| COSTA RICA Republic of Costa Rica Republica de Costa Rica Joined United Nations: 2 November 1945 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 07 February 2013 |
TITLE IV
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 20. All men are free within the Republic; no one under the protection of its laws can be a slave.
ARTICLE 21. Human life is inviolable.
ARTICLE 22. Every Costa Rican may move about and stay anywhere within the Republic or abroad, provided he is free from any liability,
and return whenever it may be convenient to him. No requirements can be demanded to Costa Ricans in order to prevent their entrance
into the country.
ARTICLE 23. The domicile and any other private premises of the inhabitants of the Republic are inviolable. However, they may be
searched with a written warrant issued by a competent Judge, either to prevent the commission of crimes or their impunity, or to prevent
serious damages to persons or property, subject to the appropriate provisions of law.
ARTICLE 24. The right to intimacy, freedom and secret of communications is guaranteed.
Private documents and written, verbal or other communications of the inhabitants of the Republic are inviolable. However, a law, which
enactment and amendment shall require the vote of at least two thirds of the entire membership of the Legislative Assembly, shall
determine those cases in which Courts of Justice may order the seizure, search, or examination of private documents, whenever this is
absolutely necessary to clarify matters submitted to their cognizance.
Likewise, this law shall determine the cases in which Courts of Justice can order the intervention of any communication and indicate the
offenses in which investigation the exercise of this exceptional investigatory power can be authorized, and the period of time during which
such an intervention shall be permitted. The law shall also determine the responsibilities and penalties of any officials who apply illegally
this exception. Any judicial resolution under this provision shall be duly reasoned and can be immediately enforced. Its application and
control shall be the responsibility of judicial authorities and cannot be delegated.
The law shall also determine in what instances competent officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Comptroller General of
the Republic may examine accounting books and related documents for fiscal purposes as well as to control the correct use of public
funds.
A special law, passed by two thirds of the entire membership of the Legislative Assembly, shall determine which other bodies of the
Public Administration shall be authorized to examine the documents established by said law in the performance of their duties of regulation
and control for public ends. This law shall also provide the cases when such an examination is appropriate.
Any correspondence seized or information obtained as a result of the illegal intervention of any communication shall have no legal effect.
(As amended by Law No. 7607, May 29, 1996.)
ARTICLE 25. The inhabitants of the Republic have the right of association for lawful purposes. No one may be compelled to form a part
of any association whatsoever.
ARTICLE 26. Everyone has the right to meet peacefully and unarmed, whether it is for private business or to discuss political affairs and
examine the public conduct of officials.
Meetings on private premises do not need prior authorization. Those held in public places shall be regulated by law.
ARTICLE 27. The right to petition any public official or State entity, either individually or collectively and the right to obtain prompt
resolution are guaranteed.
ARTICLE 28. No one may be disturbed or persecuted for the expression of his opinions or for any act which does not infringe the law.
Private actions which do not harm the morals or public order, or which do not cause any damages to third parties are outside the scope of
the law.
However, clergymen or secular individuals cannot make political propaganda in any way invoking religious motives or making use of
religious beliefs.
ARTICLE 29. Every person may communicate his thoughts verbally or in writing and publish them without previous censorship; but he
shall be liable for any abuses committed in the exercise of this right, in such cases and in the manner established by law.
ARTICLE 30. Free access to administrative departments for purposes of information on matters of public interest is guaranteed.
State secrets are excluded from this provision.
ARTICLE 31. The territory of Costa Rica shall be a shelter for all those persecuted for political reasons. If their expulsion is decreed on
legal grounds, they can never be sent back to the country where they were persecuted.
Extradition shall be regulated by law or by international treaties and shall never be granted in case of political or related offenses, as they
are defined by Costa Rica.
ARTICLE 32. No Costa Rican may be compelled to abandon the national territory.
ARTICLE 33. All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination against human dignity.
(As amended by Law No. 4123, May 31, 1968.)
ARTICLE 34. No law shall have retroactive effects to the detriment of any person whatsoever or his acquired property rights, or to the
detriment of any consolidated legal situations.
ARTICLE 35. No one may be tried by a commission, a court or a judge specially appointed for the case, but exclusively by the courts
established in accordance with this Constitution.
ARTICLE 36. In criminal matters, no one is obligated to testify against himself or against a spouse, ascendants, descendants or collateral
relatives within the third degree inclusive of consanguinity or affinity.
ARTICLE 37. No one may be detained without substantiated evidence of having committed an offense or without a written order issued
by the judge or the authority in charge of maintaining public order, unless the person concerned is a fugitive from justice or is caught in
the act; but in all cases, he shall be placed at the disposition of a competent judge within a peremptory period of twenty-four hours.
ARTICLE 38. No person may be imprisoned for debt.
ARTICLE 39. No one shall be made to suffer a penalty except for crime, unintentional tort or misdemeanor punishable by previous law,
and in virtue of final judgment entered by competent authority, after opportunity has been given to the defendant to plead his defense, and
upon the necessary proof of guilt.
Judicial compulsion in civil or labor matters or detentions ordered in cases of insolvency, bankruptcy or bankruptcy involuntary
proceedings are not violations of this article or of the two preceding articles.
ARTICLE 40. No one may be subjected to cruel or degrading treatment or to life imprisonment, or to the penalty of confiscation. Any
statement obtained by violent means shall be null and void.
ARTICLE 41. Everyone shall receive reparation for injuries or damages to himself or his property, or moral interests, through recourse to
the laws. Justice must be prompt, enforced, not denied, and in strict accordance with the laws.
ARTICLE 42. The same judge may not serve in various stages of a case for resolutions addressing the same issue. No one may be tried
more than once for the same punishable offense.
Reopening of closed criminal cases and judgments which are res judicata is prohibited, except upon a motion to reopen the case for
review.
(Interpreted by resolution of the Constitutional Chamber, No. 353-91, 16:30 hours, February 12, 1991).
ARTICLE 43. Everyone has the right to settle his differences in civil matters by means of arbitrators, even if there is a pending lawsuit.
ARTICLE 44. A court order is necessary for a person to be held incommunicado for more than forty-eight hours. It may be extended
only for ten consecutive days, and in no case shall it prevent judicial inspection.
ARTICLE 45. Property is inviolable; no one may be deprived of his property except for legally proven public interest upon prior
compensation in accordance with the law. In case of war or internal disorders, it is not necessary that such compensation be made in
advance. However, payment shall be made no later than two years after the situation of emergency has ended.
