Costa Rica

Legislative Assembly

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Presidential system
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Unicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Start and end of mandate

Start of the parliamentary mandate for newly elected members
When the member is sworn in
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Start of the parliamentary mandate for appointed members
Not applicable
End of the parliamentary mandate
At a fixed date
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Speaker

Mode of designation of the Speaker
The Speaker is elected from among the members of parliament/chamber
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Authority that designates the Speaker When the Speaker is designated from outside parliament.
Not applicable
Rank of the Speaker in the hierarchy of the State The Speaker often has a very high rank in the protocollary hierarchy of the State.
Third
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Speaker becomes interim Head of State in the event of the latter’s death or incapacity In some countries, the Speaker acts as interim Head of State when required by the circumstances, such as death or incapacity.
Yes
Speaker's mandate continues between legislatures The mandate of the Speaker may continue until their successor is elected, even after the dissolution of parliament/chamber.
Yes
Speaker terms
The term of the Speaker is different from the term of the house The term of the Speaker may be different from the term of the House (legislature).
No
Speaker's term The term may be shorter than one year.
1 Année
Fixed election date for the Speaker, if any Speakers in several parliaments are elected on a fixed date in accordance with the Constitution.
1 May

Immunity and code of conduct

Parliament’s authorization is required for the detention or prosecution of members
Yes, except for flagrant delicto
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Notes
the legislative assembly may vote to release the detained mp.

Salaries and allowances

Basic salary
48,008,577 (2020)
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Basic allowances
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Names of the basic allowances
Representation Allowance
Attendance allowance Amount of the attendance allowance in national currency.
2,956,599
Periodicity of attendance allowance Attendance allowances may for example be paid by day, month, year or session.
Month
Members pay income tax on salaries Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
Yes
Members pay income tax on allowances Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
Yes
Members can have remunerated employment outside parliament Certain parliaments allow MPs to exercise other remunerated employment outside parliament.
Yes
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Members are required to declare income from other employment to parliament In certain countries, MPs exercising other employment may be required to declare their income.
Yes
Facilities, services and allowances for constituency work
Personal staff to work directly for the parliamentarian The personal staff to work directly for the parliamentarian is different from parliamentary staff work for the secretariat of Parliament.
Yes
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Office at parliament
Yes
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Constituency office Certain countries provide for an office at constituency if it’s different from a seat of parliament, which is often in the capital. The office at constituency is applicable mainly to the countries using the Plurality/Majority system of elections.
No
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Housing
No
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Other cash or in-kind allowances for constituency work The common in-kind allowances for constituency work include those for travel, overnight stay, etc.
No
Additional salaries and allowances for leadership positions
List of salaries and allowances for leadership positions
Salary Allowances
Speaker yes
Committee Chair yes
Parliament determines the amount of salaries Some parliaments determine the amount of salaries of MPs. The amount may be set by other institution than parliament.
Yes
Name of the body (or bodies) in parliament which determines the amount
Plenary (through Law 7352 on the remuneration of the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica).
Parliament determines the amount of allowances Some parliaments determine the amount of allowances of MPs. The amount may be set by other institution than parliament.
Yes
Name of the body (or bodies) in parliament which determines the amount
Plenary
The parliamentary salary is determined in reference to another salary scale In some countries, the amount of parliamentary salary is determined in reference to another salary scale, such as civil service salary scale, ministerial salary or the minimum wage of the country.
No
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The data valid for the year
2020
Information on salaries and allowances on the parliamentary website Certain parliaments publish the information on MPs’ salaries and allowances on parliamentary website. The amount of information may vary from one parliament to the other.
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/opendata/SitePages/SalariosDiputados.aspx
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/opendata/SitePages/GastosXViajes.aspx
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/opendata/SitePages/UsoVehiculos.aspx
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/opendata/SitePages/ServiciosComunicacion.aspx
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/Diputados/SitePages/Inicio.aspx
Amount of allowances received by each member
Yes

Participation in the government

Members of the government must also be members of parliament Members of the government must also be members of parliament: Must be a member of parliament; Cannot be a member of parliament; Can be a member of parliament; Other
Cannot be a member of parliament
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