View source for Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica

{{Short description|Unicameral legislature of Costa Rica}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox Parliament
| background_color  = #4169E1
| name              = Legislative Assembly
| coa_pic           = Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (emblema).svg
| coa_res           = 200px
| native_name       = Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica
| legislature       = 
| house_type        = Unicameral
| preceded_by       = [[Constitutional Congress of Costa Rica|Constitutional Congress]]
| new_session       = 
| leader1_type      = [[List of Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica|President]]
|established=8 November 1949| leader1           = [[Rodrigo Arias Sánchez]]
| election1         = 1 May 2022
| party1            = [[National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)|PLN]]
| leader2_type      = Vice President 
| leader2           = Vanessa de Paul Castro Mora
| election2         = 1 May 2025
| party2            = [[Social Christian Unity Party|PUSC]]
| leader3_type      = First Secretary
| leader3           = Carlos Felipe García Molina
| election3         = 1 May 2024
| party3            = [[Social Christian Unity Party|PUSC]]
| leader4_type      = Second Secretary
| leader4           = Gloria Navas Montero
| election4         = 1 May 2025
| party4            = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| members           = '''57'''
| structure1        = Composición de la Asambela Legislativa el 11-04-2025.png
| political_groups1 =  
'''Government (8)'''
* {{Color box|#39d430|border=silver}} [[Social Democratic Progress Party|PPSD]] (8)
'''Opposition (49)'''
* {{Color box|#39d430|border=silver}} [[Social Democratic Progress Party|PPSD]] (1) <ref>{{cite news |last1=Mora |first1=Andrea |title= Luz Mary Alpízar rechaza dejar el PPSD; Chaves la acusa de aliarse "con extremistas" |url= https://delfino.cr/2023/03/luz-mary-alpizar-rechaza-dejar-el-ppsd-chaves-la-acusa-de-aliarse-con-extremistas |access-date=4 June 2024 |agency=Delfino |date=15 March 2023}}</ref>
* {{Color box|#008024|border=silver}} [[National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)|PLN]] (18)
* {{Color box|#104b90|border=silver}} [[Social Christian Unity Party|PUSC]] (9)
* {{Color box|#6495ed|border=silver}} [[New Republic Party (Costa Rica)|PNR]] (6)
* {{Color box|#ffee59|border=silver}} [[Broad Front (Costa Rica)|FA]] (6)
* {{Color box|#fd6804|border=silver}} [[Liberal Progressive Party (Costa Rica, 2016)|PLP]] (2)
* {{Color box|lightgrey|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independents]] (7)
| committees1      = {{Collapsible list |title=6 ordinary standing |Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee |Economical Affairs Committee  |Government and Administration Committee  |Budget Affairs Committee  |Judicial Affairs Committee  |Social Affairs Committee}}{{Collapsible list |title=14 special standing |Honors  Committee |Municipal Affairs and Local Participatory Development Committee  |Law Drafting Committee  |International Relations and Foreign Trade Committee  |Constitutionality Consultations Committee  |Income and Public Spending Committee  |Security and Drug Trafficking Committee  |Women's Affairs Committee  |Youth, Childhood and Teenagers Committee  |Appointments Committee  |Environment Committee  |Tourism Committee  |Human Rights Committee  |Science, Technology and Education Committee}}
| first_election1 = [[1949 Costa Rican general election|4 October 1949]]
| last_election1  = [[2022 Costa Rican general election|6 February 2022]]
| next_election1  = [[2026 Costa Rican general election|1 February 2026]]
| voting_system1  = [[Party-list proportional representation]]<br />Modified [[Hare quota]]<br />[[Closed list]]
| session_room    = Nuevo Plenario Legislativo.jpg
| session_res     = 270px
| session_alt     = Session room since 2020
| meeting_place   = Session room of the {{lang|es|Asamblea Legislativa}} building
| website         = http://www.asamblea.go.cr/
}}
{{Politics of Costa Rica}}
The '''Legislative Assembly''' ({{langx|es|Asamblea Legislativa}}) forms the [[unicameralism|unicameral]] [[legislature|legislative branch]] of the [[Politics of Costa Rica|Costa Rican government]]. The national congress building is located in the capital city, [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]], specifically in the [[Carmen (district)|Carmen district]].

