Costa Rica
Legislative Assembly
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Presidential system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Unicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
Parliamentary mandate
Start and end of mandate
- Start of the parliamentary mandate for newly elected members
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At the first sitting of the chamber
Notes: 1st May
- Start of the parliamentary mandate for appointed members
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Not applicable
- End of the parliamentary mandate
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At a fixed date
Notes: 30th April in the final year of the parliamentary term
Speaker
- Mode of designation of the Speaker
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The Speaker is elected from among the members of parliament/chamber
- Authority that designates the Speaker when the Speaker is designated from outside parliament.
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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.
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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.
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No
Notes: Only when a Vice President of the Republic is unable to take over shall the President of the Legislative Assembly fill the vacancy.
Sources: Constitution, art. 135
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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.
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Yes
Notes: Yes, in case of re-election.
Speaker terms
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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).
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Yes
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Speaker's term
The term may be shorter than one year.
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1 Years
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Fixed election date for the Speaker, if any
Speakers in several parliaments are elected on a fixed date in accordance with the Constitution.
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1 May
Immunity and code of conduct
- Parliament’s authorization is required for the detention or prosecution of members
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Yes, except for flagrant delicto
Notes: Members apprehended in flagrante delicto are placed at the order of the Supreme Court of Justice and the President of the Court must immediately inform the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly may vote to release the detained MP, without prejudice to the Public Prosecutor's Office to conduct an initial investigation. Or, for the MP to continue to be held, in which case, the Public Prosecutor's Office must formulate an indictment within twenty-four hours, or release the MP.
Sources: Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 393
- There is a Code of conduct for members
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No
Salaries and allowances
- Members are paid salaries by parliament
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Yes(2020)
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Basic salary, per year
The figures are the gross amount before tax in national currency.
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48,008,580 CRC(2023)
Notes:
Gross monthly remuneration for each Deputy:
Per diems: 2,956,598.55 colones
Representation expenses: 1,044,116.20 colones
Gross monthly remuneration: 4,000,714.75 colones per deputy.
Data corresponds to the parliamentary calendar (e.g. May 2022 to April 2023)
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Basic salary, per year in PPP
The figures are provided by parliaments in national currency and converted to PPP dollars using World Bank conversion tables.
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140,081(2023)
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Basic allowances
“Basic allowances” are allowances that are automatically paid to all parliamentarians. They are received in advance as a lump sum at a flat rate. They are not intended to be reimbursement for any expenses. Basic allowances are sometimes called “representation allowance”, “supplemental allowance”, “end-of-year allowance”, etc.
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12,529,394 CRC
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Basic allowance in PPP
The figures were provided by parliaments in national currency and converted to PPP dollars using World Bank conversion tables.
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36,559
- Names of the basic allowances
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Representation Allowance
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Attendance allowance
Amount of the attendance allowance in national currency.
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2,956,599 CRC
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Attendance allowance in PPP
The figures were provided by parliaments in national currency and converted to PPP dollars using World Bank conversion tables.
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8,627
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Periodicity of attendance allowance
Attendance allowances may for example be paid by day, month, year or session.
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Month
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Members pay income tax on salaries
Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
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Yes
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Members pay income tax on allowances
Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
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Yes
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Members can have remunerated employment outside parliament
Certain parliaments allow MPs to exercise other remunerated employment outside parliament.
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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.
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Yes
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Additional salaries and allowances provided for leadership positions
The amount of salaries and allowances is generally higher for the Speaker/President. Some parliaments also provide for additional allowances to Chairs of Committees.
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Yes
Facilities, services and allowances for constituency work
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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.
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Yes
- Office at parliament
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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.
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No
- Housing
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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.
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No
Notes:
Communication Services (Cellular, Office and postal mail - maximum of CRC 1,932,000.00 per legislature)
Fuel: 500 liters per month of super gasoline.
Additional salaries and allowances for leadership positions
| Salary | Allowances | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Yes | |
| Committee Chair | Yes |
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Salary of the Speaker
Some parliaments pay for additional salaries to the Speaker/President. Other parliaments have a separate amount of salaries for this post. The total amount of the salaries of the Speaker/President is indicated for both cases.
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No information available
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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.
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Yes
- Name of the body (or bodies) in parliament which determines the amount
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Plenary (through Law 7352 on the remuneration of the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica).
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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.
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Yes
- Name of the body (or bodies) in parliament which determines the amount
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Plenary
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Name of the institution outside parliament which determines the amount
This question is only relevant if the amount is set by other institution than parliament.
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No information available
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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.
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No
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Reference scale used for parliamentary salaries
Reference scale used for parliamentary salaries: Civil service salary scale; Ministerial salary; Minimum wage; Other (please specify)
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No information available
- Information on salaries and allowances on the parliamentary website
- Links to information on salaries and allowances
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No information available
- Year data was last reported
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2020
Participation in the government
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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
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Cannot be a member of parliament
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Members for whom data is available
Number of members, at the start of the legislature, for whom age data is available
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57(2022)