(OPINION) — Dear President-Elect Fernández, congratulations on your election! I hope you will bring to Costa Rica the security and prosperity its people deserve.
You ran on a platform dedicated to combating crime, and one of President Chaves’ signature projects was the building of a new prison. Yet it doesn’t matter how many prisons you build if the courts refuse to convict the criminals, or even hear the victims’ cases.
I have been fighting several property cases in Herradura for twenty years. Although I am not a citizen, foreign investors like myself bring a great deal of capital to Costa Rica. But my crusade has not just been to regain my properties, stolen by squatters bankrolled by criminals, but to effect reform in the judicial system for other expats and Ticos who have been similarly victimized, but lack the resources to fight injustice.
Last week, I had to come to the Municipalidad of Garabito (Jacó) because I was sent a tax bill for three houses I have never lived in, on property I have never set foot on. In other words, I am being taxed for three illegal houses built by squatters!
I won my court case against them last year, but their appeal was approved, and appeals here can take up to six years. I will be 79 next month. The squatters hope to outlive me.
Sixteen years ago, I brought a civil suit against another group of squatters. Again, these were not impoverished peasants the Agrarian Law was meant to empower, but criminals using that well-intentioned law to steal undeveloped land that had become very valuable due to its proximity to the Los Sueños Marriott.
Just as the case was about to be settled, I was informed the title had been forged. The
prosecutor filed a criminal case against the forger. As you may know, in Costa Rica, a criminal case “pends” any civil case.
However, the criminal case took fifteen years! The lawyer was found guilty last year, but when I moved to reopen the civil case, I was told the file had been destroyed because all pending cases are archived after 10 years. I informed the court that I had copies of all the relevant documents in the file, but was told the Court would still not reopen my civil case and left me without recourse to regain that lot, despite being vindicated in the criminal trial.
These are just two of the miscarriages of justice I have suffered in the last two decades. I
implore you to enact legislation that will make the judiciary effective and efficient. This, I
believe, will diminish and deter crime as much, if not more, than maximum security prisons.
Sheldon Marshall Haseltine
Escazu
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Qcostarica.com.
Editor’s note: In Costa Rica, it is not strictly accurate to say a criminal case automatically “pends” (pauses or halts) any civil case. Rather, the legal system prioritizes the criminal proceeding when both cases share the same facts.