QCOSTARICA — For the fifth consecutive year, the Judicial Branch set the base salary of its offices at ¢462,200. The amount is key at the national level because the law uses it as a reference parameter for the payment of fines, penalties, and other sanctions.
This amount was ratified by the institution last week. Its publication in the Judicial Bulletin confirms the measure.
The judicial base salary is applied when collecting sanctions for various offenses in criminal, tax, and labor law.
The figure is prorated proportionally in the sentences to “fine days” that are applied in such varied offenses that range from abortion to injuries, including crimes against honor.
Other uses of the judicial salary
The base salary in question also sets parameters in matters of intellectual property and concessions.
It even serves to adjust alimony, because in case of an increase, said percentage must also be added to the amount of debtors who are not salaried.
An important point to take into account is that the determined payment is specific to the judicial scheme.
The judicial base salary has no relation to the minimum wages established by the Ministry of Labor for the rest of the workers and professions in the country. Click here for the current minimum salaries established by the MTSS.
Another striking fact is that the amount of ¢462,200 remains the same for the fifth consecutive year. In 2020 the figure was ¢450,200, rising to the current value in 2021, which was ratified in 2022, 2023, 2024, and now for 2025.
