A procedural gap within the Constitutional Chamber — specifically the absence of an alternate justice required to establish a quorum — leaves the body unable to forward a fresh immunity-waiver petition against former President Rodrigo Chaves to the legislature, Chamber Justice Jorge Araya told lawmakers on Friday. On that same day, a committee vote within the governing party went against his bid to serve another term.
During a session of the Legislative Assembly's Appointments Committee, Araya addressed a question posed by Frente Amplio legislator Antonio Trejos concerning the potential for impunity. The absence of an alternate justice, he noted, had left the court unable to forward its second indictment against Chaves to the Assembly — a situation he characterised as one of considerable gravity.
Prosecutors have linked the outstanding legal application to accusations of campaign-finance irregularities during Chaves's 2022 presidential run, specifically the alleged operation of an off-books funding channel. As the current holder of both the Minister of the Presidency and Minister of Finance portfolios, Chaves benefits from parliamentary immunity that can only be waived through an Assembly vote.
Under procedural rules, a full bench is required whenever the Supreme Court convenes in its capacity as a tribunal. After Justice Paul Rueda's recusal request was granted, the bench is required to seat a replacement justice before proceedings on whether to forward the matter can move ahead.
Twelve alternate-justice seats on the Constitutional Chamber have sat vacant since the mandate holders departed in mid-December 2025, when their terms collectively ran out. Seat-filling attempts fell short across two consecutive legislative sessions.
Toward the end of July, a ruling from the Constitutional Chamber sided with the legal challenge brought against the Assembly, directing that body to hold a formal vote on the appointments in question. No vote was taken on the matter, and all 18 names on the candidate list were referred back to the Appointments Committee for further consideration.
Around 150 case files have been left in limbo by the resource gap. Disagreements among committee members — a body under Pueblo Soberano party control — have left the appointments unresolved across several months.
During that same meeting, a 4-3 vote by the committee blocked Araya's appointment to a second full-justice term. Four members of the Pueblo Soberano bloc — Marta Esquivel, Yara Jiménez, Antonio Barzuna, and Gerald Bogantes — cast their ballots in opposition. Among those casting affirmative ballots were Trejos along with PLN legislators Janice Sandí and Salvador Padilla, both affiliated with the National Liberation Party.
Barzuna contended that Araya's tenure had run its course and that the seat ought to open up to fresh candidates, while also raising the view that the justice harboured a partisan orientation favouring the PLN. Araya's prior roles in PLN administrations were among the matters Esquivel brought up.
Araya's reelection drew support from Trejos, who pointed to the judge's commitment to hard work and defence of judicial independence as his reasons — even while noting personal disagreement with a number of Araya's decisions from the bench. Padilla maintained that a history of political activity carries no legal weight and that those raising the matter had yet to put forward any tangible proof of partiality.
A panel decision of this kind remains subject to further review. Retention of a seat on the Supreme Court is guaranteed to sitting justices by Article 158 of the Constitution, provided fewer than 38 of the Assembly's 57 members cast votes against them. With 31 seats on its roster, Pueblo Soberano falls below the required threshold and would need backing from opposition members to clear it.
On two prior occasions, requests connected to Chaves went before lawmakers and were not approved. Toward the end of September, a Supreme Court petition to strip him of immunity — tied to extortion allegations involving a public official in the BCIE-Cariñitos case — was turned down by the Assembly. A request from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to open an inquiry into 15 complaints of alleged political interference was subsequently turned down by the legislature.
Lawmakers would be receiving this petition as the third of its kind put before them in total, and the second to originate from the Supreme Court. In July, the Third Chamber's presiding judge, Patricia Solano, brought the alternate shortage to the court's attention. Solano put her name forward on Sunday as a candidate for the presidency of the Supreme Court.
Pending confirmation that the Assembly has filled its vacant alternate seats, the full court remains unable to take up the question of whether the electoral matter belongs before lawmakers — a procedural gap that keeps the complaint against Chaves in suspension.