For reasons of public necessity, the Legislative Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds of its full membership, may impose limitations of social
interest on property.
ARTICLE 46. Private monopolies, as well as any act, even if originated by virtue of law, which may threaten or restrict freedom of trade,
agriculture or industry, are prohibited.
Action by the State directed to prevent any monopolistic practices or tendencies is in the public interest.
The companies organized as de facto monopolies shall be governed by special legislation.
Establishment of new monopolies in favor of the State or the Municipal Governments shall require the approval of two-thirds of the full
membership of the Legislative Assembly.
Consumers and users are entitled to the protection of their health, environment, safety and financial interests, to receive adequate and
truthful information, to freedom of election and to equal treatment. The State shall support any bodies established for the defense of their
rights. The law shall regulate those matters.
(As amended by Law No. 7607, May 29, 1996.)
ARTICLE 47. Every author, inventor, producer, or merchant shall temporarily enjoy exclusive ownership of his work, invention,
trademark or trade name, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 48. Every person has the right to present writs of habeas corpus to guarantee his freedom and personal integrity and writs of
amparo to maintain or reestablish the enjoyment of other rights conferred by this Constitution as well as those of fundamental nature
established in international instruments on human rights, enforceable in the Republic. Both writs shall be within the jurisdiction of the
Chamber indicated in Article 10.
(As amended by Law No. 7128 of August 18, 1989).
ARTICLE 49. A contentious-administrative jurisdiction is established as a function of the Judicial Branch for purposes of guaranteeing the
legality of the administrative function of the State, its institutions and any other entity of public law.
The misuse of power shall be grounds to challenge administrative acts.
The law shall protect, at least, the personal rights and legitimate interests of those governed.
(As amended by Law No. 3124, June 25, 1963).
TITLE V
SOCIAL RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 50. The State shall procure the greatest welfare of all inhabitants of the country, organizing and promoting production and the
most adequate distribution of wealth.
Every person has the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, being therefore entitled to denounce any acts that may
infringe said right and claim redress for the damage caused.
The State shall guarantee, defend and preserve that right. The Law shall establish the appropriate responsibilities and penalties.
(As amended by Article 1°, Law No. 7412, June 3, 1994.)
ARTICLE 51. The family, as a natural element and foundation of society, is entitled to State protection. Mothers, children, the elderly and
the destitute infirm are also entitled to such protection.
ARTICLE 52. Marriage is the essential basis of the family and rests on equality of the rights of spouses.
ARTICLE 53. Parents have the same obligations toward children born out of wedlock that they have toward those born within it.
Everyone is entitled to know who his parents are, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 54. Any personal qualification based on the nature of filiation is prohibited.
ARTICLE 55. The special protection of mothers and minors shall be entrusted to an autonomous institution named Patronato Nacional de
la Infancia (National Infancy Foundation), with the collaboration of other State institutions.
ARTICLE 56. Labor is a right of the individual and an obligation to society. The State shall strive to see that everyone has lawful and
useful employment, duly compensated, and prevent the establishment on that account of conditions which may in any way curtail human
freedom or dignity or degrade his labor to the status of mere merchandise. The State guarantees the right to free choice of work.
ARTICLE 57. Every worker is entitled to a minimum wage, to be fixed periodically, for a normal working day, which will provide for his
welfare and a decent living. Wages shall always be equal for equal work under identical conditions of efficiency.
A technical organization to be defined by the law shall be in charge of all matters related to the fixing of minimum wages.
ARTICLE 58. A regular working day for daytime work may not exceed eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week. The regular
working day for night work may not exceed six hours a day or thirty-six hours a week. Overtime work shall be paid at a rate of fifty
percent above the stipulated wages or salaries. However, these provisions shall not apply in well-defined exceptional cases, to be
determined by law.
ARTICLE 59. All workers shall be entitled to one day of rest after six consecutive days of work and to annual paid vacations, the duration
and time of which shall be regulated by law, but which shall not be in any case less than two weeks for every fifty weeks of continuous
service, all without prejudice to well-defined exceptions established by law.
ARTICLE 60. Both employers and workers may organize freely, for the exclusive purpose of obtaining and preserving economic, social
or professional benefits.
Foreigners are prohibited from exercising direction or authority in unions.
ARTICLE 61. The right of employers to lockout and of workers to strike is recognized, except in public services, as they are determined
by law and in accordance with the legal regulations on the subject, which shall prohibit all acts of coercion or violence.
ARTICLE 62. Collective labor agreements shall have force of law, if entered into by and between employers or employers' unions and
legally organized trade unions, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 63. Workers removed without a fair cause shall be entitled to compensation unless they are covered by unemployment
insurance.
ARTICLE 64. The State shall promote the creation of cooperatives as a means to provide better living conditions for workers.
ARTICLE 65. The State shall promote the construction of low-cost housing and create a family homestead for workers.
ARTICLE 66. Every employer shall adopt in his enterprises any measures necessary for the health and safety of workers.
ARTICLE 67. The State shall see to the technical and cultural training for workers.
ARTICLE 68. No discrimination shall be made with regard to wages, advantages, or working conditions between Costa Ricans and
foreigners, or with respect to any group of workers.
Under equal conditions, Costa Rican workers shall receive preference.
ARTICLE 69. Rural sharecropper contracts shall be regulated in order to assure a rational exploitation of the land and the equitable
distribution of its produce between proprietors and tenants.
ARTICLE 70. A labor jurisdiction shall be established under the Judicial Branch.
ARTICLE 71. The laws shall provide special protection to women and minors in their work.
ARTICLE 72. Until unemployment insurance is established, the State shall maintain a permanent technical system of protection for those
involuntarily unemployed and shall strive to restore them to employment.
ARTICLE 73. Social security is established for the benefit of manual and intellectual workers, regulated by a system of compulsory
contributions by the State, employers and workers, to protect them against the risks of illness, disability, maternity, old age, death and
other contingencies as determined by law.
The administration and direction of social security shall be entrusted to an autonomous institution named Caja Costarricense de Seguro
Social (Costa Rican Social Security Administration).
Social security funds and reserves may not be transferred or used for purposes other than those for which they were created.
Occupational risk insurance shall be exclusively at the expense of employers, being governed by special provisions.
