CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE IN COSTA RICA

This article will provide guidance on the Code of Civil Procedure in Costa Rica. Central America's Costa Rica is a democratic republic. The Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica, adopted in 1949, is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution set up checks and balances between the three government bodies (the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) to ensure the separation of powers. The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica was established in 1989 according to a constitutional amendment.

A mayor oversees each of Costa Rica's eighty-two cantons, organized under the country's seven provinces. Each canton elects a mayor in a free and fair election every four years. The government at the state level is centralized.

BACKGROUND

The President of the Republic is the head of the Executive branch and is chosen every four years. In the United States, the president is decided by popular vote. The President serves as the country's chief executive and head of state. The President appoints the two vice presidents and the twenty cabinet members. The Constitution made it impossible for a president to run for a second term beginning in 1969.

The Unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa contains fifty-seven seats. Every four years, the public elects representatives to serve in this body. Each year, the legislature meets for two "regular sessions."

JUDICIARY IN COSTA RICA

The Supreme Court, Appellate Courts, and Trial Courts comprise the Costa Rican government's Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial), responsible for justice's fair and impartial administration. The guidelines governing the administration of the judiciary are laid forth in the Ley Organica del Poder Judicial.

The seven-member Chamber I (Sala Primera) has authority over all civil and administrative cases. Family law, estates, and labor law are only some of the civil disputes that may be appealed to Chamber II (Sala Segunda), which is presided over by five judges. Court appeals in criminal cases are heard only by Chamber III (Sala Tercera), presided over by five judges. All questions involving the Constitution must be decided by Chamber 4 (Sala Cuarta.

San José, Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Guanacaste, Puntarenas, and Limon are the seven provinces that makeup Costa Rica. Cantons are subdivided into provinces, while cantons are subdivided into districts. Twenty cantons in San Jose, fifteen cantons in Alajuela, eight cantons in Cartago, ten cantons in Heredia, eleven cantons in Guanacaste, eleven cantons in Puntarenas, and six cantons in Limon.

CODES IN COSTA RICA

Many different Codes govern a different area of the law, all compilations of laws passed by the legislature. When it comes to codifying its laws, the civil law system of Costa Rica takes cues from both the French (Napoleonic Code) and Spanish (or Roman) systems. These systems established written codifications of their laws, which are called Codes.

Contracts, property, obligations, legal capacity, and succession are all governed by the Civil Code (Codigo Civil). The Code of Civil Procedure (Codigo Procesal Civil) governs civil litigation in Costa Rica. As its name suggests, Mexico's Commercial Code (Codigo de Comercio) governs business dealings, currency, insolvency, and corporations.

In Mexico, the Labor Code (Codigo de Trabajo) specifies employers' and employees' rights and responsibilities. Marriage, divorce, paternity, guardianship, and adoption are spelled out in the Family Code (Codigo de Familia). The Penal Code (Codigo Penal) outlines the penalties for breaking the law. The Criminal Procedure Code (Codigo Procesal Penal) provides guidelines for appearing before criminal courts.

The Administrative Procedural Code (Codigo Procesal Contencioso Administrativo) outlines the rules the Costa Rican government must follow when making administrative decisions and how the courts should review those rulings.

Article 7 of the Costa Rican Constitution states that treaties ratified and approved by the National Legislative Assembly are superior to national law, highlighting the significance of treaties in Costa Rican lawmaking. All treaties are registered in the Treaty Assessment Office (Oficina Asesora de Tratados) within the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Relations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains a website with a section devoted specifically to bilateral agreements. Submission of the claim is required in writing and should include the following:

CLAIM IN COSTA RICA

All supporting paperwork must be sent together with the formal request. The parties may petition the court for help to get otherwise unavailable documents. The applicant is solely responsible for the completion at all times.

If the court finds a flaw in the papers to prove procedural ability, it will rule the claim inadmissible unless the problem is fixed within five days. The party seeking recognition will notify the court how to check the papers if they are filed in a public register that may be accessed electronically.

