ITCO/IDA/INDER titling history, baldío doctrine, posesión decenal, mejoras, and the refugio nacional de vida silvestre privado regime. Land-tenure questions that block or unblock conservation outcomes.
Historia de titulación ITCO/IDA/INDER, doctrina de baldíos, posesión decenal, mejoras y el régimen de refugios nacionales de vida silvestre privados. Cuestiones de tenencia que habilitan o bloquean resultados de conservación.
442 documents in this topic.
Res. 00010-2026 Tribunal de Apelación Civil y Trabajo Alajuela Sede Alajuela Materia Civil2026 · Tribunal de Apelación Civil y Trabajo Alajuela Sede Alajuela Materia Civil
Apelación en información posesoria no incluye reservas viales por omisión
The Civil and Labor Appeals Court of Alajuela declares the appeal filed by the Attorney General's Office inadmissible. The Office sought to add road setback reservations to a possessory information judgment. The appellate court found it lacked jurisdiction to clarify or amend first-instance rulings, and that the procedural path used (clarification and…
Res. 00621-2026 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2026 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Acta de mera constatación de ubicación de inmueble dentro de parque nacional no es impugnable
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal dismissed the lawsuit filed by Summer Sunshine Ltd., the owner of a property within the boundaries of Las Baulas Marine National Park. The company sought to nullify several SINAC communications stating that its property was located inside the protected area, arguing that this restricted its property rights. The Tribunal…
Res. 00093-2026 Tribunal de Apelación Civil y Trabajo Zona Sur Sede Pérez Zeledón Materia Civil2026 · Tribunal de Apelación Civil y Trabajo Zona Sur Sede Pérez Zeledón Materia Civil
Oposición estatal no basta sin debida fundamentación en información posesoria
The Civil and Labor Appeals Court of the Southern Zone, in ruling 2026000093, heard the appeal filed by the applicants against the decision of the Civil and Labor Court of Golfito that upheld the State's opposition and ordered the closure of the possessory information proceedings. The lower court considered that the land lacked forest cover and had…
Res. 00328-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de casación en conflicto de doble titulación sin ejercicio de atributos del dominio
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice flatly rejects the cassation appeal filed by the plaintiff in a proceeding concerning double titling of real estate. The appellant alleged procedural and substantive violations, including incorrect application of Article 456 of the Civil Code, failure to assess evidence, and the defendants' alleged bad…
Res. 00329-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Anulación de sentencia por defectos en la valoración probatoria de posesión en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court reviewed cassation appeals filed by the State and INDER against a judgment that recognized the plaintiffs as possessors of a parcel within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and awarded compensation. The Chamber identified a serious procedural flaw: the lower court based its decision on a 1980 ITCO board resolution that…
Res. 00333-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Improcedencia de reclamo de propiedad sobre tierras dentro de Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dismisses the cassation appeal filed by Elizabeth Chacón Agüero against the Administrative Court's judgment that rejected her lawsuit. The plaintiff sought to declare void an INDER agreement that revoked a special titling procedure in the Osa Campesino Settlement, and to be recognized as owner by adverse…
Res. 00317-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de revisión por ocupación en zona pública del Refugio Ostional
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice rules on a review petition filed by Carlos Roberto Páez Sotela against Judgment 3029-2010 of the Contentious-Administrative and Civil Court of the Treasury. That judgment had upheld a State counterclaim ordering the eviction and demolition of the petitioner's constructions in the public zone of the Ostional…
Res. 00745-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Conflicto de competencia sobre usucapión en Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Barra del Colorado
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court resolves a disagreement appeal in an agrarian usucapion (adverse possession) proceeding filed by Marco Tulio Calderón Badilla against JAPDEVA over a 1,327,150 m² property located entirely within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The plaintiff claims immemorial possession with agricultural,…
Res. 00837-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de casación: inmueble titulado en reserva nacional constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dismisses on the merits the cassation appeal filed by Palacios y Paraísos Tropicales La Selvita S.A. against the judgment that upheld the lesividad action brought by INDER concerning the land title granted to Marvin Porras Sánchez. The Court confirms that the property, originating from the Puriscal-Parrita…
Res. 00881-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Improcedencia de titulación en asentamiento dentro de Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court hears a cassation appeal against a judgment of the Contentious-Administrative Court that dismissed the claim filed by Mario González González against INDER. The plaintiff sought a declaration that INDER had been remiss in not granting him a property title over lots in the Osa Settlement despite him having been…
Res. 00949-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Reenvío por falta de fundamentación en lesividad sobre franja fronteriza
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court reviews a cassation appeal by INDER challenging a trial court ruling that declared null a land transfer in the southern border strip and ordered its registration under State ownership. INDER argued incongruity and lack of reasoning, as it never requested registration under the State and the judgment did not explain…
Res. 00995-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Casación rechazada por demora estatal en expropiaciones del Parque Marino Las Baulas
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice denies the cassation appeal filed by the State against the ruling of the Contentious-Administrative Court that ordered the Executive Branch to initiate expropriation proceedings for seven private properties within Las Baulas National Marine Park within three months. The Chamber confirms that the delay of…
Res. 00986-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Posesión legítima sobre terreno en disputa prevalece sobre inscripción registral basada en plano nulo
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court resolves a cassation appeal in an ordinary agrarian proceeding concerning ownership and possession of a strip of land between the La Paz River and a public road. The original plaintiff, Noé Herrera Arredondo, filed a reivindicatory action alleging encroachment on his registered property; the defendant counterclaimed…
Res. 01196-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Nulidad de inmuebles por encontrarse dentro de la Zona Protectora Río Pacuare
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice resolved a cassation appeal filed by the State against a ruling of the Administrative Litigation Court that had dismissed the State's lawsuit. The lawsuit sought the absolute nullity of three properties registered in the name of a private individual (now his estate), arguing that the lands were located…
Res. 01435-2025 Sala Primera de la Corte2025 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Improcedencia de servidumbre de vista por prescripción positiva contra prohibiciones legales
The First Chamber of Costa Rica's Supreme Court rules on a cassation appeal filed by property owners against a lower court's dismissal of their lawsuit. The plaintiffs claimed a view, ventilation, and light easement allegedly acquired by adverse possession, and sought demolition of a dividing wall and removal of windows built by the defendant neighbor,…
Res. 00021-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación dentro de Zona Protectora: posesión ecológica decenal
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the registration of a possessory information proceeding over a property partially located within the Nicoya Peninsula Protected Zone. The applicants proved public, peaceful, and continuous possession since before 1984, satisfying Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law. The Tribunal rejects the State's appeal, which…
Res. 00060-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal en zona protectora procede si se acredita posesión ecológica y cadena posesoria
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 1,986 m² property within the Río Navarro-Río Sombrero Protected Zone (established in 1984). The applicant proved ten-year possession prior to the zone’s creation through witness testimony, showing a possessory chain dating to at least 1973, with conservation activities and…
Res. 01416-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Posesión precaria en bienes demaniales de la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce no genera derecho
The Administrative Litigation Court fully dismissed the lawsuit filed by Pamela Nave Stowers against INDER, the Rural Development Institute. The plaintiff claimed relocation or compensation for her possession of parcel No. 14 in the Osa Campesino Settlement, Drake sector, arguing INDER's failure to resolve a land tenure conflict originating in the 1960s.…
Res. 01889-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Propiedad del INDER se consolida al vencer las limitaciones de 15 años
The Administrative Litigation Court partially grants a claim against INDER filed by recipients of a housing lot in the Santa Teresa settlement. The core issue is whether INDER acted lawfully by revoking the allocation and voiding the title for alleged unjustified abandonment. The court holds that the 15-year limitations under the Land and Colonization Law…
Res. 00098-2025 Tribunal Segundo de Apelación Civil de San José2025 · Tribunal Segundo de Apelación Civil de San José
Revocatoria de inadmisibilidad por cumplimiento parcial de prevención sobre estudio de nacientes
The Second Civil Appeals Tribunal of San José reverses the dismissal of a possessory information proceeding filed by Geovacal y Compañía S.A. The petitioner was ordered to request a technical report from the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers on the existence of springs or water sources on the claimed property. Although the deadline was…
Res. 00183-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Error en adjudicación del INDER no valida reivindicación y permite usucapión agraria
The Agrarian Tribunal heard an appeal against a ruling by the Agrarian Court of Upala that had partially granted both the replevin claim of Rosa Eugenia Cortés Araya and the adverse possession counterclaim of Olman Bustos García. The Tribunal fully reversed the lower court's decision. It found that the adjudication of plot 4 to Cortés Araya by the former…
Res. 02848-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Improcedencia de indemnización por demolición en zona marítimo terrestre
The Administrative Court dismisses the claim for damages brought by Guillermo Ramírez Chaves against the Municipality of Quepos for the demolition of the "Balú" restaurant on Espadilla Beach. Although the demolition order was annulled by the Improper Hierarchy as a factual route, the Court finds that the plaintiff lacks a legitimate interest or protectable…
Res. 00353-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Confirmación de titulación posesoria agraria sobre terreno con cobertura boscosa
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings over approximately 5.98 hectares of mountain and pasture land in Quepos, with 45.40% forest cover according to FONAFIFO. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forest land forms part of the State Natural Heritage and is therefore not subject to titling. The Court…
Res. 00362-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmuebles en Refugio de Vida Silvestre y posesión ecológica
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possession information proceedings initiated by Roberto González Cordero over two properties located in the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The court finds the chain of possessory transmission since before 1975 sufficiently proven through agricultural and livestock activities, rejecting the Attorney…
Res. 04696-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Lesividad por adjudicación de parcela en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court upheld the INDER's lesividad action against the successors of the plot N°9 awardees in Asentamiento El Manú. The court found that the land, awarded in 1998, has forest cover and a ravine, automatically making it part of the State Natural Heritage under articles 13, 14 and 15 of Forestry Law 7575. The award was made without prior…
Res. 00427-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria agraria en la Reserva Forestal Los Santos
The Agrarian Court overturns the lower court ruling and approves the possessory information proceeding initiated by Luis Ricardo Calderón Madrigal over a 28,315 m² property located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The Procuraduría and INDER opposed the petition, arguing a lack of a written acquisition title and failure to prove ecological possession.…
Res. 00469-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación por usucapión dentro de Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the lower court and approves the possessory information of Comercial Super Unión Ltda. over a pastureland located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The court finds that the company and its predecessors have exercised decennial possession since before 1975, ten years prior to the refuge’s creation in…
Res. 03787-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Caducidad y revocatoria de adjudicación en parcela con cobertura forestal y zona protectora
The Administrative Appeals Court Section V denied the lawsuit filed by José Torres Cerdas and María Ester Alvarado Alvarado against INDER, which sought the expiration of the revocation procedure for the allocation of parcel No. 28 in the Altamira Settlement, Upala, as well as the annulment of related administrative and judicial acts and the transfer of…
Res. 00554-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica en información posesoria dentro de zona protectora
The Agrarian Court confirms the lower court ruling approving a possessory information proceeding over a 99,500 m² property located entirely within the Río Navarro-Río Sombrero Protected Zone (established in 1984). Despite opposition from the Attorney General's Office, the court conducts a comprehensive evidentiary analysis of witness testimony, a soil…
Res. 00581-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión especial agraria por estado de necesidad
The Agrarian Tribunal reversed the lower court’s decision that had denied the special agrarian usucapion to a woman who had occupied land registered to third parties for over ten years. The Tribunal found that the plaintiff entered the property in 2005 in a state of necessity, after separating from an abusive husband and becoming the head of household with…
Res. 00609-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Obligación forzosa de paso por enclave
The Agrarian Court upheld the trial court's decision imposing a compulsory right of way over the defendant's property in favor of the co-owned estates of the plaintiff. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had not localized its undivided rights, that an alternative adequate access existed, and that there was no evidence of possessory acts over the…
Res. 06570-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Naturaleza demanial de bienes expropiados para el Embalse Arenal
The Administrative Litigation Court resolved a case brought by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) to recover lands expropriated in 1978 for the Arenal Hydroelectric Project, which were subsequently donated, merged, mortgaged, auctioned, and sold to third parties due to ICE's failure to register the expropriation. The court held that the lands…
Res. 07271-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Acceso de finca parcialmente expropiada no constituye enclavamiento
The Administrative Court dismissed a landowner's suit alleging that the western portion of his property became landlocked without public road access after two expropriations for the San Carlos highway. The court found that the western portion does have an existing access located at station 13+900, documented in CONAVI technical reports and confirmed by…
Res. 07309-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Inexistencia de derecho a donación sobre inmueble municipal ocupado por tolerancia
The Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo dismissed in its entirety the claim brought by Gloria Morales Arce, who sought an order directing the Municipality of Sarchí to complete a donation and transfer title to a lot within municipal property 224094-000, where she has resided for over thirty years. The plaintiff also requested cessation of alleged eviction…
Res. 07600-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Lesividad por adjudicación de terreno en franja fronteriza sur
The Administrative Court partially annuls an agreement by the former IDA that adjudicated a parcel from the Amalia Hernández Settlement to an individual, because it was located entirely within the two-kilometer southern border strip with Panama. The ruling grants INDER's lesividad claim and declares the absolute nullity of the agreement, the segregation…
Res. 08706-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Improcedencia de reclamo indemnizatorio por propiedad traslapada con terrenos estatales en parque nacional
The Administrative Litigation Court analyzed the claim of the Estate of a deceased individual and a co-owner, who asserted ownership of a registered property located within the boundaries of Piedras Blancas National Park. They sought payment of the current indexed value of the property, lost profits, and damages (including moral damages), or alternatively,…
Res. 08749-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Recuperación parcial de zona marítimo terrestre y manglar inscrita como propiedad privada
The Costa Rican Administrative Litigation Court rules on a lawsuit filed by the State against two U.S. citizens who hold registered title to property 6-139159 in Puntarenas. The State seeks absolute nullity and cancellation of the registration, claiming that approximately 95.2% of the land overlaps with the public maritime zone and mangrove…
Res. 09020-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Responsabilidad municipal por anulación de permisos de construcción tras daño ambiental causado por el desarrollador
The Administrative Court rules on a damages claim filed by Inversiones Pelyo del Este S.A. against the State, SENARA, and the Municipality of Vásquez de Coronado, arising from the frustration of a fuel service station project. The plaintiff argued that the municipality's refusal to lift a precautionary work suspension and subsequent annulment of its zoning…
Res. 00773-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Mejor derecho de posesión sobre terreno boscoso no inscrito — Confirma rechazo de demanda y acoge restitución
The Agrarian Court upholds the trial court ruling that dismissed the claim of Juan Bautista García Rodríguez and granted the counterclaim of Leslie Simmons Cannon, declaring her as the possessor with better right over an unregistered property of approximately 22 hectares in Los Mogos de Sierpe de Osa, bordering MINAE. The court finds that the…
Res. 09388-2025 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2025 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Nulidad de adjudicación de parcela en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Litigation Court annuls the 1999 agreement by which the IDA awarded Parcel 40 of the Osa Settlement to a private individual, finding that the property lies entirely within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and therefore constitutes State Natural Heritage (PNE). The ruling holds that PNE lands are public-domain assets, inalienable and…
Res. 00939-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Revocatoria de interdicto posesorio en asentamiento del INDER
The Agrarian Tribunal revokes a lower court ruling that had granted a possessory interdict in favor of César Carmona Alvarado over a plot in the Cámara de Ganaderos de Coyolar Settlement, Orotina. The plaintiff claimed agrarian possession of the property, but the Tribunal found that there was no real, stable, and effective possession at the time the…
Res. 00940-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria en Reserva Forestal Los Santos: posesión decenal previa a la declaratoria
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of possessory information over a 4,793 m² property located in Copey de Dota, within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The petitioner proved ten-year possession since 1965—prior to the reserve’s 1975 creation decree—through compelling testimony from elderly neighbors. The chain of possession dates back to the 1960s, with…
Res. 01185-2025 Tribunal Agrario2025 · Tribunal Agrario
Anulación de sentencia por omisión de pretensiones subsidiarias en usucapión agraria
This ruling by the Agrarian Court annuls a summary judgment that declared the main claim of agrarian usucapion unfounded, but entirely failed to address the subsidiary claims (accession to buildings) and those included in the amended complaint against the National Bank of Costa Rica. The court finds that the trial judgment was incongruent and lacked proper…
Res. 01082-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de casación por acumulación procesal no alegada en lesividad de parcela ambiental
The First Chamber examined a cassation appeal filed by the representatives of a couple whose land allocation in the Los Planes de Drake settlement was being contested by INDER through a nullity (lesividad) proceeding. The appellants argued that the trial court should have sua sponte consolidated this case with an earlier ordinary proceeding where they…
Res. 01516-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Prescripción de resolución contractual por vicios ocultos no configurables
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice upholds the Agrarian Court's ruling that the contractual rescission action filed by the buyer of a lot in a real estate development in Osa was time-barred. The plaintiff alleged breach of contract due to the lack of infrastructure (electricity, water, sewer) and concealment of an administrative proceeding…
Res. 01476-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Anulación de titulación de terreno con cobertura forestal y responsabilidad patrimonial del INDER
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court reviews a cassation appeal by Agroindustrial Piñas del Bosque S.A. against a ruling that annulled the titling of land in San Carlos, originally awarded by the IDA (now INDER) to Tierra Tropical S.R.L. and later purchased by the appellant. The lower court annulled the award and subsequent transfers, reasoning that the…
Res. 01562-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Inalienabilidad de terrenos boscosos del INDER impide su titulación privada
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dismisses the cassation appeal filed by the co-defendant company and upholds the judgment that declared contrary to public interest the INDER board resolution authorizing segregation and transfer of lot 97044 of the Puriscal-Parrita Project to a private individual. The trial court found that the lot,…
Res. 01708-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Improcedencia de casación contra anulación de titulación de tierras por omisión de requisitos ambientales
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal against the contentious-administrative court ruling that upheld the lesividad action brought by the Institute of Rural Development (INDER). The action sought to annul the IDA Board agreement, the transfer deed, and registry entries for a farm in Partido de Puntarenas, originally titled…
Res. 01779-2024 Sala Primera de la Corte2024 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Nulidad de adjudicaciones sobre parcelas en Reserva Forestal y Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice hears a cassation appeal filed by INDER against a judgment of the Administrative Court that declared null the awards of three plots from the Osa Settlement to private parties, as they belong to the State Natural Heritage lying entirely within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The lower court also ordered…
Res. 00474-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Inscripción registral no convalida dominio privado sobre manglares y zona marítimo terrestre
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal dismissed the lawsuit filed by Coffee Zombi S.A. and Valle Perdido Dos S.A., who claimed invasion of their properties and irregular granting of concessions in the maritime-terrestrial zone in Playa Hermosa de Jacó. The plaintiffs failed to prove standing, as they had not registered the "resto reservado" (reserved…
Res. 00151-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria sobre terreno en Reserva Forestal Río Macho por falta de prueba de posesión decenal anterior a su creación
The Agrarian Court overturned the approval of a possessory information proceeding concerning a property located within the Río Macho Forest Reserve, established in 1964. The petitioner failed to prove, through adequate testimonial evidence, the exercise of agrarian possession for at least ten years prior to the creation of the protected area—an essential…
Res. 00259-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica y usucapión en terreno forestal fuera de área protegida
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over an 82-hectare property with forest cover and livestock use, located outside protected wilderness areas. It rejects the State Attorney General's appeal, which argued that forest lands belong to the state's natural heritage and that possession predating the public domain…
Res. 00289-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria en Zona Protectora del Río Tiribí
The Agrarian Court upheld the denial of a possessory information proceeding sought by Trio Roseden Ranred S.A. over a 70,042.24 m² property located in the Tiribí River Protective Zone. The petitioner only demonstrated possession from September 24, 1982, whereas the zone was created by Decree 6112 on July 17, 1976, requiring proof of ten-year possession…
Res. 01143-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Nulidad de titulación sobre terrenos del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court rules in favor of the nullity action (lesividad) filed by INDER against Marvin Porras Sánchez and Palacios y Paraísos Tropicales S.A. The 2004 IDA Board decision granting title to a plot in Naranjito, Puntarenas, as well as the transfer deeds and registration, are annulled. The Court finds the property constitutes State Natural…
Res. 02255-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Reiteración de inalienabilidad e imprescriptibilidad del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Court partially annuls a 2004 IDA (now INDER) board resolution that authorized the transfer of a plot from the Puriscal-Parrita Titling Project to an individual, finding it harmful to public interest. The court holds that the plot—described as mountainous land in the notarial deed and certified by SINAC—was State Natural…
Res. 00403-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Aprovechamiento de madera de árbol en zona de protección dentro de propiedad privada
The Agrarian Court resolved an appeal in a summary proceeding for the felling of a guanacaste tree located within a stream protection area on private land. The lower court authorized the felling due to imminent risk but denied the landowner the right to use the timber, requiring him to seek approval from the Ministry of Environment. The plaintiff appealed…
Res. 03088-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Nulidad de asientos registrales de inmuebles privados por traslape con el Patrimonio Natural del Estado en Quepos
The Court hears two consolidated cases: a lesividad action brought by the State, and another initiated by Catalina Castro Chaves and Condominio Vistas Damas de Quepos S.A. against the State and other entities. In the lesividad process, the State seeks the annulment and cancellation of several properties registered to private parties and their cadastral…
Res. 03470-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Improcedencia de reclamos posesorios en Asentamiento Osa dentro de la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Contentious Tribunal fully dismissed the claim of Lisbeth Alemán Fajardo against INDER, seeking compensation for the Institute's alleged omission in resolving land tenure conflicts in the Osa Campesino Settlement. The plaintiff claimed possession of land in Bahía Drake, acquired by donation in 2011. The Tribunal found the property is…
Res. 00559-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión en precario no genera derecho a mejoras ni posesión legítima
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the lower court's ruling dismissing Ramiro García Ellington's claim against Corporación Bananera Nacional S.A. (CORBANA). The plaintiff sought a better right of possession over a 200 m² plot and payment for improvements, alleging good faith possession since 2014. The Tribunal finds the plaintiff lacks active and passive…
Res. 00595-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno parcialmente en Zona Protectora Península de Nicoya sin documento de traspaso
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information to register a 37.9 ha land in Cerro Frío, Puntarenas, which overlaps 0.066 % with the Nicoya Peninsula Protective Zone (created in 1994). The State’s appeal argued lack of just title, no ten-year possession prior to the public-domain declaration, and absence of ecological possession. The…
Res. 04396-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
INDER recupera terreno en franja fronteriza sur titulado ilegalmente
The Costa Rican Administrative Court upheld a “lesividad” (detrimentality) action brought by INDER, annulling the title to a plot in the Amalia Hernández settlement in Coto Brus, Puntarenas. It was proven that Parcel 40 (202.69 m²) lies entirely within the 2-kilometer border strip with Panama, which is public domain land and inalienable under Article 7(f)…
Res. 04639-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Responsabilidad de contratista y Estado por ingreso a propiedad privada antes de la puesta en posesión
The Costa Rican Contentious-Administrative Court decides a claim for damages brought by the owner of a property affected by the expansion of National Route 32. The plaintiff alleged that the contractor China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and the National Roads Council (CONAVI) caused harm by entering his land without authorization before judicial…
Res. 04879-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Caducidad de acción sobre omisión del INDER en ejecutar acuerdos de titulación de tierras en Osa
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal declared the action time-barred and dismissed the claims filed by Gregorio Alemán Valencia against the Rural Development Institute (INDER). The plaintiff sought to declare INDER's omission in executing agreements from the former ITCO's Board of Directors (1965-1974) aimed at resolving land tenure conflicts in the Osa…
Res. 00802-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Anulación de sentencia sobre liquidación de estado posesorio por falta de fundamentación
Plaintiff Gladis Oporta Arista filed an ordinary agrarian proceeding against Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and Finca Dos Ríos Three Hundred Twenty-Nine HA LLC, seeking positive prescription (special agrarian adverse possession) over a portion of a Limón district property, or alternatively, payment for improvements and a right of retention. The Agrarian…
Res. 00808-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión precaria de trabajador en finca arrendada no genera derecho de posesión
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the dismissal of an ordinary lawsuit in which a former employee of the National Banana Corporation (CORBANA) claimed a better right of possession and payment of improvements for a plot of approximately 200 square meters with a dwelling within CORBANA's registered farm. The plaintiff had occupied the property since 2014 by mere…
Res. 00821-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Amparo de posesión: ausencia de legitimación activa en predio con traslape
The Agrarian Tribunal's ruling (Vote 00821-2024) confirms the lower court's dismissal of a summary interdictal proceeding (possessory amparo, restitution, and boundary restoration) filed by Lorelly Jara Solís against Miguel Sibaja Vargas. The plaintiff claimed disturbances to her possession, including illegal cutting of a boundary tree, threats, and a…
Res. 00906-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Mejor derecho de posesión frente a propietario registral — falta de legitimación
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the lower court's dismissal of a claim for better right of possession and reimbursement of improvements filed by a former employee against CORBANA, the registered owner of a banana plantation. The claimant had occupied a house on the property provided rent‑free while employed by the lessee (Corporación Agrícola del Monte).…
Res. 00918-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión en la franja fronteriza no excluye competencia agraria
The Agrarian Tribunal denies the jurisdictional challenge raised by the Alajuela Agrarian Court and rules that jurisdiction over an ordinary lawsuit for better right to possession lies with agrarian courts. It holds that the location of the land within the northern border strip—a public domain area declared a National Wildlife Refuge—does not strip the…
Res. 06328-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Improcedencia de nulidad de visado que advierte ubicación dentro de Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas
The Court rejected the claim by Rancho Bammea Ltda. seeking nullity of Endorsement No. 83-2018 issued by the Tempisque Conservation Area (SINAC-MINAE). The endorsement noted that 52.73% of the property lies within Las Baulas National Marine Park. The plaintiff alleged violation of the legal reserve principle, legality principle, and a conflict of…
Res. 05451-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Indemnización improcedente por ocupación en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal dismissed the lawsuit filed by Pedro Caravaca Guadamuz against INDER, which sought compensation for the Institute's alleged failure to resolve land tenure issues in the Osa Peasant Settlement, within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The plaintiff claimed to be a possessor and allottee of land, but the Court found he…
Res. 05768-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Expropiación en Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas: el Estado debe indemnizar por inacción
The Administrative Court of Appeals rules on a lawsuit filed by two companies owning 22 properties within or bordering Las Baulas Marine National Park (PNMB). The plaintiffs sought to annul SINAC certifications placing their land inside the park and the official boundary resolution, and requested an order of expropriation. The Court rejects the main…
Res. 00973-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Derecho de posesión y mejoras en vivienda de finca bananera
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the lower court's ruling dismissing the ordinary proceeding filed by Federico Castillo Jiménez against Corporación Bananera Nacional S.A. (CORBANA). The plaintiff claimed superior possessory rights over a roughly 200 m² plot and a dwelling within CORBANA's registered property, plus compensation for improvements such as…
Res. 00995-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión precaria de vivienda en finca bananera no genera derecho a mejoras
The Agrarian Court upholds the lower court decision dismissing the claim of Hemenegildo Jiménez Jiménez against Corporación Bananera Nacional (CORBANA). The plaintiff, a former worker of the estate's tenant, occupied a house lent free of charge. He sought recognition of a good-faith possessory right over a 200 m² area and payment for useful and necessary…
Res. 00999-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Competencia agraria sobre bienes en zona marítimo terrestre
The Agrarian Tribunal resolves a jurisdictional conflict raised by the Agrarian Court of Puntarenas, which declined to hear an ordinary proceeding on the grounds that the disputed property is located in the maritime-terrestrial zone and is intended for construction, not agricultural activity. The Tribunal analyzes agrarian jurisdiction over public domain…
Res. 09387-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Anulación de títulos de propiedad en zona marítimo terrestre por carecer de justo título previo
The Administrative Contentious and Civil Treasury Court upheld the State's claim against Limbo del Sol S.A., annulling property registration 7-23356-000 and its segregations 7-26695-000 and 7-26697-000, as well as cadastral plans L-485774-1982, L-485773-1982, and L-485776-1982. It found that the properties lie entirely within the maritime-terrestrial zone,…
Res. 01103-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación posesoria en Refugio Barra del Colorado con humedales privados
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the lower court's denial of a possessory information proceeding for a 30-hectare property in La Pajarera, Pococí, Limón, located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The applicant, Araya y Jiménez S.A., proved decennial possession predating the refuge's creation in 1985, exercised by predecessors since the…
Res. 01172-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para información posesoria sobre terreno con bosque
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 14.5-hectare property in Turrialba, covered by primary forest and a forestry plantation. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the land belongs to the State's natural heritage and cannot be privately possessed. The Tribunal dismisses the appeal, holding that…
Res. 01186-2024 Tribunal Agrario2024 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión especial agraria por estado de necesidad
The Agrarian Court overturns the lower court's ruling and grants the special agrarian usucapion claim filed by María Victoria Dávila Jarquín. The plaintiff, an elderly Nicaraguan woman in a vulnerable situation, entered a plot in Matina, Limón, in 2006 out of a state of necessity, building a shack and engaging in subsistence farming. The court finds that…
Res. 07675-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Doble titulación por el IDA constituye expropiación de hecho indemnizable
The Fifth Section of the Contentious Administrative Tribunal reviewed Momo de Occidente S.A.'s claim against INDER, in which the company asserts its lawful ownership of property 22706-000 in Puntarenas, registered since 1976. Despite this registered title, the former ITCO (later IDA) acquired the Finca Colorado in 1980 and in 1991 subdivided parcels of the…
Res. 09425-2024 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2024 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Limitaciones ambientales a la propiedad no son indemnizables ni constituyen expropiación
The Administrative Contentious Tribunal fully dismissed the lawsuit filed by the succession of a property owner and his spouse against the Municipality of Desamparados, INVU, SINAC, and the State. Plaintiffs claimed that defendants induced error when they acquired a lot in the Cerros de La Carpintera Protected Zone and invested in it, and that the…
Res. 00861-2023 Sala Primera de la Corte2023 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Nulidad del Plan Regulador de Punta Dominical sobre Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeals against the Administrative Court's ruling that annulled the Punta Dominical coastal regulatory plan and several concessions granted to private companies. The ruling confirmed that the lands are part of the State's Natural Heritage (forests, forestry aptitude, wetlands) and are…
Res. 00920-2023 Sala Primera de la Corte2023 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Posesión en Patrimonio Natural del Estado no genera derechos a mejoras
The First Chamber partially overturns a ruling by the Administrative Court that had ordered INDER to pay for improvements and accessions to good‑faith possessors of a parcel partially within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. The Court holds that, under Articles 13 and 14 of the Forestry Law, private possession of lands that are part of the…
Res. 01839-2023 Sala Primera de la Corte2023 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de plano de casación contra fijación de justiprecio en expropiación por AyA
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court addresses a cassation appeal filed by co-defendant Beatriz Angulo Vanegas against the lower court’s resolution setting the compensation for an aqueduct easement expropriated by the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA). The Chamber examines the admissibility of the appeal under Article 134 of the…
Res. 02407-2023 Sala Primera de la Corte2023 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Conflicto de competencia por naturaleza agraria de inmuebles con destino forestal y agropecuario
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court resolves a conflict of jurisdiction between the Civil Court of First Instance of the Southern Zone and the agrarian jurisdiction, in a case involving nullity of corporate resolutions and eviction from real properties. The plaintiff, Parque de Pavones del Pacífico S.A., argued the matter was civil and commercial.…
Res. 00030-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Competencia agraria para terrenos en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the lower court’s decision declining jurisdiction in a case where privately registered lands overlap with Braulio Carrillo National Park and La Selva Protective Zone. It holds that agrarian courts are competent to hear declaratory real actions and rectification of land registry entries even when the properties form part of…
Res. 00143-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Traspaso de parcela con limitaciones del INDER es nulo aunque las limitaciones estén vencidas
The Agrarian Court upholds the ruling that revoked the allocation of a parcel granted by INDER under the Land and Colonization Law. The allottees breached their obligations by allowing indirect exploitation by a third party without authorization, bequeathing the parcel, and transferring it to a company they represented while social-interest restrictions…
Res. 00231-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno en Reserva Forestal Los Santos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court reversed the lower court's decision and granted the possessory information requested by María Eduvigis Valderramos Solano for a 113,444 m² mountain property within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The applicant proved a chain of possession dating back to the 1960s, totaling over sixty years of uninterrupted, public, peaceful possession as…
Res. 00260-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica y titulación de terrenos con bosque en reservas nacionales
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a judgment approving possessory information proceedings for land with pasture and forest, rejecting the Attorney General's appeal. The court holds that Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, interpreted in light of constitutional precedent, permits adverse possession (usucapion) of forested land outside protected wild…
Res. 00020-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Lesividad acogida por titulación omite uso de suelos e ignora PNE
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal granted a lesividad action filed by INDER against Carlos María Rojas Sánchez and Hills and Castles EyA S.A., annulling the titling of a 1,327,417 m² parcel in the Puriscal-Parrita Project. The ruling held that the beneficiary failed to submit the “Uso Conforme de Suelos” (land-use conformity) certificate required by…
Res. 00519-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria y posesión ecológica
The Agrarian Court upheld the ruling that approved the possessory information proceedings brought by Denia María Prendas Segura concerning a 9,068 m² property consisting of pastureland and forest in Horquetas, Sarapiquí, located outside any protected wilderness areas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forest constitutes inalienable…
Res. 00558-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno en área protegida requiere posesión decenal anterior al decreto de creación
The Agrarian Court confirms the registration of a property through possessory information proceedings, despite it being located within the Río Macho Forest Reserve. The appellant argued that the land was affected by public domain under previous regulations, such as the two-kilometer strip along the Inter-American Highway and its declaration as a National…
Res. 02331-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Lesividad declarada sobre parcela del Patrimonio Natural del Estado titulada por el IDA
The Administrative Litigation Court annulled a 2004 decision by the former Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) that had titled parcel 13-C-1501 of the Zona Norte Project to a private individual. The court found that the 7-hectare mountainous property in Bijagua, Upala, was part of the State Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado) under Articles…
Res. 03505-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Declaratoria de lesividad sobre adjudicación en la franja fronteriza sur
The Contentious-Administrative Tribunal upholds the lesividad action filed by INDER, partially annulling its Board agreement (article 66, session 041-05 of 2005) which authorized the award and transfer of parcel 78 of the Amalia Hernández Piedra Settlement, located entirely within the two-kilometer southern border strip. The Tribunal finds the…
Res. 04783-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Nulidad de acuerdo del IDA que revocó procedimiento de titulación en la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Contentious Court dismisses the nullity claim against agreement No. 35 of session 040-2007, issued on November 10, 2007 by the Board of Directors of INDER, which revoked the special titling procedure in the Osa Peasant Settlement, located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The plaintiffs argued the agreement was void because it was…
Res. 05089-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Declaratoria de lesividad caduca por titular tierras en refugio privado
The Contentious-Administrative Tribunal dismisses as untimely INDER's lesividad claim seeking to annul the titling of a 76-hectare parcel in Puntarenas. The core reason is that the internal lesividad declaration was issued in 2015—over 14 years after the 2001 segregation and transfer agreement—far exceeding the four-year statute of limitations under the…
Res. 05232-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Adjudicación de parcela con cobertura boscosa como Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Contentious-Administrative Court dismissed the claim for adjudication of a rural parcel that, due to its forest vocation—76% forest cover certified by SINAC—, forms part of the State Natural Heritage and is therefore inalienable and unseizable. The Court held that the plaintiffs failed to prove lawful possession, that a previous adjudicatee existed and…
Res. 05461-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Oposición del AyA a información posesoria sobre zonas de protección hídrica
The Administrative Court upheld the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) claim opposing possessory registration proceedings initiated by Edith Naranjo Villalobos for a property in Guatuso de Patarrá. AyA proved public, peaceful, continuous possession of a 7,382 m² area where the Guatuso de Patarrá treatment plant, water intakes on the Damas…
Res. 06226-2023 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2023 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
INDER no tiene obligación de titular tierras en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Litigation Court dismissed the claim of an occupant of the Osa Peasant Settlement against INDER, alleging an omission to title land he claimed to possess since 1959 within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The ruling concludes that the plaintiff failed to prove usucaption or possessory rights prior to the creation of the reserve in 1978,…
Res. 01095-2023 Tribunal Agrario2023 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para titular dentro de la Reserva Forestal Los Santos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 4.583,88 m² plot in San Gerardo de Dota, within Los Santos Forest Reserve. The applicant proved a possessory chain since the 1960s, prior to the creation of the protected area in 1975. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the land had been in the public…
Res. 00369-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Competencia contencioso-administrativa en bien demanial de zona marítimo-terrestre
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court resolves a conflict of jurisdiction over a civil lawsuit seeking the annulment of a mortgage, declaration of ownership, transfer of rights and improvements on land that the plaintiff claims is within the maritime-terrestrial zone, along with damages. The civil court declared itself incompetent and joined the…
Res. 00590-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Omisión de declaratoria de lesividad tras adjudicación de terreno en reserva forestal genera responsabilidad del INDER
