Abstract

OVARES SANCHEZ, Carolina. The disagreement between constitutional and electoral jurisdiction: the Costa Rican case. Rev. Urug. Cienc. Polít. [online]. 2020, vol.29, n.1, pp.157-183.  Epub June 01, 2020. ISSN 0797-9789.  https://doi.org/10.26851/rucp.29.1.7.

The paper aims to understand the role of the Costa Rican constitutional court, with an emphasis on the interaction of this court with another state power: the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (tse). To this end, a characterization of the formal power or jure power of the constitutional tribunal is provided, as well as an analysis of its ties (challenging or not) with the electoral body. First the conceptualization of formal power it´s analyzed. Second this paper examines the origin of the Costa Rican constitutional court, during a democratic and stable context, in 1989, as well as its trajectory until it became a powerful actor in the political dynamics of the country. The last section presents the main findings on how this constitutional court has been shaping its challenging relationship with the electoral body and citizens, specifically in cases of judicial activism in electoral matters and that has slowed popular consultation initiatives or referendum.

Keywords : constitutional court; jure judicial power; Costa Rica; electoral body; citizens’ initiative referendum.

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