Within the summons, the defendant may ask for the claim's flaws to be fixed or the plaintiff's lack of capacity or representation to be addressed. Urgent action is required to fulfill the request. If the amendment calls for major modifications to the claim, a new venue will be awarded, with notification given to the party that specified a different site. An improbable claim will be dismissed, either automatically or at the request of a party, via the issuance of a preliminary injunction at the outset of the proceeding or at any time afterward.

WHEN IS A CLAIM INADMISSIBLE

A claim cannot be held admissible if the claimed object or action is patently illegal or impossible or uses deceptive or abusive procedures. Since the claim has already been made in an earlier proceeding with the force of res judicata, if the current proceeding is only a repetition of the earlier one or a prior settlement or reconciliation would have occurred regarding the right in question. The new claim cannot be held. Procedural annulments might have been, but were not, raised at the original proceeding that produced them.

Demands may be amended or supplemented with new information about the involved persons, events, claims, and proof until a response is due or submitted. Before the end of the preliminary hearing, the parties might agree to such an extension. It will then be necessary to redo the placement.

In the normal course of events, the claim or counterclaim may be expanded in terms of the facts after the response or reply and even before the trial hearing if anything of notorious impact on the judgment happens or becomes known. Of the abovementioned significance, and he informed me he was unaware of it before the party.

This administration will be handled at the highest level. The opposing party will be served with a three-day summons, the evidence will be presented before the appropriate tribunal, and the case will be settled with a single sentence.

When a new fact establishes the difficulty of retaining in whole or in part the original claim, the claim and counterclaim may be extended or modified in terms of the parties, facts, claims, and evidence one last time before the evidence hearing begins. The trial is where the issue of the extension's admissibility will be settled. The steps required to ensure fair treatment under the law will be taken if accepted.

PROCEDURE WITH AN ADMISSIBLE CLAIM

If the court finds the claim valid, the defendant will respond. The resolution will include the period, the procedure for complying, and the repercussions for failing.

When a claim is judged inadmissible after a summons has been issued, the delay is not counted against the defendant. Even if the defendant raises a procedural exception, objection, or accusation, the response must be filed within the summons and served on the plaintiff. It will respond to all of the claim's facts in the sequence in which they were presented, explaining why it either does not believe them or does believe them but with qualifications or corrections. It will also explicitly describe the actor's perspective on the claim and its assessment, as well as the legal reasons and evidence offered and recommended by the actor. He plans to submit and exhibit all of his evidence in the same fashion as a court case.

The court will issue a warning outlining the flaws and give the requisite party until the fifth day to fix them. If the defendant does not react as specified, the facts to which he has not replied will be presumed conceded.

FILING OF THE CLAIM

Challenges based on procedure and substance must be answered with a well-reasoned response and backed by evidence. Even if the relevant events happened after the answer was due or the defendant did not learn about them until after the deadline to respond, they might still be used as a defense at trial. At the trial hearing, we will provide evidence supporting these exclusions. In typical procedures, the res judicata, transaction, and expiry defenses may all be drafted up to the beginning of the allegation of conclusions.

Improper claims that are provided without supporting evidence or an actual offer of assistance will be summarily dismissed. When the test has been requested but not completed promptly, the order will be instantly null and invalid.

Procedural exceptions will be decided in a hearing or the first hearing, as applicable, if evidence of the exceptions is required. Otherwise, the incidental process will be used outside of the hearing.

REBUTTAL AND REPLY

Only in the written response to the claim may the defendant admonish the plaintiff and perhaps introduce a third party to the process as a "reclaimed person" who is not a plaintiff. There must be some connection between the demand and the counterclaim, or the counterclaim must directly affect the demand. There should be no difference between the demands and the counterclaim. If it is flawed, fixing it won't be possible under the same conditions as the request. The counterclaim shall be admitted only in regular procedures unless the law allows it differently.

