Legal Practice

Criminal Law

We specialize in cases related to corporate crimes (property, financial, environmental, tax, stock exchange, computer, intellectual property, business, archeological crimes; maladministration, simulation with fraudulent intent, and real estate crimes, and all other punishable conducts related to commercial and industrial activities), traffic accidents (unintentional injuries and unintentional homicide), crimes against reputation, and all other matters that are not opposed to civic ethics and human rights.

In Costa Rica, the criminal proceeding is divided into five stages: The first stage is the investigation by means of which the Office of Attorney General collects all the evidence needed to typify a crime. The second one is the preliminary hearing where the judge of the intermediate phase examines the injunction of the Office of the Attorney General and decides if there are sufficient grounds for indictment or ruling for dismissal. The third stage is the public and oral trial where all the evidence is provided; the parties present their final arguments and the court issues a judgment. In the fourth stage, the appeals filed by the parties to the Court of Appeals are heard; the proceeding can end here or it can be returned to trial court for a new debate.  The last stage is the criminal or civil execution where the sanction is executed and the final judgment to charge the imposed compensation is executed.