L egislators should approve the Commercial Society and Mercantile Restructuring Law projects in that they are “vital to improve the business and competitiveness of our country” as these legal instruments represent “a substantial improvement in the commercial legal framework of our country,” expressed Andrés van der Horst Álvarez, Executive Director of the National Competitiveness Council (CNC). The CNC coordinates and promotes the creation of these law projects, presented to Congress in 2007 by President Leonel Fernández as part of the contractual commitment to the National Plan for Systemic Competitiveness.

“empower these initiatives so that they will be approved in the form with which they were presented by the Senate of the Republic.”

Mr. van der Horst Álvarez exhorted the country’s congressional deputies to “empower these initiatives so that they will be approved in the form with which they were presented by the Senate of the Republic.”

He called it “implausible” that, in the midst of the current commercial opening, the DR-CAFTA free trade agreement and the European Union, we should “continue to maintain business regulations that date back to the 1800s, which hamper the creation of new businesses by not anticipating the limited responsibility in the event of the same types of businesses engaging in the same activities and not holding them responsible for their actions.”  He added the Commercial Code that rules in the DR is based on the Napoleonic Code of 1844, and has never been modified.

For that reason, this Code “has become a disadvantage in dealing with other countries of the world who operate with legal and administrative mechanisms that are agile, flexible and modern and allow for open and healthy competitiveness.” 

Van der Horst Álvarez spoke in terms of the framework of the Law Project Workshop on the Commercial Societies organized by the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce in coordination with the National Competitiveness Council.

The meeting was led by van der Horst Álvarez and Maribel Gassó, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce. Businesspeople and congressional deputies who make up the Special Commission to study the Commercial Society and Mercantile Restructuring Law project also participated in the meeting.

Congressional deputy, Víctor Bisonó Haza, considered that one of the most important achievements of these legal changes is that they “lift the corporate veil” in cases where business societies are being used for fraudulent ends or where business partners, share holders or third party participants are being dealt with dishonestly.  Along with new views on internal taxation and transparency within the business society, it also seeks to establish minimum laws of good corporate governance that reflect excellent business practices in our legal system on a international level,” added Bisonó.

As part of the workshop, José Luís Taveras, business consultant hired by the National Competitiveness Council and the Fund for Competitiveness, expounded on the theme: “Why a New Commercial Society Law? Justifications, Background and Commercial Societies within the Dominican Law System, Its Reforms, Benefits and Implications.”