Claiming individual rights through a constitutional court: The example of gays in Costa Rica

Abstract

In 1989, a newly created Constitutional Court (Sala IV) immediately became a highly active court, ending over 160 years of Costa Rican judicial inactivity. The magistrates' actions breathed new life into the Constitution, ended judicial deference to elected officials, and consequently transformed Costa Rican political life. Simultaneously, the Sala IV magistrates assumed the role of guardians of constitutional rights, giving rise to what is frequently described as a rights revolution. The article sheds light on the sudden relevance of the forty-year-old Constitutional document through an examination of the institutional rules and procedures under which the new Court operates, and it examines the successes and failures of one of the country's most marginalized groups in seeking protection of their constitutional rights from the Court. © 2007 Oxford University Press.