The Legislative Assembly is composed of 57 [[Chamber of Deputies|deputies]] ({{langx|es|diputados|links=no}}), who are elected by [[universal suffrage|direct, universal, popular vote]] on a [[closed party list]], [[proportional representation]] basis, by [[Provinces of Costa Rica|province]], for four-year terms. A 1949 constitutional amendment prevents deputies from serving for two successive terms, though a deputy may run for an Assembly seat again after sitting out a term. {{As of|2019|03}}, a proposal to switch to [[mixed-member proportional representation]] based on the [[Electoral system of Germany|German system]] is under discussion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carmona |first1=Fiorella |title=Congreso se acerca al cambio en sistema de elección de diputados |url=https://www.pulsocr.com/congreso-se-acerca-al-cambio-en-sistema-de-eleccion-de-diputados/ |access-date=28 March 2019 |agency=Revista Pulso |date=29 March 2019}}</ref>

==Parliamentary factions==
The [[parliamentary faction]]s in Costa Rica correspond to the representation of the political parties according to the electoral results obtained for each period:

{{blockquote|text=In the Legislative Assembly there will be as many factions as political parties are represented in it. The deputies will be considered integrated to the Faction of the party for which they were elected and none may belong to more than one faction.|title=Regulations of the Legislative Assembly, Chapter II, Disciplinary Regime, Article 7bis, Parliamentary Factions.<ref name="regAL">{{cite web|title=Reglamento de la Asamblea Legislativa|url=http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?nValor1=1&nValor2=46479|language=es}}</ref>}}

Accordingly, the Electoral Code assigns to the political parties the exclusive legitimacy to nominate candidates for deputies, as stipulated in article 74.<ref name="códigoelectoral">{{cite web|title=Código Electoral Nº 8765|url=http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?param2=NRTC&nValor1=1&nValor2=66148|date=2 September 2009|language=es}}</ref>

==Deputies==
The [[Deputy (legislator)|deputies]] are elected by [[Provinces of Costa Rica|province]]. The Assembly is made up of fifty-seven deputies, all {{Clarify span|proprietors.|date=April 2025}} Each time a [[National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica|general population census]] is carried out, the [[Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica]] reassigns the number of deputies allocated to each province, in proportion to the population of each one of them.<ref name=cpol-a>Constitución Política, artículo 106.</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Irene|last1=Vizcaíno |title=TSE reconoce desproporción en repartición de diputaciones |url=http://www.nacion.com/2010-03-08/ElPais/NotaPrincipal/ElPais2292881.aspx |work=La Nación.com |date=7 March 2010|access-date=28 July 2010|language=es}}</ref>

===Requirements===
Deputies are elected for four years in office and cannot be successively reelected.<ref>[[Constitution of Costa Rica|Political Constitution of Costa Rica]], article 107.</ref> There are only three requirements to qualify for the position:<ref>[[Constitution of Costa Rica|Political Constitution of Costa Rica]], article 108.</ref>

# Be a [[citizen]];
# To be Costa Rican by birth, or by [[naturalization]] with ten years of residence in the country after having obtained nationality;
# Be at least twenty one years old.

===Impediments===
Cannot be elected deputies, nor registered as candidates for that function:

# The President of the Republic or whoever replaces him in the exercise of the Presidency at the time of the election;
# The Government [[Minister (government)|Ministers]];
# The proprietary [[Magistrate]]s of the [[Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica|Supreme Court of Justice]];
# The proprietary and alternate Magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and the director of the Civil Registry;
# The [[Military personnel|military]] on active duty;{{ref|abolished}}
# Those who exercise jurisdiction, civil or police authority, extend to a province;
# The managers of the autonomous institutions;
# The relatives of the person who exercises the Presidency of the Republic, up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, inclusive.

These incompatibilities affect those who hold the indicated positions within the six months prior to the date of the election. For that reason, when an administration is about to end, it is usual that there are several resignations of the people who occupy these positions and try to aspire to a deputy seat.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Álvaro|last1=Murillo |title=Arias despide conmovido a tres ministros aspirantes a curul |url=http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/agosto/06/pais2049862.html |work=La Nación.com |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=4 July 2010|language=es}}</ref>

Deputies cannot accept, after being sworn in, under penalty of losing their credentials, any position or employment in the other Powers of the State or autonomous institutions, except in the case of a Ministry of Government. In this case, they will rejoin the National Assembly when they cease to function. The legislative function is also incompatible with the exercise of any other public office of popular election. The deputies may not enter into, directly or indirectly, or by representation, any contract with the State, nor obtain a [[Concession (contract)|concession]] of public goods that implies privilege, nor intervene as directors, administrators or managers in companies that contract with the State, works, supplies or exploitation of [[public services]].

===Parliamentary immunity===
{{See also|Parliamentary immunity}}

The deputies are not responsible for the opinions that they issue in the Legislative Plenary. During the sessions, they cannot be [[arrest]]ed for civil reasons, unless authorized by the Legislative Assembly itself or if the deputy consents to it. From the time they are declared proprietor or alternate deputies, until they end their legal term, they may not be deprived of their liberty for criminal reasons, except when they have previously been suspended by the Legislative Assembly. This parliamentary immunity does not take effect in the case of flagrant crime, or when the deputy renounces it. However, the deputies who have been arrested {{lang|la|[[in flagrante delicto]]}}, will be released if the Legislative Assembly orders it. It is similar to the so-called [[parliamentary privilege]] of the [[Westminster system]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].

===Independent deputies===
It is possible for a deputy elected by a political party, to separate from the parliamentary faction of that party and act as an independent deputy, however the deputies who avail themselves to this allowance cannot join another legislative faction, only the one for which they were elected, as contemplated in the Regulations of the Legislative Assembly. It is not possible, according to current legislation, for a citizen to directly run for the position of an independent deputy without the representation of a political party.<ref name="regAL"/><ref name="contecAL">{{cite web|title=Consulta 104-2012 J*|work=Departamento de Servicios Técnicos de la Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica|url=http://www.asamblea.go.cr/sd/Reglamento_Asamblea/RAL%202014/Servicios%20Tecnicos/CON-104-2012%20J.pdf|language=es}}</ref>

Becoming an independent deputy is protected by virtue of Article 25 of the [[Constitution of Costa Rica]], which states that all citizens have [[freedom of association]] and thus cannot be forced to remain in a specific political party and can join any other political group.

{{blockquote|text=The inhabitants of the Republic have the right to associate for lawful purposes. No one may be forced to be part of any association.|title=Article 25 of the [[Constitution of Costa Rica]]}}

However, as the [[Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica]] has repeatedly observed,<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución N.º 3441-E5-2008|work=Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica|date=3 October 2008|url=https://www.tse.go.cr/juris/electorales/3441-E5-2008.HTM|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución N.º 2682-E-2007|work=Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica|date=2 October 2007|url=https://www.tse.go.cr/juris/electorales/2682-E-2007.htm|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº 1847-E-2003|date=20 August 2003|url=https://www.tse.go.cr/juris/electorales/1847-E-2003.HTM|work=Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº 0571-E-2005.|url=https://tse.go.cr/juris/electorales/0571-E-2005.HTM|date=11 March 2005|work=Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº 2395-E1-2008.|url=https://tse.go.cr/juris/electorales/2395-E1-2008.HTM|date=14 July 2008|work=Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref> since deputies are popularly elected, their nomination must be made through a political party, due to the framework of the current legal system, in which the political parties have a monopoly on the nomination of candidates for deputies according to the Electoral Code.<ref name="códigoelectoral"/>

Therefore, independent deputies cannot act on behalf of another party for which they were not elected within the legislative board, only independently, nor are they considered a faction, or a ''bloc'', a word that does not exist within the Regulations of the Legislative Assembly. Other activities that belong to the legislative factions or faction leaders are not allowed either, such as including bills on the deliberations.

Several independent deputies through history have asked the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice to be recognized as the head of a parliamentary faction or to have the financial resources of a faction, in contradiction with the regulations. The court has stated:<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº2003-02865|date=9 April 2003|work=Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Costa Rica|url=https://nexuspj.poder-judicial.go.cr/document/sen-1-0007-240427|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº 2009-14024|date=1 September 2009|work=Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Costa Rica|url=http://www.asamblea.go.cr/sd/Reglamento_Asamblea/RAL%202014/Resoluciones%20Sala/14024-09.pdf|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resolución Nº 2009017390|date=17 November 2009|work=Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Costa Rica|url=https://vlex.co.cr/vid/-499435030|language=es}}</ref>

{{blockquote|text=Indeed, it is not possible under any circumstances, to claim that any deputy who separates from the Faction to which he belongs, is declared as a new Political Faction, with all the attributions and duties inherent to this condition, both due to the existence of a regulatory provision that defines and restricts the concept of "Parliamentary Faction", as well as a basic aspect of common sense, which seeks to establish the necessary limits to achieve the ideal organizational mechanisms that allow, in turn, an effective and efficient development of the legislative tasks.|title=Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, Resolution 2009000849, Results #2, Page 1.<ref name="SalaIV2009000849">{{cite web|title=Resolución 2009000849|url=http://www.asamblea.go.cr/sd/Reglamento_Asamblea/RAL%202014/Resoluciones%20Sala/849-09.pdf|work=Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia|date=23 January 2009|language=es}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|text=The eventual subsequent separation of a deputy from the political party for which he was elected does not mean that the deputy loses his status as such, being that at all times he maintains the powers, rights and duties inherent to his position; But the foregoing does not imply that his separation empowers him to acquire, ex officio and full right, the competences that are typical of a figure expressly provided in the Regulations, with particular duties and rights and intended to be the representative of a group of deputies elected under the same political flag.|title=Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, Resolution 2009000849, Results #2, Page 2.<ref name="SalaIV2009000849"/>}}

Thus, there is no regulatory possibility of forming a faction not linked to the representation of a political party that has elected at least one representative by means of suffrage, understood in accordance with article 93 of the Constitution.<ref name="contecAL"/>

In the 2018–2022 legislative period several deputies elected through the [[National Restoration Party (Costa Rica)|National Restoration Party]] and the [[National Integration Party (Costa Rica)|National Integration Party]] declared themselves independent and then gave their personal adhesion as a [[Political bloc|bloc]] or individually to parties that were not elected. This, in accordance with the regulations, constitutes a personal affiliation, and it does not imply in any way that the parties they later affiliated to have legal representation as a parliamentary faction, so they are recognized as independent within the directory of deputies of the Legislative Assembly.<ref name="historicodiputados">{{cite web |title=Histórico de diputadas y diputados por fracción |url=http://www.asamblea.go.cr/Centro_de_informacion/Consultas_SIL/Pginas/Hist%C3%B3rico%20de%20diputadas%20y%20diputados%20por%20fracci%C3%B3n.aspx |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Oficio AL-DALE-PRO-0359-2018|date=5 November 2018|journal=Departamento de Asesoría Legal de la Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Oficio AL-DALE-PRO-0060-2019|date=19 March 2019|journal=Departamento de Asesoría Legal de la Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica|language=es}}</ref>

===Debate about the number and election of deputies===
The Legislative Assembly is a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] body of 57 deputies whose number is constitutionally fixed and whose deputies are elected on closed lists nominated by the political parties according to a [[Proportional representation|proportional system]]. Different experts have recommended the increase in the number of deputies as an urgent need to improve representation, but this proposal is highly unpopular among the population and generates rejection reactions.<ref name=gonza>{{cite web|last1=González|first1=Diego|title=¿Por qué Costa Rica necesita 143 diputados?|language=es|url=http://contexto.cr/opinion/2017/03/23/costa-rica-necesita-143-diputados/|work=Contexto CR|date=23 March 2017 |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref>

A report by the [[United Nations Development Programme]] and the Center for Research and Political Studies of the [[University of Costa Rica]] recommended increasing the number of legislators to 82.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Redacción|title=ONU recomienda aumentar a 82 la cantidad de diputados|url=https://amprensa.com/2017/07/onu-recomienda-aumentar-a-82-la-cantidad-de-diputados/|access-date=21 December 2018|work=AM Prensa|date=11 July 2017|language=es}}</ref>

The [[Northwestern University]], which made recommendations for more than 100 countries, recommended that the assembly have 115 deputies according to their population (in 1999),<ref name=marielos>{{cite news|last1=Gutiérrez|first1=Marielos|title=Proponen aumentar cantidad de diputados y reducir número de asesores|url=https://archivo.crhoy.com/proponen-aumentar-cantidad-de-diputados-y-reducir-numero-de-asesores/nacionales/|access-date=21 December 2018|work=CRHoy|date=1 May 2015|language=es}}</ref>

The Board of Notables for State Reform ({{langx|es|Junta de Notables para la Reforma del Estado|links=no}}) called by President [[Laura Chinchilla]] during her administration recommended increasing the number of deputies to between 75 and 85.<ref name=marielos/>  The {{lang|es|Poder Ciudadano Ya}} movement on the other hand proposed to increase it to 84 and drastically reduce the number of legislative advisers (currently 12) to avoid a very large increase in salaries.<ref name=poder>{{cite news|last1=Ramírez|first1=Alexander|title=Grupo propone aumentar a 84 el número de diputados|url=https://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/grupo-propone-aumentar-a-84-el-numero-de-diputados/|access-date=21 December 2018|work=CRHoy|date=25 October 2016|language=es}}</ref>

A proposal to use the [[Electoral system of Germany|German system]] for the election of deputies by lawyer Diego González suggests increasing the number to 143, making use of an electoral system in which the country would be divided into 72 electoral circuits of 59,700 inhabitants. Deputies would be elected on two lists, 72 elected by a single-member constituency where a deputy is directly elected for each district, and 71 elected by a proportional constituency where they would be distributed proportionally according to the votes received per party.<ref>{{cite book |last1=González Fernández |first1=Diego |title=Aplicación del Modelo Alemán a la Elección de Diputados en Costa Rica |date=2017 |publisher=Instituto de Formación y Estudios en Democracia (IFED) - Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones |location=San José, Costa Rica |isbn=978-9930-521-11-3 |url=https://www.tse.go.cr/pdf/publicaciones/aplicacion-modelo-aleman-eleccion-diputados-CR.pdf |access-date=1 May 2021 |language=es}}</ref>

Most of these proposals also include the change to the [[direct election]] of deputies and not by closed lists as it is currently.

==Composition==
The number of seats by province for the 2018–2022 period is: 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Seat allocation
!Province
!Number of seats
!Population<br>{{small|(as of [[Costa Rica 2023 Census|2023 census]])}}
|-
|{{flagicon|San José Province}} [[San José Province|San José]]
|19
|{{formatnum:1404242}}
|-
|{{flag|Alajuela}}
|11
|{{formatnum:848146}}
|-
|{{flagicon|Cartago Province}} [[Cartago Province|Cartago]]
|7
|{{formatnum:490903}}
|-
|{{flag|Heredia}}
|6
|{{formatnum:433677}}
|-
|{{flag|Guanacaste}}
|4
|{{formatnum:326953}}
|-
|{{flag|Puntarenas}}
|5
|{{formatnum:410929}}
|-
|{{flag|Limón}}
|5
|{{formatnum:386862}}
|}

==Directorate==
Following the [[Costa Rican general election, 2022|2022 legislative election]], the President of the Legislative Assembly was elected in the person of former [[Minister of the Presidency of Costa Rica|presidency minister]] [[Rodrigo Arias Sánchez]] of the [[National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)|National Liberation Party]] with the support of all deputies except those of the [[Broad Front (Costa Rica)|Broad Front]].

