Constitutional court ducks key decision on rights-

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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 Sala IV, the supreme court of Costa Rica, had a chance to decide who will be protected in real estate fraud cases. Much to the amazement of some in the Costa Rican legal community, the court decided not to decide.  

By deciding that two potentially landmark legal cases are "sin lugar," or without merit, magistrates have left the country hanging as to whom to protect, the crooks or the innocents.  

Beach land can be a legal swamp-

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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!

Costa Rica has one of the best legal structures in Central America.  There are rules to protect the rights of the people in almost all areas.  However, these laws because of their comprehensiveness end up protecting the crooks, too. 

One subject of special interest to investors and purchasers of property is the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone.  In the last five years, land close to the ocean has increased in value astronomically, giving those in the fraud business more bait for their hooks. 

The law of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone was published in 1977, and the zone is composed of the first 200 meters starting from the high tide line. The zone is divided into two areas: