Costa Rica: Central American Court Ruling Illegitimate

Presidenta Laura Chinchilla rejected the ruling of the Corte Centroamericana de Justicia (CCJ) - Central American Court of Justice - condemning Costa Rica for environmental damage to the San Juan river with the construction of the border road with Nicaragua, known as La Torcha.

The Presidenta said that the CCJ ruling is a real harm to the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA), as the Court's position is totally illegitimate.

Chinchilla added that Costa Rica has every right to doubt the Court's impartiality because the Court is located in Nicaragua, chaired by a Nicaraguan and the ruling comes just when Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, took the chair of the SICA pro tempore.

"The Court acts illegitimately because it has no jurisdiction over Costa Rica and we also have every right to question the partiality with which the ruling was issued," said the Presidenta.

The Presidenta also said that Costa Rica may be absent from many meetings and forums of the SICA while its pro tempore presidency is in the hand of the northern neighbour.

"This is a Court that charges high wages, protect the impunity of many and goes against a country that is fully exercising its right to sovereignty, by building a road that is necessary for residents to move along the northern border", said Chinchilla.

The Presidenta added that the Court has violated the principles of international law and that Costa Rica has the right to be outraged

"We have to raise our voice so that you do not believe that Costa Rica acted in error", said the Chinchilla.

On Monday the CCJ condemned Costa Rica for the construction of the 160 kilometre border road that runs on the south side of the San Juan river, a natural border between the two countries.

The CCJ ordered that Costa Rica stop the project permanently as repored in the Nicaraguan daily El Nuevo Diario.

The Court deems the project an environmental hazard, though not setting cost damanges due to lack of evidence.