(As amended by Law No. 2737, May 12, 1961.)
ARTICLE 74. The rights and benefits to which this Chapter refers may not be waived. Their enumeration does not exclude others that
may be derived from the Christian principle of social justice or established by law. They shall be equally applicable to all the concurrent
factors in the process of production and regulated by social and labor legislation, striving for a permanent policy of national solidarity.
TITLE VI
RELIGION
ARTICLE 75. The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State, which contributes to its maintenance, without
preventing the free exercise in the Republic of other forms of worship that are not opposed to universal morality or good customs.
(As amended with regard to its number by Article 1, Law No. 5703, June 6, 1975).
TITLE VII
EDUCATION AND CULTURE
ARTICLE 76. Spanish is the official language of the nation.
(As added by Article 2, Law No. 5703, June 6, 1975.)
ARTICLE 77. Public education shall be organized as a comprehensive process correlated in its various phases, from preschool to
university education.
ARTICLE 78. Preschool education and general basic education are compulsory. These levels and the diversified education level are, in the
public system, free and supported by the Nation.
Public expenditure in State education, including higher education, shall not be less than six percent (6%) per annum of the gross domestic
product, in accordance with the law, without detriment to the provisions of Articles 84 and 85 of this Constitution.
The State shall facilitate the pursuit of higher studies by persons who lack monetary resources. The Ministry of Public Education, through
the organization established by law, shall be in charge of awarding scholarships and assistance.
(As amended by Law Nº 7676, of July 23, 1997)
ARTICLE 79. Freedom of teaching is guaranteed. However, all private educational centers shall be under the supervision of the State.
ARTICLE 80. Private initiative in educational matters shall be encouraged by the State, in such form as provided by law.
ARTICLE 81. A superior board, composed as established by law and presided over by the Ministry of Public Education, shall be in charge
of the general direction of public education administration shall be in the hands of a superior board comprised as the law may provide,
presided over by the Minister of Public Education. (Redacción Confusa)
ARTICLE 82. The State shall provide food and clothing for indigent pupils, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 83. The State shall organize and support adult education, designed to combat illiteracy and to provide cultural opportunities for
those who wish to improve their intellectual, social, and economic position.
ARTICLE 84. The University of Costa Rica is a higher learning institution which enjoys independence in the performance of its functions
and has full legal capacity to acquire rights and contract obligations, as well as to determine its own organization and form of government.
Other state institutions of higher education learning at university level shall have the same functional independence and legal capacity that
the University of Costa Rica has.
The State shall endow them with funds of their own and cooperate in financing them.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975.)
ARTICLE 85. The State shall endow the University of Costa Rica, the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, the National University and
the State Remote Education University with their own funds, creating their own revenues for them in addition to those that they
themselves may create. It shall also maintain, using the current revenues and any others as may be necessary, a special fund for the
financing of State Higher Education.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica shall manage this fund, making the proceeds available in twelfths on a monthly basis to the order of said
institutions, in accordance with the distribution determined by the body in charge of the coordination of State Higher Education at
university level. The revenues from this special fund cannot be abolished or reduced, if other improvements to replace them are not
simultaneously created.
The body in charge of the coordination of State Higher Education at university level shall prepare a national plan for this level of education,
taking into account the guidelines established by the National Plan of Development in force.
That plan shall be completed no later than the thirtieth day of June in years divisible by five, covering the next five-year period. It shall
include the operating expenditures as well as the investment expenses as may be deemed necessary for a good performance of the
institutions specified in this article.
The Executive Branch shall include in the ordinary budget of expenditure of the Republic the appropriate items specified in the plan,
adjusted in accordance with the variations in the purchasing power of currency.
Any difference which may arise with regard to the approval of the budgeted amount of the national plan of State Higher Education shall be
resolved by the Legislative Assembly.
(As amended by Law No. 6580, May 18, 1981).
ARTICLE 86. The State shall provide for the training of professionals in Education, by means of special institutions of the University of
Costa Rica and of the other institutions of higher education at university level.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975).
ARTICLE 87. Freedom of teaching is a fundamental principle of university education.
ARTICLE 88. For discussion and enactment of bills of law concerning matters under the jurisdiction of the University of Costa Rica or
other institutions of higher education at university level, or directly related thereto, the Legislative Assembly shall previously hear the
University Council or the respective board of directors of each of them.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975).
ARTICLE 89. The cultural aims of the Republic include: to protect its natural beauty, to preserve and develop the historic and artistic
wealth of the Nation, and to support private initiative directed to scientific and artistic progress.
TITLE VIII
POLITICAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
CHAPTER I
The Citizens
ARTICLE 90. Citizenship is the aggregate of political rights and duties pertaining to Costa Ricans over eighteen years of age.
(As amended by Law No. 4763, May 17, 1971.)
ARTICLE 91. Citizenship is suspended only:
1. By judicially declared interdiction;
2. By a judgment imposing the penalty of suspension of the exercise of political rights.
ARTICLE 92. Citizenship is restored in such cases and by such means as the law may provide.
CHAPTER II
The Suffrage
ARTICLE 93. Suffrage is a primary and compulsory civic function and is exercised before Election Boards through direct and secret vote
by the citizens registered in the Civil Registry.
(As amended by Law No. 2345, May 20, 1959.)
ARTICLE 94. A naturalized Costa Rican citizen may not vote until twelve months after obtaining the respective certificate of naturalization.
ARTICLE 95. The law shall regulate the exercise of suffrage, in accordance with the following principles:
1. Autonomy in the electoral function;
2. The State duty to register citizens officially in the Civil Registry and provide them with an identity card to exercise suffrage;
3. Effective guarantees of freedom, order, integrity and impartiality on the part of government authorities;
4. Guarantees that the voting system does facilitate the exercise of this right to citizens;
5. Identification of the voter by means of an identity card with a photograph or any other adequate technical means established by law for
this purpose;
6. Guarantees for representation of minorities.
7. Guarantees of political pluralism;
8. Guarantees for designation of authorities and candidates of political parties, in accordance with democratic principles and with no
discrimination based on genre.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No.7675, of July 2, 1997)
ARTICLE 96. The State may not make any deductions from the compensation of public officials for payment of political debts.
The State shall contribute to finance the expenses incurred by political parties, in accordance with the following provisions:
1. The contribution shall be zero point nineteen percent (0.19%) of the gross domestic product of two years before the holding of the
elections for President, Vice Presidents of the Republic and members of the Legislative Assembly. The law shall determine the cases when
a reduction of said percentage may be decided.
