DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarah de León Perelló, Elizabeth Silfa Micheli and Naomi Rodríguez Manzueta, Headrick Rizik Álvarez & Fernández
rights over business secrets, therefore, it is presumed that any remedy falls on the civil liability regime for violating the provisions of the aforementioned law or for breach of contract in the event of a confidential - ity agreement or contractual relationship between the owner of the secret and the person who exercises the infringement.
the Dominican Republic is a consent-based market with respect to the processing of personal data. 8.2 Geographical Scope Even if processing of information is carried out abroad, if a foreign company targets customers in the Domini - can Republic, there is a risk that customers may claim the collection of data takes place in the Dominican Republic and, accordingly, the provisions of Law No 172-13 would apply to the collection and treatment of data in the Dominican Republic. The “treatment of personal data” is defined as: • any operations or processes that allow for personal data processing, such as the collection, creation, storage or organisation of personal data; • the evaluation or analysis of such personal data; or • the transmission of such personal data. Law No 172-13 applies to all data controllers that collect information in the Dominican Republic and is of public order (ie, mandatory, and the parties may not opt out of its provisions). The definition of treat - ment is considerably broad under Law No 172-13 and includes operations and procedures that entail the collection of information as well as its processing per se. Personal data may only be transferred internationally if the owner of the data expressly authorises such trans - fer. The processing and transfer of personal data is unlawful when the owner of the data has not given their free, explicit and conscious consent, which shall be in writing or by other means to equate to it. Said consent must appear expressed in a provable way. 8.3 Role and Authority of the Data Protection Agency Data Protection Authority The Dominican Republic does not have a national data protection authority. However, Law No 172-13 provides that databases and registries, whether public or private, intended to provide credit reports (ie, credit bureaus) are subject to the inspection and supervi - sion of the Superintendency of Banks. Hence, save for the Superintendency of Banks of the Dominican Republic, which regulates personal data matters in
8. Data Protection 8.1 Applicable Regulations
The Dominican Republic’s Constitution recognises the fundamental nature of an individual’s right to honour, respect and non-interference in one’s private life. It also enshrines the fundamental principles that govern the treatment of personal data, notably, the principles of reliability, legality, integrity, security and purpose. Law No 172-13 on the Protection of Personal Data is the general law for the protection and processing of personal data. This Law: • governs the collection, storage, safekeeping, use and access rights to personal data recorded in files, databases and registries for the issuance of public or private reports; and • regulates the incorporation and operation of Dominican credit bureaus. Monetary and Financial Law No 183-02 imposes on banks and other regulated financial institutions: • secrecy requirements; • a legal obligation to maintain confidentiality regard - ing deposits received from the public and to refrain from revealing information in a detailed or segre - gated manner that could reveal the identity of their customers or account holders; and • a confidentiality obligation, which prohibits bank - ing entities from releasing personal banking data, except for the reasons provided for under the Law. Additionally, the Dominican Republic’s legal system has, in writing, some of the general principles institut - ed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), using consent as the justification for the processing of personal data. Hence, it is important to point out that
281 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook