Case brought by CGFoE Senior Legal and Policy Consultant Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León

New York, NY—December 1, 2025—Columbia Global Freedom of Expression (CGFoE) welcomes the landmark decision issued by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic on November 18, 2025, which struck down provisions of the disciplinary codes of the National Police and the Armed Forces that criminalized consensual same-sex intimacy among police and military personnel.

The ruling, Judgment TC/1225/25, marks a historic advance for equality and human rights in the Dominican Republic. It is the first time the Constitutional Court has explicitly recognized sexual orientation as a constitutionally protected category against discrimination. The Court affirmed that “no state authority nor private actor may diminish or restrict rights based on sexual orientation,” grounding its reasoning in the principles of dignity, privacy, and the free development of personality. By dismantling provisions that had long served as instruments of State-sponsored homophobia, the judgment ends discriminatory rules dating back to the 1950s–1960s that enabled dismissal, imprisonment, and lifelong stigma for LGBTI personnel—even when the conduct occurred in private and outside of service.

The action was brought by Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León, Senior Legal & Policy Consultant at CGFoE, and Patricia M. Santana Nina, a constitutional law expert and human rights defender.

Co-petitioner Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León is CGFoE’s Senior Legal & Policy Consultant.

“This decision dismantles a discriminatory and abusive regime that harmed countless LGBTI members of the security forces,” said Anderson Dirocie. “By recognizing sexual orientation as a protected constitutional category, the Court has taken an essential step toward equality, dignity, and democratic inclusion.”

Dirocie emphasized that the ruling aligns the Dominican Republic with the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, and constitutional courts across the region that reject the criminalization of LGBTI persons in public service.

Although the Court did not directly rule on the petitioners’ arguments regarding freedom of expression, the judgment nonetheless carries major expressive benefits. To learn more about the petitioners’ arguments and how the decision strengthens freedom of expression, see this Backgrounder. 

Hawley Johnson, Associated Director of Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, praised the ruling and the petitioners’ courageous efforts:

“This judgment is not only a milestone for LGBTI rights in the Dominican Republic; it is a triumph for constitutional equality, dignity, and the rule of law,” said Johnson. “CGFoE is proud of Anderson’s leadership and legal expertise, which helped shape a case that will protect generations of public servants and advance freedom of expression for all.”

About Columbia Global Freedom of Expression

Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to strengthen freedom of expression worldwide by advancing the understanding of international and national norms and institutions that best protect the free flow of information and expression in an interconnected global community. We do so by sharing knowledge and standards through our Global Database of Freedom of Expression Case Law and by fostering dialogue among domestic, regional, international courts and other important stakeholders responsible for protecting freedom of expression.