If the counterclaim is valid, the counterclaimant will be given the same amount of time as the claimant to file a reply, which must also meet the same conditions as the original claim. If the defendant does not dispute the facts, they may be accepted without further investigation. The insurgent may appear, but the proceeding will continue regardless of his physical whereabouts. An early judgment will be issued if the defendant admits liability or fails to respond to the claim within the allotted time frame. However, the procedure will continue if there are indications of procedural fraud, if the issue is one of public order, if it concerns unavailable rights, or if it is essential to receive evidence to resolve.

If just a portion of the target is present during the raid, a separate file will be created with a judgment in advance for the acceptable ends to be carried out promptly. Regarding the extremes that aren't approved, the procedure will proceed normally.

The claim and defense might be filed simultaneously by the plaintiff and the defendant. Assuming this to be the case, the site in question is considered abandoned, and a sanctioned punishment is implemented. The relevant evidence is admissible if the facts and the claim are disputed. Any evidence impertinent, excessive, irrelevant, or unlawful or alludes to facts that are explicitly acknowledged or that must be taken according to the law, protected by an absolute presumption, apparent, or infamous, shall be excluded. The court's acceptance or rejection of certain pieces of evidence will be stated in the same decision.

The court may suggest or even mandate ex officio to include further evidence not presented by the parties at the hearing at which the evidence is admitted. In the hearing of evidence, contrary or concentrating evidence may be requested to verify or explain significant facts on rare occasions if it were required and provided well-founded grounds.

EVIDENCE FROM WITNESSES

All kinds of evidence provided by witnesses will be accepted. To testify as a witness, all that is required is that the individual be a natural person beyond twelve, know the facts in dispute, and have mental ability. The court may accept a child under twelve as a witness if it determines their maturity level to understand the proceedings' nature and testify honestly.

The witness's further assertions based on their scientific, technical, professional, creative, or practical expertise will be admissible. The testimony will be accepted, and the number of witnesses may be increased or decreased, depending on how crucial the testimony is.

When domestic methods of proof are insufficient to prove the facts claimed, evidence from witnesses outside the nation may be included. Witnesses are not required to declare if being questioned will reveal information that may be used to convict the declarant or any spouse, cohabitant, ancestor, descendant, or collateral related up to the third degree, inclusive, of consanguinity or affinity.

Those bound to confidentiality by their profession or law may also decline to answer inquiries that go against their duty or power of reserve. They will be allowed to decline to testify or answer certain questions if they feel doing so would put them in conflict with their parents. The juvenile witness has this privilege, and the court must tell them of it.

Replacement of proposed witnesses will continue; substituting accepted witnesses will continue only in extraordinary circumstances. The substitution of the proposed witness will be settled at the preliminary hearing. The substitution of allowed witnesses may be sought and resolved at the test practice hearing in proceedings where a preliminary hearing is held. Any request for a witness replacement within a single hearing process, whether it relates to witnesses who have been admitted or presented, must be made before the hearing concludes to be handled and resolved at that hearing.

When allowed, the court will take steps to protect the right to conflicting testimony if witness replacement is allowed.

OUR PROCESS

Documents can be faxed at (800)-296-0115, emailed to ps@undisputedlegal.com, mailed to 590 Madison Avenue, 21 Floor, New York, New York 10022, or dropped off at any of our locations. We do require pre-payment and accept all major credit and debit cards. Once payment is processed, your sales receipt is immediately emailed for your records.

Drop-offs must call and make an appointment first to be added to building security to permit access to our office. Documents for service must be in a sealed envelope with payment in the form of a money order or attorney check (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH) payable to UNDISPUTED LEGAL INC.; Our receptionist receives all documents.

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OFFICE LOCATIONS

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FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN COSTA RICA

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Sources

1. The Supreme Court lifted this ban in 2003, allowing previous presidents to run for office again, but not in consecutive terms.

2. May 1-July 31, and September 1-November 30

3. The Cantons are further subdivided into municipal regions. There are 81 Municipal governments in Costa Rica.