Judges are above the law, Sala IV seems to decide

By: Garland M. Baker B.

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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 judge won.  He said his decisions were not open to question.  The Sala IV of Costa Rica agreed.  A judge can make whatever decision he or she wants in a case, and it is not up for discussion.   The office of judicial inspections were told not to question the decisions — even in cases where there may be obvious bribery or fraud.

The Sala IV said that a judge's decision could be overturned by a superior court, but could not be voided by anyone besides him or herself.  The decision would seem to reject any oversight of judicial decisions.

The Sala IV ordered the judicial inspection department of the court to reinstate a judge who made a suspicious decision and pay all his back wages because the office suspended him wrongly.  The inspectors questioned one of his decisions and suspended the judge because investigators felt there was some monkey business going on concerning a civil collection case.

New law makes it easier to bring someone to court

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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

One big problem with the Costa Rican legal system is notifying the parties to a criminal or civil court action. Hopefully, this difficulty has been solved with the revamping of the judicial notification law. Even the name has been changed to make it easier to understand.

Expats involved in court actions who want to move the cases forward can now help the court out by getting people summoned without counting on the court to do so. This is true for notifying someone in Costa Rica as well as notifying someone anywhere in the world regarding a court action here. One just needs to know the tricks the new law provides.

Little theatrical production puts expat out on street

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Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated.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 abuse of Costa Rica's domestic violence laws is touching everyone, even senior expats. One 72-year-old man — who is blind in one eye — was thrown out of a home last week in a theatrical production put on by his wife's daughter from another relationship. The man's wife wants the house they once shared.

The event — the so-called domestic violence — was staged. It was a complete fabrication. However, that did not matter to the police. The man was thrown out of the house with nowhere to go.

Here is the incredible story: