With the vote of the 43 deputies present in the Plenary, the Legislative Assembly approved in the first debate file 23,800 called “Law on Options and Naturalizations.”The initiative removes Costa Rican nationality from naturalized people who are part of organized crime or who receive a conviction for intentional crimes.
The proposal was presented by the president of Congress, Rodrigo Arias, together with the liberationist Danny Vargas and reforms articles 15 and 18 of the Options and Naturalizations Law.This would be added to article 15, which details who will not be granted naturalization.
It would read: “A person who has been convicted of an intentional crime, with a custodial sentence of more than three years in the last ten years, in Costa Rica or abroad, as long as the illicit conduct is recognized as such within Costa Rican legislation. and the subject is imputable.”
For its part, this is how article 18 of the law would remain:
“Article 18- The naturalization that a foreigner has fraudulently obtained in violation of the requirements established by this law is null and void. Consequently, at any time in which it is proven that when requesting or obtaining the letter, the naturalized individual provided any false information or was previously convicted of a crime indicated in paragraphs 2) and 3) of article 15 of this law or If the purpose of naturalization was to propagate totalitarian doctrines or means, contrary to the democratic system, the Civil Registry, through information submitted to its offices, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office and with a hearing of the interested party, will proceed to annul the letter of naturalization, if the charge is proven…”.“The same procedure will be followed when it is proven that a naturalized foreigner has been convicted with a final sentence for drug trafficking or money laundering, whether in Costa Rica or abroad.”
More approvals
This past Wednesday’s session in the Assembly was dedicated to advancing security projects.File 23,806 was also approved in the first debate to strengthen the Flagrancy Courts. It had the unanimous support of the 42 legislators present at the time of the vote.This proposal seeks to close the loopholes that allow criminals arrested on the spot to go to regular courts, where the time for a sentence can take years.
Currently, when a case in the Flagrancy Courts requires more than 15 days of investigation, it goes to the ordinary courts. This situation prevents the offender from receiving a sentence in the short term.With the modifications made, the cases of flagrancy can be expanded.
Citizens are fed up
“’Costa Ricans are tired of the loopholes that prevent a criminal, who is caught red-handed, from facing justice promptly,” said the project’s proponent, Christian Socialist LeslyeBojorges.
File 23,999 “Protection of sensitive data of victims and witnesses” was also approved in the first debate.The initiative seeks to exclude the victim and witness protection program from the State Public Procurement System (Sicop), with the intention of preventing crime from making a dent in the cases.
