QCOSTARICA — The Constitutional Court, also known as Sala IV, announced that it has resolved two combined appeals filed against the government of Rodrigo Chaves Robles, alleging violations of press freedom and the right to access information.
These are files 24-025545-0007-CO and 24-27116-0007-CO, in which the Sala IV ruled in favor of the journalists, David Bolaños Acuña, David Chavarría Hernández, and Héctor Guzmán Suárez, who filed complaints against the Executive Branch.
In case 24-025545-0007-CO, the journalists said that on July 30, 2024, President Chaves held a press conference to address the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the legislative referendum on the “Jaguar Law.” During that event, Rodrigo Chaves raised his voice and silenced one of the journalists while he asked a question.
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Furthermore, in that same file, the appellants stated that, on September 11, 2024, two other journalists were surrounded by bodyguards from the Presidential Protection Unit when they attempted to question the then-Minister of the Presidency, Laura Fernández, and President Chaves.
The journalists indicated that they attempted to ask the minister further questions about the 4×3 workday bill, and that when one of them pointed out that they had not received an answer, government officials muted his microphone.
According to information provided by the press department of the Sala IV, the journalists considered that the situations described violated their right to freedom of the press.
Regarding file 24-27116-0007-CO, the complainants requested information regarding the approval of the 4×3 workweeks. However, they indicated that their inquiries were not answered by the Ministry of the Presidency, which they consider a violation of their constitutional right to access public information, enshrined in Article 30 of the Constitution.
In ruling 2025-016964, the judges, by majority, ruled to uphold both cases.
Regarding file 24-025545-0007-CO, the violation of press freedom against David Bolaños Acuña, David Chavarría Hernández, and Héctor Guzmán Suárez was recognized. The Court ordered the State to pay costs, damages, and losses incurred by the events that serve as the basis for this declaration, which will be settled in the execution of the administrative litigation judgment.
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In case 24-27116-0007-CO, the appeal was granted only against the Ministry of the Presidency, with no special award of costs. The Ministry of Foreign Trade was not awarded any penalties.
The resolution sets an important precedent regarding respect for journalistic work and access to information at official events of the Executive Branch.
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