The CAFTA Report
Lawmakers approve final bill again
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The CAFTA Report
Lawmakers approve final bill again
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Lawmakers approve final bill again For The CAFTA Report (Oct. 16, 2008) More than a year after Costa Ricans narrowly approved a free trade treaty with the United States, lawmakers gave first approval for a second time to the last piece of enabling legislation. The favorable vote by 28 lawmakers took place at 6:28 p.m. today, said a legislative source. Now the question is will opponents appeal the measure to the Sala IV constitutional court a second time in an effort to avoid the required second vote of approval. Ottón Solís, leader of the Partido Acción Ciudadana and a likely presidential candidate, said his party would bring the case to the court. Leaders in the executive branch said this is not necessary because the measure already has been before the courts and the court outlined a point that appeared to be unconstitutional. This was changed. The Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones del Sector Empresarial Privado appealed to opponents Thursday that they forgo a short-term political vision because thousands of jobs depend on approval of the treaty. Costa Rica has a deadline of Jan. 1 to approve the measure, which is the last of 13 pieces of legislation that bring the national laws into conformity with the requirements of the treaty. An appeal to the Sala IV could take months. Although the measure is called an intellectual property bill, it actually has three categories. Rights of authors and other forms of copyright protection comprise one. But there also is a reform of a measure that allows patenting of new plant species and a reform to the existing biodiversity law. The Sala IV said that Native groups had the right, under international treaties, to comment on some of these aspects. Lawmakers did not seek their input. Under legislative rules, a proposed law must be approved twice on non-consecutive days. So approval could come next week. But the likelihood is high that an appeal will be made the the Sala IV and that the process will be delayed. All other Central American countries, the United States and the Dominican Republic have brought the treaty into effect. The U.S. must certify that Costa Rica has made the appropriate changes. It was Oct. 7, 2007, when the country voted to approve the treaty. A short time later, President Óscar Arias Sánchez signed the document. But still lacking were those 13 pieces of enabling legislation. One by one they were passed using a rapid process that limited floor debate and prevented filibusters. That process was appeared to the Sala IV, too, but the court found it was legal. |
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