The First Chamber examines the INDER's cassation appeal against a judgment that found it liable for an unlawful omission. The Administrative Court had declared that INDER maintained a declaratory act of rights (agreement VI of session 002-99 of January 6, 1999) which awarded the plaintiff and her partner a plot within the Osa Peasant Settlement, located in…
Res. 00778-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Bienes demaniales forestales no pueden ser titulados a particulares
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice rejects the cassation appeal against the Administrative Court ruling that declared the IDA's agreement to award a plot to a private individual as harmful to public interests. The Court confirms that the awarded property had forest cover and therefore formed part of the State's Natural Heritage under…
Res. 01282-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Inexistencia del derecho a indemnización por expectativa no consolidada en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dismisses the cassation appeal filed by Ramón Mora Picado against the decision of the Administrative Contentious Tribunal, which had rejected all of his claims. The plaintiff sought annulment of an INDER agreement that revoked a titling procedure within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, recognition of…
Res. 01343-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Improcedencia de reubicación e indemnización por posesión no demostrada en terrenos del INDER dentro de Reserva Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber reviewed Anaís García’s claim against INDER for omissive conduct in resolving informal possession conflicts on lands expropriated from Osa Forestales S.A., later included in the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. García sought relocation or compensation, asserting possession predating the 1978 reserve. The lower court dismissed for lack of…
Res. 02046-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Casación por lesividad sobre título en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The First Chamber reviews a cassation appeal against a judgment that upheld the INDER's lesividad claim, annulling a land title from the Puriscal-Parrita project and all subsequent transactions. The lower court based nullity on three grounds: the applicant's failure to meet requirements, omission of a land-use conformity study, and the Constitutional…
Res. 02528-2022 Sala Primera de la Corte2022 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Anulación parcial por contradicciones en indemnización de parcela en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The First Chamber reviews the Administrative Court's ruling that awarded plaintiffs compensation for a plot they occupy within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. Plaintiffs had sought either titling or compensation after IDA/INDER failed to address their claim. The lower court partially upheld the constitutional res judicata exception and ordered MINAE to pay…
Res. 00114-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Rechazo de información posesoria dentro de Reserva Forestal Río Macho por falta de testigos
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority, revokes the approval of a possessory information proceeding seeking to register an 11,609 m² plot entirely within the Río Macho Forest Reserve, created in 1964. The majority holds that Article 6 of the Possessory Information Law requires that the ten-year possession prior to the land's designation be proven by the…
Res. 00115-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria en Reserva Forestal Los Santos
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority vote, reversed the approval of a possessory information claim over a 30.2-hectare property located entirely within the Los Santos Forest Reserve (established in 1975). The majority found two insurmountable defects: (i) of the three witnesses required by Article 6 of the Possessory Information Law, only two knew the…
Res. 00012-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I
INDER no puede adjudicar parcelas sin que el poseedor haya tramitado el reconocimiento de su posesión
The Administrative Court dismissed the claim of Olivier Sánchez Jiménez, who sought recognition of a subjective right to have INDER award him three parcels in Agua Buena, Coto Brus, based on a 2004 Board agreement and the agency's failure to execute it. The court found the plaintiff lacked standing because he was not named in the cited agreement or the…
Res. 00008-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Indemnización por expropiación a poseedores usucapientes en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal, Section V, ruled on a claim filed by two possessors of a plot within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve against the State, INDER, and SINAC. The plaintiffs sought annulment of an INDER agreement that revoked a titling procedure, recognition of their decade-long possession, compensation for expropriation, and damages. The…
Res. 00006-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII
INDER anula titulación en Coto Brus por vicios en adjudicación de terreno boscoso
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal annuls the IDA Board’s 2001 adjudication that titled a Coto Brus project parcel to a private individual, after declaring the act harmful to public interests due to non-compliance with environmental and possession requirements. The court finds that the original award violated the National Reserve Titling Law (7599)—later…
Res. 00254-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación en área protegida requiere posesión decenal previa demostrada
The Agrarian Court confirms the judgment that approved the possessory information over a 1-hectare plot within the Los Santos Forest Reserve, used for blackberry and fallow land with an agroforestry system. The Attorney General's Office appealed, asserting that the property lay within the 2-km oak protection strip along the Pan-American Highway, which was…
Res. 00277-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de información posesoria en la Reserva Forestal Los Santos a pesar de oposición estatal por dominio público previo
The Agrarian Court upholds the judgment approving the possessory information over a 3,657 m² property located in Jaboncillo, Dota, within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The General Attorney's Office opposed, arguing the land had been public domain since 1939, then a National Park in 1945, and that the 1973 repeal was followed almost immediately by the…
Res. 00327-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión agraria sobre terreno inscrito — buena fe y posesión
The Agrarian Court affirms a lower court decision that partially granted an ordinary agrarian lawsuit, awarding usucapion (acquisitive prescription) to the plaintiffs over a disputed piece of land, even though the property was registered in the name of Banco Popular. The court holds that the plaintiffs possessed the land in good faith, using it for…
Res. 00049-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Inmovilización registral indefinida por error calificador y lesividad ambiental
The Sixth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal partially annuls Vote 408-2018 of the Administrative Registry Tribunal, confirming the precautionary measures of warning and immobilization on farm 31052 in Guanacaste, owned by Complejo Turístico Manzanillo S.A., only regarding the double registration with INDER farms, and lifts them concerning…
Res. 00032-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII
Auditoría de legalidad del TCA sobre sanción de la CGR por titulación de PNE
The Administrative and Civil Treasury Court, Section VII, reviews the validity of the Comptroller General's Office (CGR) resolution PA-22-2013 and its confirming resolution R-DC-032-2014, which imposed a six-year prohibition from holding public office on the plaintiff, a former Executive President and member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of…
Res. 00199-2022 Tribunal de Apelación Contencioso Administrativo y Civil de Hacienda2022 · Tribunal de Apelación Contencioso Administrativo y Civil de Hacienda
Integración del SINAC como litisconsorte pasivo necesario en titulación de tierras en reserva forestal
The Appeals Court of Administrative and Civil Tax Matters overturned the lower court's decision that had denied the joinder of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) as a necessary co-defendant in a declaratory judgment action seeking title to land located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The court held that, even though no administrative…
Res. 00558-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno boscoso fuera de área silvestre protegida mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upheld a ruling that approved the registration of a 35-hectare forested property, located outside any protected area, via a possessory proceeding (información posesoria). The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that all forests constitute public domain assets within the State's Natural Heritage and are therefore inalienable and…
Res. 00615-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque parcialmente en Zona Protectora
The Agrarian Court upheld the registration of a 29.2-hectare property containing secondary forest, springs and streams, located in Pital de Jicaral, Puntarenas. Approximately 11.31% of the land lies within the Península de Nicoya Protected Zone, established in 1994. The applicant company proved through three witnesses a quiet, public and peaceful…
Res. 00012-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II
Inalienabilidad de la franja fronteriza sur y nulidad de traspaso del INDER
The Administrative Court partially annuls a 2005 INDER board resolution that segregated and transferred a parcel of the Asentamiento Amalia Hernández Piedra, partially located within the southern 2,000‑meter border strip with Panama. The court holds that lands in this zone are public‑domain assets, inalienable, imprescriptible, and unseizable by mandate of…
Res. 00019-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II
Improcedencia del traspaso de parcela en franja fronteriza sur por inalienabilidad
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal Section II upholds an action for lesividad filed by INDER, partially annulling the board agreement that authorized the segregation and transfer of a lot from Settlement [Nombre 003] to private individuals, as well as the public deed and corresponding registry entries. The court finds that the property is partially…
Res. 00828-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Anulación por falta de reconocimiento judicial en área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Tribunal annuls a judgment that had approved a possessory information proceeding over an 11.7 ha plot located within the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge, created in 1985. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that possession prior to the land becoming public domain was not proven, ecological possession was not accredited, and res…
Res. 00414-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Rechazo de medida cautelar ante desalojo del INDER por falta de título habilitante
The Administrative Court denies the precautionary measure sought by two occupants of Lot 16 in the Sansi Settlement, who attempted to suspend an administrative eviction ordered by the Rural Development Institute (INDER). The applicants argued the eviction proceeding was null due to notification defects, lack of document disclosure, and INDER's lack of…
Res. 00017-2022 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I2022 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I
Nulidad de tierras inscritas sobre zona marítimo-terrestre y Refugio Ostional
The Administrative Court annulled 16 properties and their cadastral maps in Guanacaste, owned by four companies, after finding they encompass public domain lands: the maritime-terrestrial zone (MTZ), mangroves, and part of the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. The ruling confirms the applicability of the 'lesividad' procedure to protect public domain…
Res. 01188-2022 Tribunal Agrario2022 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno en Reserva Forestal Los Santos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the ruling that granted a possessory information proceeding filed by an individual to title a 1,786 m² plot located in Copey de Dota, within the Los Santos Forest Reserve (created in 1975). The Attorney General's Office appealed, alleging failure to prove decennial possession prior to the protected area designation and lack of…
