These took such deep root that on the expulsion of the Haitians no
attempt was made to return to the Spanish laws, which also at that
time were still under the disadvantage of not having been revised and
codified in accordance with modern needs. In 1845 the laws of France
were expressly adopted by the Dominican Republic. During the troublous
times following little attention was given to the legal system, and
there was not even a Spanish translation of the codes. After
annexation to Spain in 1861 the Spanish authorities attempted to
clarify the situation by introducing the Spanish penal code and law of
criminal procedure and by appointing a commission to translate the
civil code, in which they made several changes, but upon the
reestablishment of the Republic in 1865 everything done in this
respect by the Spaniards was annulled. Several efforts were later made
to secure a translation of the codes, though laws were not often
invoked amid so much civil unrest. As late as 1871 the American
commission which visited the island reported that the administration
of justice had practically fallen into disuse.
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