Consumer protection law is a valuable weapon-

1995 law finally having impact

By: Garland M. Baker B. 

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

The consumer protection law in Costa Rica, a model law for Latin America, works well if you know how to use it.

On July 1, 1996, the consumer protection law was published in La Gaceta, Costa Rica’s public records bulletin. Before that date, any consumer who had a problem with a private or public company that sold products or services had few rights. The administrative and judicial processes to complain were very complicated.

The consumer law prohibits acts that cause damage or threaten to cause damage to consumers by creating confusion or making false allegations. It prohibits the improper use, reproduction, or imitation of trademarks, commercial names, advertising, packaging or any other means of identification that are the property of others.

Most importantly, the new law included two new defense systems for consumers:

Landmark decision due in property fraud cases.

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

There may be good news for those who have lost their property or other assets to fraud in Costa Rica.  

Believe it or not, the courts are divided on who should be protected.  Here is a little informational background: 

Country's legal system has rules for complaints.

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Attorneys are not too well thought of anywhere in the world.  Costa Rica is no exception. 

One dictionary tongue-in-cheekly defines a lawyer as "One who defends your estate against an enemy, to appropriate it to himself."  

There are many cases in Costa Rica where attorneys do just that, manipulated paperwork, so their clients lose assets they have acquired after they use legal services.  Furthermore, conflict of interest is not policed here as strongly as in other parts of the world.  Lawyers in Costa Rica can be representing themselves in cases where they are the bad guys. 

The question is what can be done about it.  Here is how the system works: 

Possession is more important than ownership.

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Owning property in Costa Rica is much more than just having a deed. Possession is nine-tenths of the law in this country. 

Most people believe it is a simple procedure to buy a piece of land in Costa Rica. One just needs to have an attorney check to see if the catastro, or plat plan, exists in the Registro National, Costa Rica’s national registry of properties. Check to see if the property is free and clear of liabilities and other encumbrances, then sign a legal sales document to transfer the property from the seller to the purchaser.