Great article...

I wanted to share what I found coming from a source I have never contacted, but has shed the light that the Sala IV in Costa Rica has some issues...

http://www.costaricanewssite.com/the-sala-iv-who-do-they-think-they-are

The Sala IV: Who Do They Think They Are?

Now here’s a government body with a God complex.
The Sala IV is the end all be all of Costa Rican law. The highest court in all the land. But who are these judges making these all powerful decisions? The reason I ask is because they seem to think their power is strong enough that they can even make decisions that have absolutely nothing to do with Costa Rica. Even go as far as over-ruling Supreme Courts of countries like Canada and the USA.
The Sala IV, which has the task of reviewing government acts or omissions in order to determine their compliance and compatibility with the nation’s constitution, has been sticking their noses in on issues as expansive as the environmental impact of the Crucitas open-pit gold mine in northern Costa Rica, the rights of homosexual couples, hindering police duties by making it unconstitutional to search a vehicle or make someone wear a seatbelt, the opening of the cellular phone market, the terrible state of Costa Rica’s pothole riddled roads and now…now they are even flexing their muscle in to cases not even relating to Costa Ricans let alone the constitution of the country.
Last week we saw the case of a Springfield…YES…Springfield USA in the state of Missouri, girl, born in the USA, whereas her mother Trina Atwell, kidnapped her from her father and fled to Costa Rica over two years ago now. Roy Koyama, the girl’s father, has been fighting in courts back home in Springfield and in Costa Rica, having won all of them…until the Sala IV chimed in.
Up until the Sala IV had the case, two courts ruled the child needed to be return back the US to her father and that the decisions in the US had to be honored here also.
Then when the all-mighty Sala IV got their hands on the case they made a disturbing decision that goes against any logic – the mother did nothing wrong and she is granted full custody and told that the daughter never has to return to the USA again.
Seriously though…is there a team of monkeys on that panel of judges?
A family of 100% US citizens – one kidnaps the child and runs to Costa Rica (a felony) and looses every legal fight (clearly not an issue for the CR courts) and then the highest court gives the big “finger” to the US courts and all the lower courts that ruled before them and says the unthinkable.
You might think of this as a bit of a rant of sorts but let me tell you something…I’ve experienced them myself.
Two Canadian tourists in Costa Rica. Not legally allowed to work. Not married in Costa Rica but rather back in Canada. An existing Supreme Court filing in Canada for divorce…Costa Rica’s lower family courts do the logical and decide that any assets here are divided equally however anything outside of that is for Canada to deal with (rightfully so). Then comes the Sala.
The Sala gets it and reverses everything and says that they don’t care what the Canadian Supreme Court says about the divorce and even go as far as to try and say that alimony could be claimed. WTF?
And don’t get me started on their math skills – granting 150% of all assets to the woman because…well she’s a woman. Furthermore, ignoring the 3000 page criminal case against her for 5 felony frauds.
Could you imagine a couple Costa Rican’s going to Canada on a vacation and suddenly getting in to a disagreement and one decides to file for divorce in Canada? What if Canada were to weigh in on alimony payments but based on Canadian salaries? And if alimony isn’t paid….jail time baby! That’s right…here in Costa Rica if you don’t pay “pension” you go straight to jail. Not likely…Canada would say…”go home and deal with your problems in your own country.”
I’m curious to know what gives the Sala any right whatsoever to make decisions on non-Costa Rican citizens or cases outside of their country?
Time to clip the Sala’s wings and bring them back to Earth with the rest of us logical thinkers. Minus the hypocrites who love it when it works in their favor but cry wolf when it doesn’t.