This percentage shall be allocated to cover the expenses incurred for the participation of political parties in these electoral processes and to
satisfy the political organization and training needs. Each political party shall fix the percentages corresponding to these items.
2. The political parties that participate in the electoral processes indicated in this article and reach at least four percent (4%) of the votes
validly cast at national level, or the parties registered at provincial level that obtain at least said percentage in the province or do elect at
least a member to the Legislative Assembly shall be entitled to State contribution.
3. Upon deposit of the appropriate bonds, the political parties shall be entitled to a partial advance of the State contribution, as determined
by law.
4. In order to receive support from the State, parties are required to demonstrate their expenses before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
Private contributions to political parties shall be subject to the principle of publicity and shall be regulated by law.
The enactment and amendment of the law that establishes the procedures, control means and other regulations for enforcement of this
article shall require the vote of two thirds of the membership of the Legislative Assembly.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No. 7675, of July 2, 1997)
ARTICLE 97. For purposes of discussion and enactment of bills of law concerning electoral matters, the Legislative Assembly shall
consult the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, requiring the vote of two thirds of the total membership to deviate from such opinion.
However, within six months prior to and four months after a popular election is held, the Legislative Assembly may not enact any law
based on bills concerning matters about which the Supreme Electoral Tribunal had expressed disagreement.
ARTICLE 98. All citizens have the right to organize themselves in parties in order to participate in national politics, provided that such
parties are committed in their platforms to respect the constitutional order of the Republic.
Political parties shall express the political pluralism, contribute to the formation and manifestation of popular will and be fundamental
instruments for political participation. Their creation and the exercise of their activities shall be free within respect to the Constitution and
the law. Their internal structure and operation shall be democratic.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No.7675, of July 2, 1997)
CHAPTER III
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal
ARTICLE 99. The organization, direction, and supervision of acts pertaining to suffrage are the exclusive function of the Supreme
Electoral Tribunal, which does enjoy independence in the performance of its duties. All other electoral organs are subordinate to the
Tribunal.
ARTICLE 100. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be ordinarily composed of three regular members and six alternates, appointed by
the Supreme Court of Justice by a vote of no less than two thirds of its members. They shall have the same qualifications and be subject
to the same responsibilities established for the justices that compose the Supreme Court.
From one year prior to and six months after the holding of general elections to elect the President of the Republic or the members of the
Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall increase the number of its members with two of its alternates in order to
become a tribunal of five members to serve during that period of time.
When applicable, the members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be subject to the working conditions and the minimum working
day established by the Structural Law of the Judicial Branch for justices of the Appellate Chamber. They shall also receive the same
compensation fixed for those justices.
(As amended by Law No. 2345, May 20, 1959 and Law No. 3513, June 24, 1965.)
ARTICLE 101. The members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall hold office for a term of six years. The term in office of one regular
member and two alternates shall be renewed every two years, but they may be reelected.
The justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall enjoy the same immunities and prerogatives that members of the Supreme Branches
have.
(As amended by Law No. 3513, June 24, 1965.)
ARTICLE 102. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has the following functions:
1. To convoke popular elections;
2. To appoint the members of the Electoral Boards, in accordance with the law;
3. To interpret, with exclusive and compulsory effect, all constitutional and legal provisions on electoral matters;
4. To hear the appeals against resolutions issued by the Civil Registry and the Electoral Boards;
5. To investigate on its own or through delegates and render decisions on any claims made by parties as to political partiality of State
officials in the performance of their duties or about the political activities conducted by officials who are prohibited to engage in them. A
verdict of guilty rendered by the Tribunal shall be compulsory grounds for removal and shall disqualify the wrongdoer to hold public
offices for a term of no less than two years, without prejudice of any criminal liability that may be established. However, if the
investigation conducted includes charges against the President of the Republic, Cabinet Ministers, Diplomatic Ministers, the Comptroller
General or the Assistant Comptroller of the Republic, or the justices of the Supreme Court, the Tribunal shall report the findings of its
investigation to the Legislative Assembly;
6. To adopt, with respect to the public force, pertinent measures to assure that the elections are carried out under conditions of
unrestricted freedom and guarantees. In case that military recruitment is ordered, the Tribunal may also adopt suitable measures to assure
that the electoral process may not be disturbed, in order that all citizens may freely cast their votes. The Tribunal may enforce these
measures on its own or through its designated delegates;
7. To conduct the official count of the votes cast in the elections for President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, members of the
Legislative Assembly, members of Municipal Governments and Representatives to Constitutional Assemblies;
8. To issue the official declaration of the election of the President and Vice Presidents of the Republic within thirty days following the date
of the election, and that of the other officials mentioned in the foregoing subsection within the period established by law;
9. Any other functions entrusted to it by this Constitution or by the laws.
ARTICLE 103. There is no appeal against the decisions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, except for actions on the grounds of breach of
public duty.
ARTICLE 104. The Civil Registry shall be exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and its functions are:
1. To keep the Main Register of Marital Status and prepare the lists of voters;
2. To decide on applications to acquire or recover Costa Rican citizenship, as well as cases of loss of nationality (*); to enforce Court
resolutions suspending citizenship and to issue a resolution on proceedings conducted to recover it. The decisions rendered by the Civil
Registry, in accordance with the powers vested upon it by this subsection, may be appealed to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;
3. To issue identity cards;
4. Any other powers vested in it by this Constitution and the laws.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 20. All men are free within the Republic; no one under the protection of its laws can be a slave.
ARTICLE 21. Human life is inviolable.
ARTICLE 22. Every Costa Rican may move about and stay anywhere within the Republic or abroad, provided he is free from any liability,
and return whenever it may be convenient to him. No requirements can be demanded to Costa Ricans in order to prevent their entrance
into the country.
ARTICLE 23. The domicile and any other private premises of the inhabitants of the Republic are inviolable. However, they may be
searched with a written warrant issued by a competent Judge, either to prevent the commission of crimes or their impunity, or to prevent
serious damages to persons or property, subject to the appropriate provisions of law.
ARTICLE 24. The right to intimacy, freedom and secret of communications is guaranteed.
Private documents and written, verbal or other communications of the inhabitants of the Republic are inviolable. However, a law, which
enactment and amendment shall require the vote of at least two thirds of the entire membership of the Legislative Assembly, shall
determine those cases in which Courts of Justice may order the seizure, search, or examination of private documents, whenever this is
absolutely necessary to clarify matters submitted to their cognizance.
Likewise, this law shall determine the cases in which Courts of Justice can order the intervention of any communication and indicate the
offenses in which investigation the exercise of this exceptional investigatory power can be authorized, and the period of time during which
such an intervention shall be permitted. The law shall also determine the responsibilities and penalties of any officials who apply illegally
this exception. Any judicial resolution under this provision shall be duly reasoned and can be immediately enforced. Its application and
control shall be the responsibility of judicial authorities and cannot be delegated.
The law shall also determine in what instances competent officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Comptroller General of
the Republic may examine accounting books and related documents for fiscal purposes as well as to control the correct use of public
funds.
A special law, passed by two thirds of the entire membership of the Legislative Assembly, shall determine which other bodies of the
Public Administration shall be authorized to examine the documents established by said law in the performance of their duties of regulation
and control for public ends. This law shall also provide the cases when such an examination is appropriate.
Any correspondence seized or information obtained as a result of the illegal intervention of any communication shall have no legal effect.
(As amended by Law No. 7607, May 29, 1996.)
ARTICLE 25. The inhabitants of the Republic have the right of association for lawful purposes. No one may be compelled to form a part
of any association whatsoever.
ARTICLE 26. Everyone has the right to meet peacefully and unarmed, whether it is for private business or to discuss political affairs and
examine the public conduct of officials.
Meetings on private premises do not need prior authorization. Those held in public places shall be regulated by law.
ARTICLE 27. The right to petition any public official or State entity, either individually or collectively and the right to obtain prompt
resolution are guaranteed.
ARTICLE 28. No one may be disturbed or persecuted for the expression of his opinions or for any act which does not infringe the law.
Private actions which do not harm the morals or public order, or which do not cause any damages to third parties are outside the scope of
the law.
However, clergymen or secular individuals cannot make political propaganda in any way invoking religious motives or making use of
religious beliefs.
ARTICLE 29. Every person may communicate his thoughts verbally or in writing and publish them without previous censorship; but he
shall be liable for any abuses committed in the exercise of this right, in such cases and in the manner established by law.
ARTICLE 30. Free access to administrative departments for purposes of information on matters of public interest is guaranteed.
State secrets are excluded from this provision.
ARTICLE 31. The territory of Costa Rica shall be a shelter for all those persecuted for political reasons. If their expulsion is decreed on
legal grounds, they can never be sent back to the country where they were persecuted.
Extradition shall be regulated by law or by international treaties and shall never be granted in case of political or related offenses, as they
are defined by Costa Rica.
ARTICLE 32. No Costa Rican may be compelled to abandon the national territory.
ARTICLE 33. All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination against human dignity.
(As amended by Law No. 4123, May 31, 1968.)
ARTICLE 34. No law shall have retroactive effects to the detriment of any person whatsoever or his acquired property rights, or to the
detriment of any consolidated legal situations.
ARTICLE 35. No one may be tried by a commission, a court or a judge specially appointed for the case, but exclusively by the courts
established in accordance with this Constitution.
ARTICLE 36. In criminal matters, no one is obligated to testify against himself or against a spouse, ascendants, descendants or collateral
relatives within the third degree inclusive of consanguinity or affinity.
ARTICLE 37. No one may be detained without substantiated evidence of having committed an offense or without a written order issued
by the judge or the authority in charge of maintaining public order, unless the person concerned is a fugitive from justice or is caught in
the act; but in all cases, he shall be placed at the disposition of a competent judge within a peremptory period of twenty-four hours.
ARTICLE 38. No person may be imprisoned for debt.
ARTICLE 39. No one shall be made to suffer a penalty except for crime, unintentional tort or misdemeanor punishable by previous law,
and in virtue of final judgment entered by competent authority, after opportunity has been given to the defendant to plead his defense, and
upon the necessary proof of guilt.
Judicial compulsion in civil or labor matters or detentions ordered in cases of insolvency, bankruptcy or bankruptcy involuntary
proceedings are not violations of this article or of the two preceding articles.
ARTICLE 40. No one may be subjected to cruel or degrading treatment or to life imprisonment, or to the penalty of confiscation. Any
statement obtained by violent means shall be null and void.
ARTICLE 41. Everyone shall receive reparation for injuries or damages to himself or his property, or moral interests, through recourse to
the laws. Justice must be prompt, enforced, not denied, and in strict accordance with the laws.
ARTICLE 42. The same judge may not serve in various stages of a case for resolutions addressing the same issue. No one may be tried
more than once for the same punishable offense.
Reopening of closed criminal cases and judgments which are res judicata is prohibited, except upon a motion to reopen the case for
review.
(Interpreted by resolution of the Constitutional Chamber, No. 353-91, 16:30 hours, February 12, 1991).
ARTICLE 43. Everyone has the right to settle his differences in civil matters by means of arbitrators, even if there is a pending lawsuit.
ARTICLE 44. A court order is necessary for a person to be held incommunicado for more than forty-eight hours. It may be extended
only for ten consecutive days, and in no case shall it prevent judicial inspection.
ARTICLE 45. Property is inviolable; no one may be deprived of his property except for legally proven public interest upon prior
compensation in accordance with the law. In case of war or internal disorders, it is not necessary that such compensation be made in
advance. However, payment shall be made no later than two years after the situation of emergency has ended.
For reasons of public necessity, the Legislative Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds of its full membership, may impose limitations of social
interest on property.
ARTICLE 46. Private monopolies, as well as any act, even if originated by virtue of law, which may threaten or restrict freedom of trade,
agriculture or industry, are prohibited.
Action by the State directed to prevent any monopolistic practices or tendencies is in the public interest.
The companies organized as de facto monopolies shall be governed by special legislation.
Establishment of new monopolies in favor of the State or the Municipal Governments shall require the approval of two-thirds of the full
membership of the Legislative Assembly.
Consumers and users are entitled to the protection of their health, environment, safety and financial interests, to receive adequate and
truthful information, to freedom of election and to equal treatment. The State shall support any bodies established for the defense of their
rights. The law shall regulate those matters.
(As amended by Law No. 7607, May 29, 1996.)
ARTICLE 47. Every author, inventor, producer, or merchant shall temporarily enjoy exclusive ownership of his work, invention,
trademark or trade name, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 48. Every person has the right to present writs of habeas corpus to guarantee his freedom and personal integrity and writs of
amparo to maintain or reestablish the enjoyment of other rights conferred by this Constitution as well as those of fundamental nature
established in international instruments on human rights, enforceable in the Republic. Both writs shall be within the jurisdiction of the
Chamber indicated in Article 10.
(As amended by Law No. 7128 of August 18, 1989).
ARTICLE 49. A contentious-administrative jurisdiction is established as a function of the Judicial Branch for purposes of guaranteeing the
legality of the administrative function of the State, its institutions and any other entity of public law.
The misuse of power shall be grounds to challenge administrative acts.
The law shall protect, at least, the personal rights and legitimate interests of those governed.
(As amended by Law No. 3124, June 25, 1963).
TITLE V
SOCIAL RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 50. The State shall procure the greatest welfare of all inhabitants of the country, organizing and promoting production and the
most adequate distribution of wealth.
Every person has the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, being therefore entitled to denounce any acts that may
infringe said right and claim redress for the damage caused.
The State shall guarantee, defend and preserve that right. The Law shall establish the appropriate responsibilities and penalties.
(As amended by Article 1°, Law No. 7412, June 3, 1994.)
ARTICLE 51. The family, as a natural element and foundation of society, is entitled to State protection. Mothers, children, the elderly and
the destitute infirm are also entitled to such protection.
ARTICLE 52. Marriage is the essential basis of the family and rests on equality of the rights of spouses.
ARTICLE 53. Parents have the same obligations toward children born out of wedlock that they have toward those born within it.
Everyone is entitled to know who his parents are, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 54. Any personal qualification based on the nature of filiation is prohibited.
ARTICLE 55. The special protection of mothers and minors shall be entrusted to an autonomous institution named Patronato Nacional de
la Infancia (National Infancy Foundation), with the collaboration of other State institutions.
ARTICLE 56. Labor is a right of the individual and an obligation to society. The State shall strive to see that everyone has lawful and
useful employment, duly compensated, and prevent the establishment on that account of conditions which may in any way curtail human
freedom or dignity or degrade his labor to the status of mere merchandise. The State guarantees the right to free choice of work.
ARTICLE 57. Every worker is entitled to a minimum wage, to be fixed periodically, for a normal working day, which will provide for his
welfare and a decent living. Wages shall always be equal for equal work under identical conditions of efficiency.
A technical organization to be defined by the law shall be in charge of all matters related to the fixing of minimum wages.
ARTICLE 58. A regular working day for daytime work may not exceed eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week. The regular
working day for night work may not exceed six hours a day or thirty-six hours a week. Overtime work shall be paid at a rate of fifty
percent above the stipulated wages or salaries. However, these provisions shall not apply in well-defined exceptional cases, to be
determined by law.
ARTICLE 59. All workers shall be entitled to one day of rest after six consecutive days of work and to annual paid vacations, the duration
and time of which shall be regulated by law, but which shall not be in any case less than two weeks for every fifty weeks of continuous
service, all without prejudice to well-defined exceptions established by law.
ARTICLE 60. Both employers and workers may organize freely, for the exclusive purpose of obtaining and preserving economic, social
or professional benefits.
Foreigners are prohibited from exercising direction or authority in unions.
ARTICLE 61. The right of employers to lockout and of workers to strike is recognized, except in public services, as they are determined
by law and in accordance with the legal regulations on the subject, which shall prohibit all acts of coercion or violence.
ARTICLE 62. Collective labor agreements shall have force of law, if entered into by and between employers or employers' unions and
legally organized trade unions, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 63. Workers removed without a fair cause shall be entitled to compensation unless they are covered by unemployment
insurance.
ARTICLE 64. The State shall promote the creation of cooperatives as a means to provide better living conditions for workers.
ARTICLE 65. The State shall promote the construction of low-cost housing and create a family homestead for workers.
ARTICLE 66. Every employer shall adopt in his enterprises any measures necessary for the health and safety of workers.
ARTICLE 67. The State shall see to the technical and cultural training for workers.
ARTICLE 68. No discrimination shall be made with regard to wages, advantages, or working conditions between Costa Ricans and
foreigners, or with respect to any group of workers.
Under equal conditions, Costa Rican workers shall receive preference.
ARTICLE 69. Rural sharecropper contracts shall be regulated in order to assure a rational exploitation of the land and the equitable
distribution of its produce between proprietors and tenants.
ARTICLE 70. A labor jurisdiction shall be established under the Judicial Branch.
ARTICLE 71. The laws shall provide special protection to women and minors in their work.
ARTICLE 72. Until unemployment insurance is established, the State shall maintain a permanent technical system of protection for those
involuntarily unemployed and shall strive to restore them to employment.
ARTICLE 73. Social security is established for the benefit of manual and intellectual workers, regulated by a system of compulsory
contributions by the State, employers and workers, to protect them against the risks of illness, disability, maternity, old age, death and
other contingencies as determined by law.
The administration and direction of social security shall be entrusted to an autonomous institution named Caja Costarricense de Seguro
Social (Costa Rican Social Security Administration).
Social security funds and reserves may not be transferred or used for purposes other than those for which they were created.
Occupational risk insurance shall be exclusively at the expense of employers, being governed by special provisions.
(As amended by Law No. 2737, May 12, 1961.)
ARTICLE 74. The rights and benefits to which this Chapter refers may not be waived. Their enumeration does not exclude others that
may be derived from the Christian principle of social justice or established by law. They shall be equally applicable to all the concurrent
factors in the process of production and regulated by social and labor legislation, striving for a permanent policy of national solidarity.
TITLE VI
RELIGION
ARTICLE 75. The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State, which contributes to its maintenance, without
preventing the free exercise in the Republic of other forms of worship that are not opposed to universal morality or good customs.
(As amended with regard to its number by Article 1, Law No. 5703, June 6, 1975).
TITLE VII
EDUCATION AND CULTURE
ARTICLE 76. Spanish is the official language of the nation.
(As added by Article 2, Law No. 5703, June 6, 1975.)
ARTICLE 77. Public education shall be organized as a comprehensive process correlated in its various phases, from preschool to
university education.
ARTICLE 78. Preschool education and general basic education are compulsory. These levels and the diversified education level are, in the
public system, free and supported by the Nation.
