ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses and compares the process and outcome of the 2010 constitutional reform with the constitutional reforms of 1963 and 1966. It provides a brief introduction to the constitutions of the Dominican Republic and to the 2010 reform. The chapter compares the reform of the 2010 constitution with the 1963 and 1966 reform processes. It analyses the outcome of the 2010 reform, focusing on power relations between key political institutions, and compares their current status with their position under the previous constitutions. The outcome of interest is power relations between the presidency, Congress, the justice system and institutions of accountability. The new constitution introduces new institutions such as a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Electoral Court, and venues for direct but controlled popular participation through referendum and popular legislative initiative, none of which existed under the previous constitution. Given these and other changes, the 2010 constitution is considered to be the most profound constitutional reform in the country's history.
