Chapter 1 Introduction | 21 INTRODUCTION A. Scope and objectives of the report 1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the “Inter-American Commission”, “Commission” or “IACHR”) is presenting this report to examine the situation with regard to the rights to nationality, legal personality, equality and nondiscrimination, as well as other related human rights from the situation created by judgment TC/0168/13 of the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court on September 23, 2013. This report will also make recommendations to ensure that the policies, laws and practices of the Dominican Republic (hereinafter the “Dominican State”, “Dominican Republic” or “State”) on these subjects are in compliance with the international obligations that the State voluntarily undertook in the area of human rights. The Commission is presenting this report in pursuant to its functions under Article 106 of the Charter of the Organization of American States (hereinafter the “OAS Charter”), Article 41 of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the “American Convention”) and Article 58 of its Rules of Procedure. 2. 3 4 This report examines a number of situations that concern the effective enjoyment of the human rights of all persons under the Dominican State’s jurisdiction. The particular focus of the report is the grave situation of persons born on Dominican soil of Haitian descent or persons perceived as such in the Dominican Republic, especially since the Constitutional Court delivered judgment TC/0168/13. In that judgment, the Court established a retroactive reinterpretation of the scope of the principle of jus soli as set forth in the June 20, 1929 Constitution, 3 by equating the phrase “immigrants in-transit” with the phrase “migrants with an irregular migratory status”. The effect of this ruling by the Constitutional Court was that persons, who had previously been Dominican nationals by virtue of the principle of jus soli 4, were deprived of their nationality and are now classified as stateless persons because they cannot lay legal claim to any other nationality. Since the Constitutional Court ruled that judgment TC/0168/13 had inter comunia effects regarding "a very large group of persons involved in situations that from the factual and legal point of view coincide or are similar" to those of Mrs. Pierre Deguis this Jus soli, a right granting nationality to any person born within the territory of the country in question. The IACHR deems it appropriate to note that when this report refers to the term "Dominican" refers to persons from the Dominican Republic. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR