Costa Rica Court extends substitute magistrates amid political dispute

Costa Rica Constitutional Court substitute magistrates political dispute amparo ruling

The Constitutional Court (Sala IV) of Costa Rica declared a writ of amparo against the Legislative Assembly and provisionally extended the appointments of all substitute magistrates whose terms expired on 16 December 2025. The extension applies only to urgent and indispensable cases until the Assembly appoints the nine permanent substitutes from the list sent by the Supreme Court on 15 October 2025. The Court ordered Assembly President Yara Jiménez Fallas to make the candidate list known to the Plenary.

President Laura Fernández denounced the decision as a “coup” and announced a prevarication lawsuit against four magistrates – Fernando Cruz Castro, Paul Rueda Leal, Ingrid Hess Herrera and Jorge Araya García. Opposition leaders and legal scholars defended the Court’s action, arguing it is a lawful temporary measure to avoid paralysis of constitutional justice. The ruling also nullified the Assembly’s agreements to return the candidate list to the Supreme Court and ordered the State to pay costs, damages and losses arising from the dispute.

Entities: Constitutional Court of Costa Rica (Sala IV) · Costa Rica · Fernando Cruz Castro · Laura Fernández · Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica · Partido Pueblo Soberano (PPSO) · Sala IV (Constitutional Court of Costa Rica) · Yara Jiménez Fallas · substitute magistrates

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 5 SOURCES] The Constitutional Court declared a writ of amparo admissible against the Legislative Assembly for lack of appointed substitute magistrates. (Corte IV decision)
[● 4 SOURCES] The Court ordered the state to pay costs, damages, and losses resulting from the case. (Corte IV decision)
[● 2 SOURCES] The ruling party Partido Pueblo Soberano (PPSO) blocked the Supreme Court's list of 18 candidates, preventing appointment of substitute magistrates. (Legislative deadlock)
[● 2 SOURCES] Nine substitute magistrate positions remain vacant due to legislative deadlock. (Legislative stalemate)
[● 5 SOURCES] The Court annulled legislative agreements that returned the candidate list to the Supreme Court. (Corte IV ruling)
[● 4 SOURCES] The Court provisionally extended the terms of substitute magistrates whose mandates expired on 16 December 2025, limited to urgent and indispensable cases. (Corte IV ruling)
[● 5 SOURCES] The Court ordered Assembly President Yara Jiménez Fallas to coordinate making the candidate list known to the Plenary. (Corte IV decision)
[● 2 SOURCES] The Supreme Court sent a list of 18 candidates on 15 October 2025 to fill nine of the twelve substitute magistrate positions. (Supreme Court filing)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The ruling nullified the Legislative Assembly’s agreements to return the candidate list to the Supreme Court. (Court decision)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The State was ordered to pay costs, damages and losses resulting from the dispute. (Court order)
[● 2 SOURCES] The Court ordered Assembly President Yara Jiménez Fallas to coordinate making the candidate list of substitute magistrates known to the Plenary. (Court order)
[● 2 SOURCES] The extension of substitute magistrates applies only to urgent and indispensable cases while their terms expired on 16 December 2025. (Court ruling)