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No More Drinking Alcohol on the Streets of Costa Rica? Law Would Give Police More Control and Even Jail Time ⋆ The Costa Rica News

If Bill 25.101 is passed, more Tico police officers could intervene when people are consuming alcohol in public. Furthermore, fines would be higher, even with possible imprisonment for several days.

The plan is in legislative process and proposes:

Anyone caught by law enforcement consuming alcoholic beverages in public spaces and in public places determined by the municipality will receive a fine of between five and twenty days. In these cases, law enforcement must confiscate the product and file a corresponding report, which will be submitted to the courts.

Bill 25.101

The text authorizes municipal police to participate in the controls. In addition, fines for repeat offenses will increase to between 15 and 30 days in prison. Additionally, controls on the illegal sale of liquor are also proposed. For example, establishments selling liquor without the corresponding patent will be closed for seven days.

If, on the other hand, liquor is sold in non-commercial spaces, those responsible will be fined between thirty and seventy days. In addition, the confiscation of the products is authorized for delivery to the courts.

Judiciary questions funding and space for liquor control

As part of the legislative process, the proposed reform to the Alcoholic Beverages Law was filtered by the Judiciary. According to the Full Court, the bill would not have any impact on the organization and functioning of the Judiciary. This facilitates its eventual approval, requiring 29, not 38, votes in the Legislative Assembly.

The ruling, led by Judge Sandra Zúñiga, also came with a warning that resources might eventually be needed to implement the liquor reform. At the moment, it was not specified how much money the Judiciary would specifically need.

Judge Jorge Leiva also highlighted the debate. He emphasized that these issues related to liquor have more to do with the municipalities and suggested reviewing the issue of seized merchandise so that it does not end up in courtrooms for potential lawsuits.

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