Res. 01724-2021 Sala Primera de la Corte2021 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Rechazo de casación sobre titulación en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce por defectos formales y exención de costas
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court reviews a cassation appeal against a lower court ruling that denied plaintiffs' claims for land titling and damages within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The plaintiffs argued adverse possession and violation of executive decrees. The Chamber finds the first six grounds inadmissible for lacking proper cassation…
Res. 00376-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos forestales mediante información posesoria: posesión ecológica y segundo párrafo del artículo 7
The Agrarian Tribunal hears an appeal in a possessory information proceeding brought by Cloudbridge S.A. over two secondary‑forest properties in Pérez Zeledón. The General Attorney’s Office appeals, arguing that the properties are part of the State’s Natural Heritage according to a SINAC report and therefore inalienable. The Tribunal upholds the…
Res. 00572-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque fuera de áreas silvestres protegidas
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding to register a 5.3 ha property with scrubland and secondary forest, located outside protected wild areas in Pérez Zeledón. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forested land forms part of the State Natural Heritage (PNE) under Article 13 of the Forestry…
Res. 01025-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación posesoria en Refugio de Vida Silvestre Barra del Colorado con posesión ganadera previa
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the lower court ruling and approved the possessory title proceedings for a 112-hectare property located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The court held that the applicant proved the exercise of qualified possessory rights for at least ten years prior to the creation of the refuge in 1985, including…
Res. 00105-2021 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2021 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Nulidad parcial de titulación del INDER por afectar Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Section V, resolved a lesividad action brought by INDER against RRRD de Cerro Blanco, S.A., and the company's counterclaim. INDER sought the absolute nullity of its Board's 29 November 2004 agreement that titled plot 1501, block 9-A in Alajuela, alleging it partly constituted State Natural Patrimony (PNE). The defendant…
Res. 00134-2021 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2021 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de adjudicación de parcela en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce por lesividad
The Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, Section VI, upholds the lesividad (public interest lesion) claim filed by INDER against its former Board of Directors' 1999 resolution that awarded parcel 14 of the Los Planes de Drake Settlement to two individuals. The Tribunal finds the property lies entirely within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, established in…
Res. 00145-2021 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2021 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Lesividad declarada por titulación de parcela en el Corredor Biológico Talamanca-Caribe que constituye enajenación ilícita del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Court (Section VI) upheld the lesividad claim filed by INDER against the Association of Organizations of the Talamanca-Caribe Biological Corridor. It declared the absolute nullity of the titling agreement for an 18.3-ha plot in Gandoca, as well as the deed of segregation and transfer, and the corresponding registry entry. The…
Res. 01070-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación por información posesoria dentro de la Reserva Forestal Los Santos
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding concerning a 33,471 m² plot in Copey de Dota, located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve (established 1975). The corporation Future Coffe S.A. demonstrated, through witness testimony and documentary evidence, an unbroken chain of possession dating back to at least 1950,…
Res. 00112-2021 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II2021 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II
Improcedencia de autorización de PSA sobre terreno del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court rejects the lawsuit of a settler from the Osa Settlement seeking INDER’s authorization to access the Environmental Services Payment (PSA) program. The court finds that the property lies within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, thus constituting State Natural Heritage—a public domain asset that is inalienable, unseizable, and…
Res. 00160-2021 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2021 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de adjudicación en franja fronteriza por bien demanial
The Administrative Court partially annuls an INDER agreement that allocated a plot within the Southern Border Strip, deeming it an inalienable and imprescriptible public-domain asset. The ruling declares absolute nullity of the original transfer and all subsequent deeds, ordering registration under the State’s name. It grounds its decision on legislation…
Res. 01127-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a parcel with forest cover outside protected wilderness areas. The Attorney General appealed, arguing that the forest constitutes State Natural Heritage and is inalienable public domain. The Court rejects the appeal: the property is not in a protected area nor owned by a…
Res. 01234-2021 Tribunal Agrario2021 · Tribunal Agrario
Anulación de información posesoria por traslape documental con Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Agrarian Tribunal annuls the judgment that approved the possessory information of Camino Verde JV LTDA over an 8-hectare property in San Ramón, Alajuela. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the cadastral plan (A-1258087-2008) partially overlaps with the State's registered farm (A-505346-000), which forms part of the Natural State…
Res. 01027-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a lower court ruling that granted a possessory information proceeding to title two parcels with forest cover (secondary forest and scrubland) located outside protected wild areas in Playa Camarón, Puntarenas. The State appealed, arguing that forests are public domain, inalienable, and imprescriptible under the Forestry Law,…
Res. 01036-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario no es demanio público en información posesoria
The Agrarian Court resolved an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against a ruling that approved possessory information proceedings for a 93‑hectare property in San José composed of secondary and primary forest. The State argued that forest lands are public domain and part of the national natural heritage since the 1969 Forestry Law, and therefore…
Res. 01044-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Archivo de información posesoria ante oposición estatal por demanialidad en Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the dismissal of a possessory information proceeding filed by Dora Cristina Vargas Valverde (case 19-000355-0297-CI) concerning land located within the Arenal Volcano National Park. The decision is based on the substantiated opposition of the Attorney General's Office, arguing that the same property had already been rejected…
Res. 01058-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria en la Zona Protectora Península de Nicoya
The Agrarian Court overturned the lower court decision that had granted possessory information to Ganadera Los Sobrinos S.A. for 91 ha 8500 m² in Vainilla de Paquera, Puntarenas. The court found that the company did not clearly prove the chain of possession, especially the ten-year possession prior to the creation of the Nicoya Peninsula Protected Zone…
Res. 01205-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Inacción como posesión en terrenos forestales y conflicto de doble titulación
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the judgment that resolved a double-title conflict over a property with forest areas in Guanacaste. The plaintiff —a corporation that owns a hotel— and the defendant —Inversiones [Nombre12] S.A.— held overlapping registered titles. The Tribunal determines that the prevailing title is the older one (from 1991), which is also…
Res. 00140-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos de posesión para titular en Reserva Forestal Los Santos
The Agrarian Court reverses the lower court's decision and approves a possessory information proceeding over a 1,000 m² property within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The court finds that the applicant proved, through witness testimony and documentary evidence, a chain of ownership-type possession dating back to the 1950s—more than ten years before the…
Res. 00033-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Nulidad de titulación de lote en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Contentious Court upholds a lesividad claim filed by INDER against a private individual, annulling the Board resolution that awarded him a plot from the Coto Brus Titling Project. The ruling holds that the property, with 89.8% forest cover, constitutes State Natural Heritage and is therefore inalienable, unseizable and imprescriptible…
Res. 00034-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Nulidad absoluta de titulación de parcela del Patrimonio Natural del Estado por incumplimiento de requisitos y vicio de inconstitucionalidad
The Contentious-Administrative Tribunal nullifies the IDA (now INDER) Board of Directors' agreement that titled a parcel from the Puriscal-Parrita Titling Project to an individual, deeming the act harmful to the public interest. The parcel partially constituted State Natural Heritage (PNE) according to a MINAE certification, but the applicant concealed…
Res. 00029-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II
Anulación de traspaso de terreno en franja fronteriza sur por inalienabilidad
The ruling by the Second Section of the Contentious-Administrative Court upholds the lesividad claim brought by INDER and partially annuls a 2005 board agreement that authorized the segregation and transfer of a parcel within the Amalia Hernández Settlement, located in the 2,000-meter southern border strip with Panama, to a private individual. The court…
Res. 00229-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Tribunal Agrario confirma improbación de información posesoria sobre inmueble parcialmente en zona protectora
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the first-instance ruling that denied the possessory information proceedings filed by Bendiciones Ojo de Agua S.A. for a 56-hectare property in Puntarenas, of which 37% lies within the Arenal Monteverde Protected Zone, created in 1977. The company claimed possession dating back to 1959, but the testimonial and documentary…
Res. 00359-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal en información posesoria sobre terreno dentro de reserva forestal
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the lower court decision and approves the possessory title proceedings brought by San Jaboncillos S.A. over a 1,759,372.59 m² forest property in Savegre, Pérez Zeledón, located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The core issue was whether decade-long possession prior to the creation of the protected area by Executive…
Res. 00406-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de titular tierras dentro de área silvestre protegida sin poseedor decenal anterior a la declaratoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the denial of a possession claim over a property partially within Dirlá National Park. The claimant failed to prove the chain of possession or the required ten-year possession prior to the creation of the protected area in 2006. Witness testimony was insufficient and contradictory, falling short of Article 6 of the Possession…
Res. 00409-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de información posesoria en refugio de vida silvestre
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of possessory title proceedings for a property cultivated with oil palm, partially located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The Attorney General argued the land was in a protected area, lacked ecological possession, and had inconsistencies in the chain of transfers. The Court rejected the…
