Country cannot abide by Human Rights Court ruling: Former President

Washington.- Former President Leonel Fernandez on Thursday said Dominican Republic’s Constitution bans adherence to the ruling handed down by Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which he affirm violates the country’s mechanism to grant nationality, local media report.

The regional court condemned the country three weeks ago for enacting its immigration policy, and ordered it to amend the Constitution in that regard. The Constitutional Court subsequently handed down a ruling in which disassociates the country from the IACHR’s jurisdiction.

In a speech at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, the former president stressed that the Dominican Republic doesn’t grant national based on ’jus solis’ (nationality by birthplace) line in the United States. "The Dominican Republic is prohibited from accepting and adhering to the Court ruling."

"Therefore, Dominican nationality by the mere fact of being born in our land is not acquired," Fernandez said, adding that of the 194 UN member nations, only 30 accept ‘jus solis’ without conditions.