Public expenditure in State education, including higher education, shall not be less than six percent (6%) per annum of the gross domestic
product, in accordance with the law, without detriment to the provisions of Articles 84 and 85 of this Constitution.
The State shall facilitate the pursuit of higher studies by persons who lack monetary resources. The Ministry of Public Education, through
the organization established by law, shall be in charge of awarding scholarships and assistance.
(As amended by Law Nº 7676, of July 23, 1997)
ARTICLE 79. Freedom of teaching is guaranteed. However, all private educational centers shall be under the supervision of the State.
ARTICLE 80. Private initiative in educational matters shall be encouraged by the State, in such form as provided by law.
ARTICLE 81. A superior board, composed as established by law and presided over by the Ministry of Public Education, shall be in charge
of the general direction of public education administration shall be in the hands of a superior board comprised as the law may provide,
presided over by the Minister of Public Education. (Redacción Confusa)
ARTICLE 82. The State shall provide food and clothing for indigent pupils, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 83. The State shall organize and support adult education, designed to combat illiteracy and to provide cultural opportunities for
those who wish to improve their intellectual, social, and economic position.
ARTICLE 84. The University of Costa Rica is a higher learning institution which enjoys independence in the performance of its functions
and has full legal capacity to acquire rights and contract obligations, as well as to determine its own organization and form of government.
Other state institutions of higher education learning at university level shall have the same functional independence and legal capacity that
the University of Costa Rica has.
The State shall endow them with funds of their own and cooperate in financing them.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975.)
ARTICLE 85. The State shall endow the University of Costa Rica, the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, the National University and
the State Remote Education University with their own funds, creating their own revenues for them in addition to those that they
themselves may create. It shall also maintain, using the current revenues and any others as may be necessary, a special fund for the
financing of State Higher Education.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica shall manage this fund, making the proceeds available in twelfths on a monthly basis to the order of said
institutions, in accordance with the distribution determined by the body in charge of the coordination of State Higher Education at
university level. The revenues from this special fund cannot be abolished or reduced, if other improvements to replace them are not
simultaneously created.
The body in charge of the coordination of State Higher Education at university level shall prepare a national plan for this level of education,
taking into account the guidelines established by the National Plan of Development in force.
That plan shall be completed no later than the thirtieth day of June in years divisible by five, covering the next five-year period. It shall
include the operating expenditures as well as the investment expenses as may be deemed necessary for a good performance of the
institutions specified in this article.
The Executive Branch shall include in the ordinary budget of expenditure of the Republic the appropriate items specified in the plan,
adjusted in accordance with the variations in the purchasing power of currency.
Any difference which may arise with regard to the approval of the budgeted amount of the national plan of State Higher Education shall be
resolved by the Legislative Assembly.
(As amended by Law No. 6580, May 18, 1981).
ARTICLE 86. The State shall provide for the training of professionals in Education, by means of special institutions of the University of
Costa Rica and of the other institutions of higher education at university level.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975).
ARTICLE 87. Freedom of teaching is a fundamental principle of university education.
ARTICLE 88. For discussion and enactment of bills of law concerning matters under the jurisdiction of the University of Costa Rica or
other institutions of higher education at university level, or directly related thereto, the Legislative Assembly shall previously hear the
University Council or the respective board of directors of each of them.
(As amended by Law No. 5697, June 9, 1975).
ARTICLE 89. The cultural aims of the Republic include: to protect its natural beauty, to preserve and develop the historic and artistic
wealth of the Nation, and to support private initiative directed to scientific and artistic progress.
TITLE VIII
POLITICAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
CHAPTER I
The Citizens
ARTICLE 90. Citizenship is the aggregate of political rights and duties pertaining to Costa Ricans over eighteen years of age.
(As amended by Law No. 4763, May 17, 1971.)
ARTICLE 91. Citizenship is suspended only:
1. By judicially declared interdiction;
2. By a judgment imposing the penalty of suspension of the exercise of political rights.
ARTICLE 92. Citizenship is restored in such cases and by such means as the law may provide.
CHAPTER II
The Suffrage
ARTICLE 93. Suffrage is a primary and compulsory civic function and is exercised before Election Boards through direct and secret vote
by the citizens registered in the Civil Registry.
(As amended by Law No. 2345, May 20, 1959.)
ARTICLE 94. A naturalized Costa Rican citizen may not vote until twelve months after obtaining the respective certificate of naturalization.
ARTICLE 95. The law shall regulate the exercise of suffrage, in accordance with the following principles:
1. Autonomy in the electoral function;
2. The State duty to register citizens officially in the Civil Registry and provide them with an identity card to exercise suffrage;
3. Effective guarantees of freedom, order, integrity and impartiality on the part of government authorities;
4. Guarantees that the voting system does facilitate the exercise of this right to citizens;
5. Identification of the voter by means of an identity card with a photograph or any other adequate technical means established by law for
this purpose;
6. Guarantees for representation of minorities.
7. Guarantees of political pluralism;
8. Guarantees for designation of authorities and candidates of political parties, in accordance with democratic principles and with no
discrimination based on genre.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No.7675, of July 2, 1997)
ARTICLE 96. The State may not make any deductions from the compensation of public officials for payment of political debts.
The State shall contribute to finance the expenses incurred by political parties, in accordance with the following provisions:
1. The contribution shall be zero point nineteen percent (0.19%) of the gross domestic product of two years before the holding of the
elections for President, Vice Presidents of the Republic and members of the Legislative Assembly. The law shall determine the cases when
a reduction of said percentage may be decided.
This percentage shall be allocated to cover the expenses incurred for the participation of political parties in these electoral processes and to
satisfy the political organization and training needs. Each political party shall fix the percentages corresponding to these items.
2. The political parties that participate in the electoral processes indicated in this article and reach at least four percent (4%) of the votes
validly cast at national level, or the parties registered at provincial level that obtain at least said percentage in the province or do elect at
least a member to the Legislative Assembly shall be entitled to State contribution.
3. Upon deposit of the appropriate bonds, the political parties shall be entitled to a partial advance of the State contribution, as determined
by law.
4. In order to receive support from the State, parties are required to demonstrate their expenses before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
Private contributions to political parties shall be subject to the principle of publicity and shall be regulated by law.
