International Team Project: Costa Rica Research Checklist

Introduction

This is a selective list of resources prepared for International Team Project Costa Rica at Northwestern University School of Law in the Spring 2010 semester by Irene Berkey (i-berkey@law.northwestern.edu) , Foreign and International Law Librarian.

Note: The law library does not collect materials for Latin American countries in Spanish. Some regional organization material is collected in Spanish.

General Country Information

• General Resources by Country or Region (history, geography, government, economy, business conditions, etc.) Find detailed information on Costa Rica in these multi-country resources.
• BBC News Country Profile – Costa Rica

Laws and Legal System of Costa Rica

Civil law legal systems in general

• "Civil Law" article in Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia, vol. 1, pages 304-307
  I, REF K 48 .L44 2002
• Apple, James G. and Robert P. Deyling, A Primer on the Civil-Law System (Federal Judicial Center, 1995).
• University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, World Legal Systems world map showing legal traditions followed by each country.

Introductions/legal research guides/Links to laws (some in English)

• "Costa Rica" article in Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia, vol. I, pages 365-370
  I,REF K 48 .L44 2002
• A Guide to Legal Research in Costa Rica By Roger A. Petersen (GlobaLex 2007)
• Petersen, Roger A. The Legal Guide to Costa Rica (5th ed., 2009)
  N,LCO KGB 328 .P48 2009
• Costaricalaw.com Information in English on Costa Rican law. Registered users have access to additional content.
• “Costa Rica” in Reynolds and Flores, Foreign Law Guide . Includes background on the legal system and legal publications, as well as citations to laws on particular topics and English language translations.
• Costa Rica Law Digest, in Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest. Digest of various areas of substantive law. Available on LexisNexis (INTDIG file)
• Guide to Law Online – Costa Rica Law Library of Congress
• GLIN: Global Legal Information Network Law Library of Congress. Searchable abstracts of laws, decrees, and regulations, some in English.
• Costa Rica links from WorldLII World Legal Information Institute

Sources for texts of laws in Spanish

• Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (SCIJ) Legislation, including major codes, and jurisprudence
• Procuradoría General de la República
• Asamblea legislativa: Leyes de Costa Rica Laws and decrees can be searched by number.

Constitution and Constitutional Court

• Constitución Politica de la República de Costa Rica Sala Constitutional, Corte Suprema de Justicia
• The Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica,1949 (as amended to 2003) is available in Constitutions of the Countries of the World (search for Costa Rica in "Location" box.) This resource also includes a detailed Introductory Note, a Select Bibliography, and various historical materials. Also available in print I,MON K 3157 .A2B58 1971 vol
• Sala Constitucional, Corte Suprema de Justicia Constitutional court (4 th chamber of the Supreme Court).

Finding Books:

• Finding Books at Northwestern University ( NUcat Searching Tips )
• Finding Books at Other Libraries ( WorldCat )

Finding Articles:

• Hints: Many subject areas are relevant-- not just law. | Use indexes to identify relevant articles. | " Advanced search" often easier than "basic search." | Find relevant citation, then click on " subject headings" or " descriptors" to find more. | " Find it at NU" button often leads to electronic full text. | NUcat " journal title" search leads to print and/or electronic full text.
• Find Legal Articles (mostly from U.S. and Anglo-American journals, including foreign and international law topics)
• Finding Articles and Papers on Foreign and Comparative Law (for articles on law of countries other than the U.S. and comparative law methodology, from journals published both in the U.S. and abroad)
• Finding Articles and Papers on International Law (for public and private international law)
• Find Non-Law Articles (for subjects in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences)

Finding Dissertations

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text Entries for doctoral dissertations and master's theses, many of which are available for immediate free download. Can search by school, e.g., Northwestern.

Finding Statistics

• Worldwide Statistical Resources Pritzker Legal Research Center
• *Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos de Costa Rica

News: General, Legal, and Business

Note that both Lexis and Westlaw allow you to create and save a search, to be run on a periodic basis, such as daily or weekly. For links to tutorials, see the Research Alerts page of the library’s web site. Always check scope notes (click on information icon) for dates of coverage. Not all publications are current.

Many organizations make it possible to monitor news by means of an RSS/XML (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed. For information of setting up RSS feeds, see the Research Alerts: RSS Feeds section of the library’s web site.

• LexisNexis
• News & Business tab > Country & Region (excluding U.S.) > Americas (excluding U.S.) > News
• Westlaw
• Westlaw International tab > International/Worldwide Materials > Central American and the Caribbean > Regional Materials > Business & News
• International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National Materials > News and Business
• Costa Rica Dailies from Europa World Online  

International Business Resources

• See our web site’s International Trade, Business, and Economic Law page.
• GlobalEDGE ™ Resource Desk . Michigan State University.

Selected Regional Organizations of Which Costa Rica Is a Member

• Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
• Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA)
• Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL)
• Sistema Económico Latinoamericano (SELA) Latin American Economic System (LAES)
• Organization of American States (OAS) Organización de los Estados Americanos. “
• Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
• Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE)
• Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
• Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL)

Additional Resources for Selected Topics

Environment and Agriculture

• Pollution Abstracts Index to articles on environmental matters.
• Agricola Index to articles on agriculture.
• ECOLEX datatase FAO, IUCN, and UNEP. Can be searched for environmental laws and treaties of Costa Rica.
• FAOLEX database Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Can be searched for agricultural laws and treaties of Costa Rica.
• FAO Country Profile – Costa Rica
• Costa Rica country page United States Dept. of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service
• Costa Rica: Forest Strategies and Land Use World Bank Independent Evaluation Group
• Environmental Hub for Central America and the Caribbean U.S. Dept. of State, located at U. S. Embassy, San Jose, Costa Rica.

Finance and Free Trade

• U.S. – Costa Rica Trade Facts Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) OAS Foreign Trade Information System (SICE) Note: the OAS is the depositary for this treaty.
• CAFTA-DR final text Office of the United States Trade Representative
• International Trade Centre – Costa Rica Trade statistics