer declared while delivering the keynote address “Legal Security in Real Estate Tourism” at the first real estate tourism forum held last week in the country.
He explained that no matter how much national or foreign investment is promoted through tax incentive mechanisms and other facilities related to the entry and exit of capital, "we must bet on failure if the State does not guarantee, through an adequate and reliable system, the area that serves as the basis for investment.".
Subero Isa stated that it is undeniable that for the economic development of a country, the existence of a judicial system is needed that guarantees the private ownership of goods and is made available to economic actors as an appropriate setting to resolve their differences.
“Only the most daring investors would risk investing their money in a country where there are no guarantees that in the event of any litigation their rights will be respected,” the former judge emphasized during his presentation at the event organized by the Dominican Association of Tourism and Real Estate Companies (ADETI).
He added that it is necessary to have guarantees that the legal order will be protected from a legally abnormal situation, and that the State must ensure this.
“There is no legal certainty when, outside of the cause expressly established in the Constitution, an attempt is made to give retroactive effect to a legal provision to make it applicable to rights acquired by virtue of a previous legal norm, or when the State itself alters, or does not respect, the rules established by itself at a given time.”.
Subero Isa stated that trust represents the most important economic resource a country can have. “If there is no trust in the future, there is no credit; trust created credit, and without it, you cannot invest, much less live.”.
He added: “Nobody lends if they are not sure, if they are not confident that they will get it back; nobody invests if they are not sure that they will get their investment back. It is vital to convey confidence in the laws that they will be applied; if there is no confidence, the entire commercial system is affected,” he stated.
He added that without trust in a system, the only result will be the illicit enrichment of a few. “It would be an environment where the law of the strongest prevails, but where strength comes from the ability to corrupt and be corrupted, not from the possession of knowledge.”.
He said that transparency is a vital element of legal certainty, which is currently fashionable in all political affairs. “We all advocate for transparency in the public and private sectors, although not all of us are willing to pay the costs it entails. We demand transparency from others, but we don't want to be transparent about our own actions toward others,” he stated.
According to his presentation, one of the main challenges facing legal security is the instability that stems from what is called the liquid society, where everything is constantly being changed.
“Legal certainty should not take the form that circumstances demand, but should strictly adhere to the imperative mandate of the Constitution.”.
In his opinion, the greatest lack of understanding of legal certainty is displayed when the stability of institutions is threatened, the validity of the law is threatened, the trust that citizens have in the legal system of a country is threatened, or when the independence of the judiciary is disregarded.
He pointed out that the Dominican Republic has a legal basis for maintaining legal security and that the State must guarantee the existence of these rights.
