Chapter1. The President and the Vice President of the Republic
Article 130
The
Executive Power is exercised, on behalf of the people, by the President
of the Republic and the Cabinet Ministers in the capacity of
subordinate collaborators.
Article 131
To be President or Vice President of the Republic, it is required to be:
1) A Costa Rican by birth and a citizen in the exercise of his or her rights;
2) A layman or a laywoman;
3) Over thirty years old.
Article 132
The following may not be elected President or Vice President:
1)
The President who has served as such during any period, or a Vice
President or whoever has replaced him, serving during most of the
constitutional term.
(As amended by Law No. 4349, July 11, 1969. See also the Transitory Provisions.)
2)
A Vice President who has held such status during the twelve months
preceding the election, and any person who, acting as such, may have
occupied the Presidency for any period during such term;
3) Any
ancestor or descendant by consanguinity or affinity or sibling of the
person occupying the Presidency of the Republic at the time of the
election, or of any person who has held such office for any period
during the six months preceding that date;
4) Anyone who has been a Cabinet Minister during the twelve months prior to the date of the election;
5)
The regular Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, the regular and
alternate Justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the Director of
the Civil Registry, the Directors or Managers of autonomous
institutions, the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Assistant
Comptroller.
This disqualification includes persons who have held said positions within twelve months before the date of the elections.
Article 133
The
election for President and Vice Presidents shall be held on the first
Sunday of February of the year in which these officials are to be
elected.
Article 134
The
presidential term shall be four years. The actions of public officials
and private individuals that violate the principle of alternation in
the Presidential office or of free presidential succession, as set
forth in this Constitution, will imply treason to the Republic. The
liability derived from such actions shall not be subject to any statute
of limitations.
Article 135
There
shall be two Vice Presidents of the Republic, who shall replace the
President during his permanent absence, in the order of their
nomination. During his temporary absence, the President may call upon
either Vice President to replace him.
If neither Vice President
can fill the temporary or permanent absence of the President, the
position shall be held by the President of the Legislative Assembly.
Article 136
The
President and the Vice Presidents of the Republic shall take office on
the eighth day of May; and upon completion of their constitutional term
in office, their functions shall cease.
Article 137
The
President and the Vice Presidents shall take an oath before the
Legislative Assembly; but if they cannot do it before the Assembly,
they shall do so before the Supreme Court of Justice.
Article 138
The
President and Vice Presidents shall be elected simultaneously and by a
majority vote that exceeds forty percent of the total number of validly
cast votes.
The candidates for President and Vice Presidents of
one party shall appear in a single ticket, to the exclusion of any
other official to be elected.
If none of the tickets attains
said majority, a second popular election shall be held on the first
Sunday of April of the same year between the two tickets that received
the highest number of votes, being elected the one that obtains more
votes in the second election.
If at any election two tickets
obtain an equal number of sufficient votes, the oldest candidate shall
be considered elected as President, and the Vice Presidents shall be
the candidates in the same ticket.
Citizens included in a
ticket already registered in accordance with the law may not withdraw
their candidacy for President or Vice President, nor may candidates of
the tickets that received the highest number of votes in a first
election refrain from running in the second election.
Chapter 2. Duties of the Executive Power
Article 139
The following are the exclusive powers and duties of the occupant of the Presidency of the Republic:
1) To freely appoint and remove Cabinet Ministers;
2) To represent the Nation in acts of an official nature;
3) To hold the supreme command of the law enforcement forces;
4)
To present to the Legislative Assembly, at the beginning of each annual
period of sessions, a written message concerning the various matters of
the Administration and the political situation of the Republic, in
which he shall also propose any measures he may deem important to the
proper conduct of the Government and the progress and well-being of the
nation;
5) Whenever he proposes to go out of the country, to previously inform the motives of his trip to the Legislative Assembly.
(As amended this subsection by Law No. 7674, of June 17, 1997.)
Article 140
The following are joint powers and duties of the President and the appropriate Cabinet Minister:
1)
To freely appoint and remove members of the law enforcement forces,
employees and officials who hold positions of trust, and others as
determined in very qualified cases by the Civil Service Law;
2) To appoint and remove, subject to the prior requirements of the Civil Service Law, all other employees of their offices;
3) To sanction and enact the laws, regulate and enforce them and see to their strict compliance;
4)
During the period of adjournment of the Legislative Assembly, to order
the suspension of the rights and guarantees to which subsection 7) of
Article 121 refers, in the same instances and with the same limitations
as established therein, and to report it immediately to the Assembly. A
decree of suspension of guarantees is equivalent, ipso facto, to a call
of the Assembly, which shall meet within the next forty-eight hours. If
the Assembly does not confirm the measure by a two-thirds vote of its
entire membership, the guarantees shall be considered duly
reestablished.
If the Assembly is unable to meet due to lack of
quorum, it shall do so the following day with any number of members. In
this event, the decree of the Executive Branch requires the approval by
a vote of no less than two thirds of the attending members;
5) To exercise the initiative in the enactment of laws and the right of veto;
6) To maintain order and tranquillity in the Nation; to take such measures as may be necessary to safeguard public liberties;
7) To provide for the collection and expenditure of the national revenues according to law;
8) To supervise the proper operation of administrative services and agencies;
9)
To execute and enforce all resolutions and provisions on matters within
their jurisdiction entered and issued by the Courts of Justice and
electoral organizations, at their request;
10) To enter into
and subscribe agreements, public treaties and concordats, and enact and
execute them following their approval by the Legislative Assembly or by
a Constitutional Assembly, when such an approval is required by this
Constitution.
Protocols derived from such public treaties or
international agreements that do not require legislative approval shall
enter into force as soon as they are promulgated by the Executive
Branch.
(As amended by Law No. 4123, May 31, 1968.)
11) To submit to the Legislative Assembly such reports as it may request in exercise of the powers vested in it;
12) To direct the international relations of the Republic;
13) To receive Heads of State and diplomatic representatives and admit the Consuls from other nations;
14) To convoke the Legislative Assembly for regular and extraordinary sessions;
15)
To send to the Legislative Assembly the proposed National Budget at the
time and in accordance with the requirements set forth in this
Constitution;
16) To dispose of the law enforcement forces to preserve the order, defense, and security of the country;
17. To issue navigation licenses;
18)
To issue suitable Regulations for the internal operation of their
offices as well as other regulations and ordinances as required for the
prompt application of the laws;
19) To subscribe the
administrative contracts not included in subsection 14) of Article 121
of this Constitution, but with the requirement of submitting them to
the approval of the Legislative Assembly when they provide for
exemption from taxes or duties, or when their purpose is the
exploitation of public services, or the natural wealth or resources of
the State.
(Note: There was a sentence at the end of this
paragraph in the original text of this Article, which was repealed by
Article 2 of Law No. 5702 of June 5, 1975.)
The legislative
approval of these contracts does not give them the nature of laws nor
does it exempt them from being under their legal administrative regime.
The provisions contained in this subsection are not applicable to the
loans or other similar agreements to which subsection 15) of Article
121 refers, which are governed by their special rules.
(As amended by Article 2 of Law No. 5702, June 5, 1975.)
(Note:
Article 2 of Law No. 5702 of June 5, 1975 repealed the final sentence
of this subsection, which referred to the exception of agreements or
contracts governed by special laws, known as "law contracts". This
legal concept was suppressed by means of this amendment.)
20) To comply with any other duties and exercise any other powers vested in them by this Constitution and the laws.
Chapter 3. The Cabinet Ministers
Article 141
There
shall be the Cabinet Ministers established by law for the management of
the matters pertaining to the Executive Branch. One Minister may be in
charge of two or more Ministries.
Article 142
In order to be a Minister, it is required to:
1) Be a citizen in the exercise of his or her rights;
2) Be a Costa Rican by birth, or else by naturalization with ten years of residence in the country after naturalization;
3) Be a layman or a laywoman;
4) Be at least twenty-five years old.
Article 143
The
office of Minister is not compatible with the exercise of any other
public position, by popular election or otherwise, except when special
laws establish additional duties for them. The rules, prohibitions and
sanctions set forth in Articles 110, 111, and 112 of this Constitution
are applicable to Ministers when appropriate.
Vice Presidents of the Republic may hold office as Ministers.
Article 144
Cabinet
Ministers shall submit to the Legislative Assembly every year, within
the first fifteen days of the first period of regular sessions, a
report on matters that concern their Ministries.
Article 145
The
Cabinet Ministers may attend sessions of the Legislative Assembly at
any time, with the right to speak but not to vote, and are required to
do so when ordered by the Assembly.
Article 146
The
decrees, resolutions and orders of the Executive Branch require the
signatures of the President of the Republic and the appropriate
Minister in order to be valid, and in addition, in those cases set
forth by this Constitution, the approval of the Government Council.
The signature of the President of the Republic shall be sufficient for appointment and removal of Ministers.
Chapter 4. The Government Council
Article 147
The
Government Council is composed of the President of the Republic and the
Ministers, being presided over by the former, to perform the following
functions:
1) To request from the Legislative Assembly a
declaration of a state of national defense and authorization to order
military recruitment, organize the army and negotiate peace;
2) To exercise the right of pardon in the manner established by law;
3) To appoint and remove the Diplomatic Representatives of the Republic;
4) To appoint the directors of autonomous institutions when such appointments are a duty of the Executive Branch;
5)
To take care of any other matters submitted by the President of the
Republic who, if the gravity of any matter so requires, may invite
other persons to participate in the deliberations of the Council in a
consultative position.
Chapter 5. Responsibility of The People Exercising the Executive Power
Article 148
The
President of the Republic shall be responsible for his exercise of
those powers vested exclusively to him under this Constitution. Each
Cabinet Minister shall be jointly responsible with the President for
the exercise of powers that this Constitution vests in both. The
responsibility for the acts of the Government Council shall extend to
all those who voted to adopt the resolution in question.
Article 149
The President of the Republic and any Cabinet Minister who have been
involved in any of the acts listed below, shall also be jointly
responsible:
1) If these acts in any way compromise the freedom, the political independence or the territorial integrity of the Republic;
2)
If they directly or indirectly prevent or hinder popular elections or
violate the principles of alternation in the office of the Presidency
or of free presidential succession, or the freedom, order or purity of
suffrage;
3) If they prevent or hinder the functions of the Legislative Assembly or restrict its freedom and independence;
4) If they refuse to publish or execute the laws or any other legislative acts;
5)
If they prevent or hinder the functions of the Judicial Branch or
restrict the freedom of the Courts to judge cases submitted to their
decision, or if they in any way hinder the functions of electoral
bodies or the Municipal Governments;
6) In any other case in which by action or omission may the Executive Branch violate a specific law.
Article 150
The
responsibility of the occupant of the Presidency of the Republic and of
Cabinet Ministers for facts not involving any crime may be claimed only
while they are in office and for one year after their functions cease.
Article 151
The
President, the Vice Presidents of the Republic or whoever is occupying
the Presidency, may not be prosecuted or tried except when, after
impeachment proceedings, the Legislative Assembly declares that there
are grounds for initiating criminal proceedings.
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