Res. 00468-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario regenerado no constituye demanio público
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings over three lots covered by scrubland, secondary forest, and brush in Puntarenas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested lands are part of the public domain and cannot be privately possessed. The Court rejects that argument because, according to an INTA soil…
Res. 00516-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación posesoria de terreno dentro de zona protectora Río Tuis
The Agrarian Court, by majority vote, overturned the lower court's denial and approved the possessory information proceeding for 18 hectares located within the Tuis River Basin Protected Zone, created in 1986. The applicant proved ten-year possession prior to the establishment of the protected area —since at least 1963— through consistent testimonial…
Res. 00537-2020 Tribunal Agrario2020 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de exigir posesión decenal previa a creación de reserva forestal en acción publiciana agraria
The Agrarian Tribual annuls a judgment that dismissed a publician action brought by a farmer against a private party over a parcel within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The trial judge required the plaintiff to prove possession dating back at least ten years before the reserve was created, incorrectly applying Article 6 of the Possessory Information Law.…
Res. 01158-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo
Rechazo de medida cautelar contra desalojo en área de Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal denied a precautionary measure requested by occupants of a property within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve, who sought to prevent a potential eviction by the Rural Development Institute (INDER). The applicants argued that they lived on the premises with their family, animals, and crops, and that…
Res. 00075-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII
Nulidad de adjudicación de parcela en franja fronteriza sur por lesividad
The Seventh Section of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal hears a lesividad action brought by INDER to partially annul a 2005 board agreement that awarded, segregated, and transferred a parcel from the Amalia Hernández Piedra Settlement in Coto Brus, Puntarenas, to two individuals. The land, measuring 1,485.36 m², was found to lie entirely within the…
Res. 00069-2020 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2020 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Nulidad de adjudicación de parcela con bosque y nacientes declarada Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal partially upheld the lawsuit filed by the Cuarros de Tárcoles Water Association. The court annulled the 1997 IDA (now INDER) board agreement that awarded parcel 69 to a private individual, finding it constituted State Natural Heritage due to existing forest and two water springs. It ordered transfer of the property to…
Res. 02755-2019 Sala Primera de la Corte2019 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Cómputo del plazo de limitaciones en contratos de asignación de tierras
The First Chamber reviews a cassation appeal by a parcel holder against a ruling that revoked his land assignment contract for breach of limitations under the Land and Colonization Law. The central issue is whether the 15-year limitation period runs from the original assignment or from the authorized transfer to a new beneficiary. The majority holds that…
Res. 00941-2019 Sala Primera de la Corte2019 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Litisconsorcio pasivo necesario del Estado en nulidad de título sobre zona marítimo terrestre
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court reviewed a cassation appeal against a judgment that declared the absolute nullity of the titling, registration, and segregations of a farm in Guanacaste, for including maritime-terrestrial zone (ZMT) and mangrove areas. The plaintiff, an environmental association, sought nullity of the title granted by ITCO in 1972…
Res. 00069-2019 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2019 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad parcial de titulación de terreno con cobertura boscosa por constituir Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Court, Section VI, ruled on a lesividad action filed by INDER against an individual and a company, seeking to annul the titling of a plot in the Aranjuez River Basin Project, Puntarenas. The court found that the property, of about 24 hectares, contained 7.8460 hectares with forest cover classified as State Natural Heritage…
Res. 00501-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Revocatoria de improbación de información posesoria en área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Court reversed the lower court's decision that had denied a possessory information claim for a property located within the Montes de Oro Protective Zone and the Peñas Blancas National Wildlife Refuge. The majority held that the claimant successfully demonstrated, through documentary evidence and three witness statements, a continuous,…
Res. 00741-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria procede pese a afectación parcial por zona protectora si se acredita posesión anterior a su creación
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the lower court ruling and granted the possessory information proceedings filed by Zamuri S.A. over a 121-hectare property in Lepanto, Puntarenas. Approximately 50% of the land lies within the Nicoya Peninsula Protected Zone, established in 1994. The tribunal found that the petitioner proved more than ten years of…
Res. 00111-2019 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2019 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Lesividad para recuperar terreo en zona fronteriza sur
The Administrative Court, Section VI, granted a lesividad claim filed by INDER against private individuals who had been awarded land within the two-kilometer strip of the Southern Border Zone. The court confirmed that lands in that zone are public domain assets, inalienable and imprescriptible, and thus the 2005 adjudication agreement was absolutely null…
Res. 00865-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para titular terrenos boscosos dentro de Reserva Forestal Río Macho
The Agrarian Court reversed the lower court and granted the possessory information proceedings to title a roughly 3.4-hectare property located inside the Río Macho Forest Reserve, established in 1964. The court examined compliance with Article 7 of the Law on Possessory Information, which requires proving ten years of possession prior to the creation of…
Res. 00866-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de finca boscosa en Reserva Forestal Los Santos — rechazo de apelación del Estado
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld the lower court's ruling ordering the registration of a primary-forest property located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve—a protected wild area created by Executive Decree No. 5389-A of 1975. The State, through the Attorney General's Office, appealed on three grounds: (1) that historical legislation dating from 1939 had…
Res. 00985-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal anterior a área protegida permite titular
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a property partially within Diriá National Park. The majority finds that the petitioners proved, through witness testimony and documentary evidence, a quiet, public, peaceful, and owner-like possession for more than ten years before the creation of the protected area,…
Res. 01047-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court rules on an appeal against the approval of a possessory information for a 117-hectare property in Pérez Zeledón, 89% covered by primary forest. The Attorney General argued that forested lands are part of the State's Natural Heritage, inalienable and imprescriptible, therefore titling should not proceed. The Court upholds the…
Res. 01062-2019 Tribunal Agrario2019 · Tribunal Agrario
Definición de competencia en conflictos posesorios sobre humedales demaniales
The Agrarian Court reviews an ordinary process involving a claim for better possessory right and a counterclaim for adverse possession over land that includes wetlands of the Medio Queso River in Los Chiles, Alajuela. The court examines whether the area qualifies as public domain, relying on Article 7(h) of the Land and Colonization Law, which declares as…
Res. 00032-2018 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2018 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de adjudicación de lotes en zona marítimo terrestre por lesividad
The Administrative Contentious Tribunal grants the INDER's lesivity claim, annulling the 1995 board agreement that adjudicated two lots (9 and 11-1) in Bahía settlement, Osa, Puntarenas, to an environmental association. The ruling finds that both properties are part of the maritime-terrestrial zone (affected by tidal ingress, the Uvita River estuary, and…
Res. 00030-2018 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VIII2018 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VIII
Cosa juzgada constitucional y responsabilidad estatal por omisión expropiatoria en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal examines a claim by an occupant of the Osa Peasant Settlement within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The plaintiff sought nullification of an INDER resolution revoking a land titling procedure, plus damages and forestry incentives. The Tribunal upholds the constitutional res judicata exception based on a prior…
Res. 00017-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Imposibilidad de declarar mejor derecho de posesión sobre terrenos en zona marítimo terrestre y Refugio de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo
The Agrarian Court heard an ordinary lawsuit in which the plaintiffs sought a declaration of a better right of possession over land located in the maritime terrestrial zone and within the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge. Both the State and the private co-defendant appealed the first-instance judgment, which had recognized such right in favor of…
Res. 00157-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación en Reserva Forestal Río Macho denegada por insuficiencia probatoria
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the approval of possessory information proceedings and denies the titling of a 3.36‑ha property located in La Esperanza, El Guarco, Cartago, within the Río Macho Forest Reserve. The estate claimed to have possessed the land since at least 1950, but the witnesses did not directly attest to the chain of transmission from the…
Res. 00208-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para titular terrenos dentro de áreas silvestres protegidas
This Agrarian Tribunal ruling analyzes an appeal against the denial of an agrarian possessory information proceeding concerning a property located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The court revokes the lower court's judgment and approves the possessory information, finding that the applicant proved an uninterrupted possessory chain of more than ten…
Res. 00351-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
No se puede negar titulación agraria basándose retroactivamente en normativa forestal y de suelos
This Agrarian Tribunal ruling upholds a lower court decision granting an ordinary agrarian claim against INDER (Rural Development Institute). The plaintiff had possessed a parcel in the Paso Bolaños settlement for over 27 years and sought formal title. INDER opposed, arguing that part of the land was class VIII soil, forming part of the State Natural…
Res. 00581-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria bajo la Ley 7575
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a lower court ruling that allowed a private individual to register a forested property (63% secondary forest) in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas, through a possessory information proceeding. The Prosecutor's Office appealed, arguing that the land, being mountainous, is state-owned natural heritage since the 1969 Forestry Law and that…
Res. 00602-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos por información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding to title a 59-hectare property covered with secondary forest in Hojancha, Guanacaste, outside protected areas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forests are inalienable public domain goods not subject to adverse possession, and that the ten-year possession was…
