Suspension of Constitutional Guarantees in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This research questions the regulatory regime with which the State of Costa Rica addressed the affectation of rights and guarantees during the Covid-19 Pandemic. For this, the laws and decrees approved as well as the resolutions of the Constitutional Chamber, which conflict with the norms of the American Convention on Human Rights and our domestic law, are analyzed. Due to the above, the hypothesis that was handled in this investigation is to demonstrate the need to apply a mechanism that respects human rights and is consistent with our domestic legal system. Therefore, among the main results, it is highlighted that, in fact, there are possibilities or mechanisms that the Convention itself authorizes and the Political Constitution of Costa Rica establishes for the suspension of constitutional guarantees.