COSTA RICA'S JUDICIARY LACKS EXPERIENCE;

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000625 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS (C O R R E C T E D COPY - ADDING SENSITIVE CAPTION) DEPT FOR WHA/CEN; USAID FOR LAC DEPT PASS TO USTR FOR AMALITO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ETRD KIPR KJUS PINR CS SUBJECT: COSTA RICA'S JUDICIARY LACKS EXPERIENCE; ACTIVIST SUPREME COURT COMPLICATES CAFTA-DR ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. Judges in Costa Rica have an average age of 36 and lack experience, according to one Supreme Court Magistrate. The magistrate recommends increasing contact with U.S. judges and court administrators to share best practices. The explosion of constitutional challenges since the creation of a special constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court in 1988 has complicated the political process, and is the cause of the current judicial quagmire over ratification of CAFTA-DR. END SUMMARY. A COURT OF MANY CHAMBERS -------------- ¶2. (U) Econoff spoke with Costa Rican Supreme Court Magistrate Luis Rivas Loaiciga and his letrado (lawyer who drafts decisions) Juan Chaves Villalobos at a recent dinner at the Villalobos home. The magistrate and his letrado are assigned to Sala I of the Supreme Court which has jurisdiction over all public law, administrative law, commercial law, civil law and public concessions. Magistrate Rivas is just completing his first eight-year term on the Supreme Court and told Econoff he will soon apply to the National Assembly (Asamblea) to be reappointed to a second eight-year term. Unless two-thirds of the Asamblea votes to oppose him he will automatically be reappointed. ¶3. (U) Costa Rica's Supreme Court is divided into four chambers or "Salas". Sala II has jurisdiction over family and labor matters, Sala III has jurisdiction over criminal matters, and Sala IV is the constitutional chamber which also has broad review authority over legislative acts, procedures and rules. Salas I, II, and III each have five magistrates with two letrados per magistrate. Sala IV, created by constitutional amendment in l988 has seven magistrates who each have three letrados. THE COURT AND CAFTA -------------- ¶4. (U) A 1998 study titled "Opening Pandora's Box: the Unintended Political Consequences of Costa Rican Legal Reform" http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~caguirre/wilsonp r.html describes the explosion of constitutional challenges since creation of Sala IV and the effect it has had on the political life of the country. In the 50 years prior to creation of Sala IV, approximately 350 constitutional challenges were brought to the Supreme Court. Since creation of Sala IV, approximately 350 challenges have been brought each year. Multiple constitutional challenges have been the bane of the CAFTA-DR ratification and implementation process, with Sala IV activism taking on decidedly political overtones. The chamber has authority to rule on legislative procedure and has done so often, greatly complicating ratification of the Agreement. ¶5. (SBU) According to Rivas, the recent report issued by the technical arm of the Asamblea asserting that 38 votes are required to ratify CAFTA-DR was gratuitous and political. He described the report's author as a "leftist who at one time belonged to a communist party in Costa Rica". Rivas maintained there was no reason for a new advisory since in 2006 the same office under a different director stated the Agreement required only a simple majority of 29 votes to be approved. He stated that Asamblea President Pacheco has the power to ignore the latest advisory, but he added that Sala IV would make the ultimate decision on the number of votes required for ratification. ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: Pacheco, President Arias and other senior GOCR officials and legislators continue to believe that 38 votes (a two-thirds majority) is politically necessary to pass CAFTA, even if 29 votes (a simple majority) is technically sufficient. Ratifying CAFTA by a two-thirds majority would also give opponents one less argument to use in the required review of the agreement by the Sala IV. END COMMENT. NEED FOR EXPERIENCE, AND TRAINING -------------- ¶7. (U) Magistrate Rivas told Econoff that the biggest problem with Costa Rica's judicial system is the lack of experience and need for training. Costa Rica's judicial system has approximately 800 judges. Their average age is 36. In Costa Rica's civil law system, judges have little or no experience practicing law prior to becoming part of the judiciary. Due to the early retirement age of 55, Costa Rica's judges retire soon after gaining valuable experience, according to Rivas. The magistrate stated that the Costa Rican judiciary could benefit from more contact with U.S. judges and court administrators to learn more about best practices Costa Rica might adopt. Magistrate Rivas also mentioned that he would like to work closely with the Embassy. NEED TO DO MORE ON IPR -------------- ¶8. (U) Intellectual Property Rights falls within the jurisdiction of Sala I. Costa Rica is currently on USTR's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement Watch List and IPR is one of the most difficult areas involved in implementing CAFTA. Post recently sent the magistrate and his letrado to USPTO-sponsored training and since then the letrado has taken a very active interest in IPR issues. Villalobos returned from training and told Econoff he now understands that Costa Rica is not doing enough to meet its obligations, and that he is working on convincing colleagues to do more. He observed that, in particular, sentences need to be strengthened to act as a deterrent. Villalobos is also pursuing a master's degree in IPR through a distance learning program. Magistrate Rivas stated that Villalobos has become the court's expert on IPR matters. LANGDALE