The President of Costa Rica accuses the magistrates who extend appointments in the Constitutional Chamber of being “coup plotters”

San José.- The President of Costa Rica, Laura Fernández, accused four magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber this Friday of being “coup plotters” for extending the appointment of the substitutes for that court, after seven months in which the ruling party in Congress has refused to vote on the list of candidates proposed by the Judiciary. “The coup-plotting magistrates have established a regime where they grant themselves powers that neither the Political Constitution nor international instruments have given to the Constitutional Chamber,” expressed President Fernández in a message on social media, whose government has been characterized by constant criticism and confrontations with the Judiciary. The president asserted that “this is nothing more or less than a coup d’état by a sector of the Judiciary against the Legislative Assembly, the only one authorized to appoint and remove magistrates,” stated Fernández. On Thursday, by a vote of four to three, the Constitutional Chamber resolved an amparo appeal filed by a citizen to extend the appointments of its substitute magistrates until Congress votes on the list of candidates submitted since last year. We recommend reading: Congress, dominated by the ruling Sovereign People’s Party (right-wing), has returned the list on three occasions to the Judiciary, requesting a new one without providing further arguments for its refusal to vote. The relevance of substitute magistrates Substitute magistrates are fundamental to the functioning of the Constitutional Chamber, as they are responsible for completing the composition of the court when any of the incumbents are on vacation, incapacitated, or must recuse themselves from a case. Since last December, the Constitutional Chamber, which is responsible for resolving amparo appeals, habeas corpus, unconstitutionality actions, and the protection of human rights, has been operating without substitute judges, which has increased the number of pending cases to be resolved. “We cannot let the Constitutional Chamber’s decision to illegally and unconstitutionally extend the appointment of substitute magistrates whose terms expired on December 16, 2025, go unchallenged,” stated President Fernández this Friday, adding that the court is violating the principle of the separation of powers. The Government labeled magistrates Fernando Cruz, Paul Rueda, Ingrid Hess, and Jorge Araya as “coup plotters” and announced that it will file a complaint for prevarication before the Supreme Court of Justice next Monday. The standoff with the judiciary Opposition leaders such as former First Lady (2018-2022) and congresswoman Claudia Dobles have expressed their support for the Constitutional Chamber and assert that it is Congress that has failed to fulfill its duty to vote for the court’s substitute judges. This is a new episode of the conflicts that the administration of President Fernández (2026-2030) and that of her mentor and predecessor Rodrigo Chaves (2022-2026) have maintained with the Judiciary, which keeps investigations open against numerous members of the Government. Fernández and Chaves, who now serves as Minister of Finance and the Presidency, constantly launch criticisms at the Judiciary and have accused its leadership of being corrupt, and have also announced a 5% cut in the judicial budget for 2027. In 2025, Chaves led a protest to demand the resignation of Attorney General Carlo Díaz, who is investigating him for alleged illegal financing of the 2022 campaign, and for an apparent irregular use of resources from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The Constitutional Chamber also issued several rulings against the Chaves administration, some of them for violations of freedom of the press and expression. La entrada The President of Costa Rica accuses the magistrates who extend appointments in the Constitutional Chamber of being “coup plotters” se publicó primero en De Último Minuto English .