The enactment and amendment of the law that establishes the procedures, control means and other regulations for enforcement of this
article shall require the vote of two thirds of the membership of the Legislative Assembly.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No. 7675, of July 2, 1997)
ARTICLE 97. For purposes of discussion and enactment of bills of law concerning electoral matters, the Legislative Assembly shall
consult the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, requiring the vote of two thirds of the total membership to deviate from such opinion.
However, within six months prior to and four months after a popular election is held, the Legislative Assembly may not enact any law
based on bills concerning matters about which the Supreme Electoral Tribunal had expressed disagreement.
ARTICLE 98. All citizens have the right to organize themselves in parties in order to participate in national politics, provided that such
parties are committed in their platforms to respect the constitutional order of the Republic.
Political parties shall express the political pluralism, contribute to the formation and manifestation of popular will and be fundamental
instruments for political participation. Their creation and the exercise of their activities shall be free within respect to the Constitution and
the law. Their internal structure and operation shall be democratic.
(As amended by Article 1º, Law No.7675, of July 2, 1997)
CHAPTER III
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal
ARTICLE 99. The organization, direction, and supervision of acts pertaining to suffrage are the exclusive function of the Supreme
Electoral Tribunal, which does enjoy independence in the performance of its duties. All other electoral organs are subordinate to the
Tribunal.
ARTICLE 100. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be ordinarily composed of three regular members and six alternates, appointed by
the Supreme Court of Justice by a vote of no less than two thirds of its members. They shall have the same qualifications and be subject
to the same responsibilities established for the justices that compose the Supreme Court.
From one year prior to and six months after the holding of general elections to elect the President of the Republic or the members of the
Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall increase the number of its members with two of its alternates in order to
become a tribunal of five members to serve during that period of time.
When applicable, the members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall be subject to the working conditions and the minimum working
day established by the Structural Law of the Judicial Branch for justices of the Appellate Chamber. They shall also receive the same
compensation fixed for those justices.
(As amended by Law No. 2345, May 20, 1959 and Law No. 3513, June 24, 1965.)
ARTICLE 101. The members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall hold office for a term of six years. The term in office of one regular
member and two alternates shall be renewed every two years, but they may be reelected.
The justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal shall enjoy the same immunities and prerogatives that members of the Supreme Branches
have.
(As amended by Law No. 3513, June 24, 1965.)
ARTICLE 102. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has the following functions:
1. To convoke popular elections;
2. To appoint the members of the Electoral Boards, in accordance with the law;
3. To interpret, with exclusive and compulsory effect, all constitutional and legal provisions on electoral matters;
4. To hear the appeals against resolutions issued by the Civil Registry and the Electoral Boards;
5. To investigate on its own or through delegates and render decisions on any claims made by parties as to political partiality of State
officials in the performance of their duties or about the political activities conducted by officials who are prohibited to engage in them. A
verdict of guilty rendered by the Tribunal shall be compulsory grounds for removal and shall disqualify the wrongdoer to hold public
offices for a term of no less than two years, without prejudice of any criminal liability that may be established. However, if the
investigation conducted includes charges against the President of the Republic, Cabinet Ministers, Diplomatic Ministers, the Comptroller
General or the Assistant Comptroller of the Republic, or the justices of the Supreme Court, the Tribunal shall report the findings of its
investigation to the Legislative Assembly;
6. To adopt, with respect to the public force, pertinent measures to assure that the elections are carried out under conditions of
unrestricted freedom and guarantees. In case that military recruitment is ordered, the Tribunal may also adopt suitable measures to assure
that the electoral process may not be disturbed, in order that all citizens may freely cast their votes. The Tribunal may enforce these
measures on its own or through its designated delegates;
7. To conduct the official count of the votes cast in the elections for President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, members of the
Legislative Assembly, members of Municipal Governments and Representatives to Constitutional Assemblies;
8. To issue the official declaration of the election of the President and Vice Presidents of the Republic within thirty days following the date
of the election, and that of the other officials mentioned in the foregoing subsection within the period established by law;
9. Any other functions entrusted to it by this Constitution or by the laws.
ARTICLE 103. There is no appeal against the decisions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, except for actions on the grounds of breach of
public duty.
ARTICLE 104. The Civil Registry shall be exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and its functions are:
1. To keep the Main Register of Marital Status and prepare the lists of voters;
2. To decide on applications to acquire or recover Costa Rican citizenship, as well as cases of loss of nationality (*); to enforce Court
resolutions suspending citizenship and to issue a resolution on proceedings conducted to recover it. The decisions rendered by the Civil
Registry, in accordance with the powers vested upon it by this subsection, may be appealed to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal;
3. To issue identity cards;
4. Any other powers vested in it by this Constitution and the laws.
Paleo-Indians have occupied the region of Costa Rica for at least 6000 years with remnants
of the Mayan civilization settling into the western region. Columbus encountered the
American mainland on his fourth voyage in 1502 and conquest began in 1522 with Spanish
conquistadors journeying up from Panama. For nearly three centuries, Spain administered
the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor. The
Spanish optimistically called the country "Rich Coast" but netted little and concentrated on
agriculture. Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a joint declaration
of independence from Spain, was part briefly part of the Mexican Empire and became a state
in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823 to 1839, after which it declared
independence and promulgated its first constitution. Costa Rica has avoided much of the
violence that has plagued much of Central America. Since the late nineteenth century, only
two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development, in 1917 and 1948. The
current Constitution was adopted on 7 November 1949 and has been amended numerous
times most recently 15 July 2003. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Title IV
(Individual Rights and Liberties), conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of which Costa Rica is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English
translation of Costa Rica's Constitution, click here.
of the Mayan civilization settling into the western region. Columbus encountered the
American mainland on his fourth voyage in 1502 and conquest began in 1522 with Spanish
conquistadors journeying up from Panama. For nearly three centuries, Spain administered
the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor. The
Spanish optimistically called the country "Rich Coast" but netted little and concentrated on
agriculture. Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a joint declaration
of independence from Spain, was part briefly part of the Mexican Empire and became a state
in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823 to 1839, after which it declared
independence and promulgated its first constitution. Costa Rica has avoided much of the
violence that has plagued much of Central America. Since the late nineteenth century, only
two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development, in 1917 and 1948. The
current Constitution was adopted on 7 November 1949 and has been amended numerous
times most recently 15 July 2003. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Title IV
(Individual Rights and Liberties), conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of which Costa Rica is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English
translation of Costa Rica's Constitution, click here.