SANTO DOMINGO — In a landmark decision that has sparked debate over environmental protection and private land rights, the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic has formally upheld a lower court ruling that mandates the Ministry of Environment revise the country’s official National Cadastre of Protected Areas (SINAP). The update is required to reflect longstanding territorial adjustments outlined in 2004’s Law 266-04, which calls for the removal of four disputed parcels of land from the official boundaries of Jaragua National Park.
The court’s ruling, registered as case TC/0568/26, rejected two separate appeals brought by the Ministry of Environment and the General Administrative Prosecutor’s Office. This rejection leaves intact an earlier decision from the Superior Administrative Court, which ruled in favor of private developer Inversiones del Sur, SRL in the years-long land dispute.
The boundary adjustment at the center of the case is tied to the creation of the Southwest Region Tourist Hub, a major development initiative first formalized under Laws 202-04 and 266-04 that redefined portions of Jaragua National Park’s official limits. The high court’s decision drew on authoritative technical evidence to support its outcome: a 2025 geospatial assessment compiled by the National Directorate of Cadastral Surveys, which definitively concluded that the four contested parcels do not fall within the boundaries of Jaragua National Park, nor any other legally protected area in the country.
Despite the majority’s ruling, the decision has not come without opposition. One justice issued a formal dissenting opinion, arguing that the legal mechanism of an amparo action — a court proceeding typically used to protect constitutional rights — is not the appropriate avenue to formalize private property claims or adjust the boundaries of specific protected land parcels. The dissenting justice warned that the ruling could set a problematic precedent that undermines collective environmental rights enshrined in Dominican law, raising questions about how future land disputes involving protected natural areas will be resolved.