One of the main characteristics of law is recognizing it as a living tool. This is because human beings are in a constant state of change. Societies undergo tangible evolutions—positive or negative—in all areas, making it inevitable that the law is no exception.
There is a widespread mistaken perception of viewing law as a museum piece, a normative relic preserved intact out of respect for its antiquity. But it should be quite the opposite. We must develop the capacity for critical analysis that leads us to break with these misunderstood traditions of “respect,” so that we can help shape and adapt the law to the times we are living in.
A legal system needs stability, but stability does not mean immobility.
We cannot ignore that, for decades—and in some cases centuries—our primary codes have served as the backbone of the legal order, offering stability, security, and predictability. But it is also true that many of them were conceived for historical, economic, social, and technological realities that no longer exist today.
Today’s world is disruptive. Technology redefines markets at lightning speed. Artificial intelligence coexists with us and challenges the vast majority of classical concepts. Business models evolve faster than regulatory frameworks. Contractual relationships are becoming less physical and more digital.
These realities collide head-on with many legal systems that continue trying to respond to these phenomena with normative structures designed for other eras.
The lack of evolution in the law leads to a loss of its capacity to serve. Legal obsolescence is often not very visible, as it sometimes manifests in excessively formal processes in the face of digital realities; regulatory gaps in the face of technological innovation; and institutional inability to respond with certainty, efficiency, and agility.
The result is legal uncertainty, competitive delay, and loss of trust.
The modern practice of law requires more than knowledge of codes and precedents. It demands vision, strategy, and the conviction that we are dealing with a living tool. The lawyer must become an agent of transformation who ensures the functionality of the law.
In the case of the Dominican Republic, recent years have demonstrated its capacity for economic transformation. Nevertheless, one of its challenges is to consolidate a structural legal transformation that accompanies that growth.