==Parliamentary factions in Legislative Assembly, 2022–2026==
{| border="1" class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! colspan="7"|Parliamentary factions 2018–2022 [[File:Composición de la Asambela Legislativa el 11-04-2025.png|center|frameless|300x300px]]
|-
! colspan="2" scope="col" | Name (English)
! scope="col" | Name (Spanish)
! scope="col" | Abbrev.
! scope="col" | Seats 
! scope="col" | Percentage of Assembly
! scope="col" | Party flag
|- 
! style="background:#008024" |
| [[National Liberation Party (Costa Rica)|National Liberation Party]]
| Partido Liberación Nacional
| PLN
| 19
| 33.33%
|[[File:Bandera de Partido Liberación Nacional.svg|center|50px]]
|- 
! style="background:#39d430" |
| [[Social Democratic Progress Party]]
| Partido Progreso Social Democrático
| PPSD
| 9
| 15.79%
|[[File:Bandera Partido Progreso Social Democrático Costa Rica.svg|center|50px]]
|- 
! style="background:{{party color|Social Christian Unity Party}}" |
| [[Social Christian Unity Party]]
| Partido Unidad Social Cristiana
| PUSC
| 9
| 15.79%
|[[File:Bandera del Partido Unidad Social Cristiana.svg|center|50px]]
|- 
! style="background:#6495ed" |
| [[New Republic Party (Costa Rica)|New Republic Party]]
| Partido Nueva República
| PNR
| 6
| 10.54%
|[[File:Bandera Partido Nueva República Costa Rica.svg|center|50px]]
|- 
! style="background:#ffee59" |
| [[Broad Front (Costa Rica)|Broad Front]]
| Frente Amplio
| FA
| 6
| 10.54%
|[[File:Bandera Partido Frente Amplio Costa Rica.svg|center|50px]]
|- 
! style="background:#ff7300" |
| [[Liberal Progressive Party (Costa Rica, 2016)|Liberal Progressive Party]]
| Partido Liberal Progresista
| PLP
| 3
| 5.26%
|[[File:Bandera Partido Liberal Progresista Costa Rica.svg|center|50px]]
|-
!
|''Independents''
|''Independientes''
|
|5
|1.75% each
|
|}

==Premises==
[[File:Asamblea Legislativa Costa Rica cropped.jpg|thumb|Legislative Assembly Building]]
In October 2020 the new {{lang|es|Asamblea Legislativa}} building was inaugurated for sessions of the legislative body.  Its construction started on 7 March 2018, and has eighteen floors. It is located in the [[Carmen (district)|Carmen district]] of [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ramírez |first1=Alexánder |title=Así está quedando el nuevo edificio del Congreso |url=https://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/asi-esta-quedando-el-nuevo-edificio-del-congreso/ |access-date=31 January 2021 |work=crhoy.com |date=17 February 2020 |language=es}}</ref>

The Assembly used to meet in the Central Building ({{lang|es|Edificio Central}}) located immediately east of the current building. Work began on that building in 1937, with the plan of having it serve as the new presidential palace. However, since much of the building materials were imported from [[Germany]] and [[Czechoslovakia]], the onset of the [[Second World War]] put a halt to the project. Work did not restart until 1957, but by 1958 the legislature was installed and operating in its new premises.

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Costa Rican legislature}}
The foundations of the Legislative Assembly date back to the establishment of various courts and congresses in [[New Spain]].<ref name=cloti-a>{{cite book |author = Clotilde Obregón Quesada Clotilde |title=Las Constituciones de Costa Rica. Tomo I. |year=2007 |publisher=Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica |location=San José, Costa Rica |isbn=978-9968-936-91-0 }}</ref> The modern assembly was created in the aftermath of the [[Costa Rican Civil War]] that deposed [[Teodoro Picado Michalski]] in 1948. [[José Figueres Ferrer]] headed a ruling junta that oversaw the [[1948 Costa Rican Constituent Assembly election|election of a Constituent Assembly]]. Between 1948 and 1949, this Constituent Assembly created the Constitution of Costa Rica which lays forth the rules governing the assembly today.<ref name="DN">{{cite book| author = Dieter Nohlen| title = Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1: North America, Central America, and the Caribbean| date = 2005-04-14| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-928357-6 }}</ref>

During each four-year legislative session, various political parties have occupied majority, minority, and coalition [[caucuses]] in the assembly.

==Central American Parliament==
Costa Rica is the only Spanish-speaking [[Central America]]n country not to send deputies to the supranational [[Central American Parliament]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Costa Rica|Politics}}
*[[List of presidents of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica]]
*[[Politics of Costa Rica]]
*[[List of legislatures by country]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
:{{note|abolished}} Normative based on the Constitution of 1871, basis of the current [[Constitution of Costa Rica]] since 1949, in which article 12 states that the army is permanently abolished.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.asamblea.go.cr/ Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica]

{{Institutions of Costa Rica}}
{{Costa Rica topics}}
{{Legislatures of the Americas}}
{{National unicameral legislatures}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord missing|Costa Rica}}

[[Category:Politics of Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Political organizations based in Costa Rica]]
[[Category:National legislatures|Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica|*]]
[[Category:Institutions of Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Unicameral legislatures|Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in San José, Costa Rica]]