Res. 00363-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con cobertura forestal mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upheld the registration of a 41-hectare property with scrub and forest cover, located outside protected wild areas, in favor of the petitioner who proved possession and acts of protection of the natural resource for at least ten years, pursuant to Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, as amended by Forestry Law No. 7575. The…
Res. 00484-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación en Zona Protectora Península de Nicoya exige posesión decenal previa y acatamiento de recomendaciones técnicas
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding for land partly within the Nicoya Peninsula Protective Zone, established in 1994. The petitioner proved continuous material possession since at least 1968, first by a predecessor and then personally, meeting Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law’s requirement of ten-year…
Res. 00506-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria dentro de Zona Protectora Cerros de Turrubares
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding filed by SAN [Nombre1] S.A., represented by its general agent, over a 738,526 m² property located in Turrubares, San José, within the Cerros de Turrubares Protective Zone (created by Law 6900 of 1983). The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing insufficient evidence of…
Res. 00066-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble boscoso fuera de área silvestre protegida mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court confirms the trial court's approval of possessory title registration for a forested property owned by the Consorcio Nacional de Empresas de Electrificación de Costa Rica R.L., located in San Bosco, San Ramón, Alajuela, outside protected areas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested land is public domain and cannot…
Res. 00636-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica permite usucapión en terrenos con bosque
The Agrarian Court confirms a possessory information proceeding over 62 hectares of primary forest in Golfito. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forest is part of the State's Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado) and therefore inalienable, and that there was an undelimited public road. The Court rejects both arguments.…
Res. 00837-2018 Tribunal Agrario2018 · Tribunal Agrario
Rectificación de medida en área silvestre protegida — Cadena posesoria desde 1943 y protección del recurso hídrico
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of a land survey rectification for a property registered since 1887 within the Cerros de Escazú Protected Zone. The request sought to adjust the registered area from 1 ha 483.44 m² to the actual 3 ha 1108 m², under Articles 13 and 14 of the Possessory Information Law. The majority held that witness testimony proved a…
Res. 00101-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con cobertura boscosa mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a forested mountain property in Pococí, Limón, located outside any protected wild area. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the land, being forested, forms part of the State's Natural Heritage and is a public domain asset that cannot be titled. The…
Res. 00163-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de la usucapión de un predio ubicado dentro de la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the lower court's ruling dismissing an ordinary usucapion claim brought by an individual against the Rural Development Institute (INDER) and other defendants. The disputed property, approximately 124 hectares, lies entirely within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, established by executive decree in 1979. The Tribunal finds that…
Res. 00037-2017 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2017 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Responsabilidad del Estado por anulación de zonificación en Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú
The Administrative Litigation Court analyzes whether the sued administrations (State, Municipality of Mora, INVU, and SINAC) are civilly liable for damages claimed by a company owning a lot in the Hacienda Los Bambúes Condominium, acquired in 2007 under the 2001 Zoning Regulation, which allowed housing in the Cerros de Escazú Protective Zone. This…
Res. 00236-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Revocatoria de improbación de información posesoria en la Reserva Forestal Los Santos
The Agrarian Court, by majority, overturns the lower court’s denial of a possessory information claim filed by Agropecuaria La Florida S.A. concerning a property located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve, established in 1975. The majority holds that a comprehensive assessment of the evidence —three witness statements, a transfer deed, a land use study,…
Res. 00244-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Reversión de rechazo de información posesoria en zona protectora
The Agrarian Court overturns the lower court's rejection of possessory information proceedings brought by Vista Alto del Monte S.A. for an 8,306 m² plot in Atenas, Alajuela, located within the Río Grande Protected Zone. The lower court had dismissed the petition because one 23-year-old witness could not personally attest to ten-year possession prior to the…
Res. 00259-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para titular en zona protectora — cadena posesoria y uso conforme
The Agrarian Tribunal (majority opinion) reverses the lower court ruling and grants the possessory information for a 614 m² property within the Río Toro Protected Zone, established in 1994. The court finds that the petitioner proved a continuous, public, and peaceful family possession chain since the 1970s, satisfying the ten-year requirement of Article 7…
Res. 00260-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos por información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority, upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 136-hectare property containing primary and secondary forest, located outside protected wildlands. The tribunal holds that Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, as amended by Forestry Law No. 7575, expressly allows the titling of forested lands if…
Res. 00305-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce — aprobación de información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information for a one-hectare property located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The majority holds that the petitioner proved, through three witness statements freely assessed, a chain of possession exceeding ten years before the protected area was created in 1978. Although the witnesses did not…
Res. 00378-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario regenerado por poseedor puede ser apropiable por usucapión
The Agrarian Tribunal resolved an appeal against a judgment that approved a possessory information claim over a property consisting of pasture, scrub, and secondary forest. The Attorney General's Office argued that forested lands are public domain and cannot be acquired by adverse possession. The Tribunal rejected that argument in this case because the…
Res. 00392-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the ruling approving the possessory information over a property with primary forest cover and agroforestry use in Acosta. The Attorney General appealed arguing that the forest is part of the State Natural Heritage and that no ten-year possession suitable for adverse possession was proven. The Tribunal reiterates its criterion,…
Res. 00534-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación por información posesoria dentro de Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 54-hectare property within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, established in 1978. The claimant corporation sought registration of title based on the possessory rights of its predecessors. The court found sufficient proof of decennial possession predating the protected area's…
Res. 00550-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos para titular finca dentro de área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Court overturns the lower court's dismissal of a possessory information proceeding for a forested property inside the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The lower judge had required the applicant to prove possession predating the 1939 Baldíos Law, a revoked statute. The Court corrects this, holding that under Article 7 of the Possessory Information…
Res. 00519-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de titular terreno con bosque secundario mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for land with secondary forest and agricultural use, located outside wilderness protected areas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forests are public domain property, inalienable and imprescriptible, and thus could not be possessed or acquired by adverse…
Res. 00632-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Confirmación de información posesoria en área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possessory information for a property within the Río Macho Forest Reserve. The Attorney General's Office opposed, arguing that the land is within the two-kilometer strip of the Inter-American Highway and contains oak trees, and was therefore already subject to public domain before the reserve was created. The…
Res. 00590-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque en regeneración no es demanio público para información posesoria en refugio de vida silvestre
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 37-hectare property inside the Maquenque Mixed National Wildlife Refuge, established in 2005. The State argued the land was public domain as forest within a protected area and that qualified possession protecting natural resources had not been proven. After analyzing a…
Res. 00810-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Procede información posesoria sobre terreno en zona protectora si se demuestra posesión decenal previa a su creación
The Agrarian Court of Cartago resolved an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against a judgment that approved possessory information over a plot within the Río Navarro-Río Sombrero Protective Zone, created in 1984. The Attorney General argued insufficient proof of decennial possession prior to the decree and that the current use (pasture and crops)…
Res. 00700-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación por información posesoria dentro de reserva forestal
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the lower court's ruling and granted a possessory information proceeding filed by Goede Leven DK S.R.L. for a 2,214 m² plot in Pococí, Limón, located within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. The chamber held that testimonial and documentary evidence proved continuous, uninterrupted private possession since at…
Res. 00701-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación en Reserva Forestal Los Santos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding to register a 21,508 m² plot located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve, established in 1975. The promoting corporation demonstrated, through testimonial and documentary evidence, continuous, public, peaceful, and decennial possession since at least 1952, predating the…
Res. 00709-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Aprobación de información posesoria sobre bosque secundario no demanial
The Agrarian Tribunal, in a majority vote, upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 956,923 m² property in Guacimal, Puntarenas, described as secondary forest land in regeneration. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the land was forest and thus State natural heritage under the Forestry Laws of 1969, 1990, and the…
Res. 00844-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Rechazo de información posesoria en Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú
The Agrarian Court upholds the rejection of a possessory information claim filed by Lontananza S.A. concerning a property located within the Cerros de Escazú Protected Zone. The petitioner sought to register the roughly 5‑hectare property in the Public Registry by proving ten‑year adverse possession. However, because the land lies inside a protected…
Res. 00845-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld a ruling that approved the possessory information claim brought by an individual over a 74‑hectare property located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, created in 1978. The State Attorney’s Office appealed, arguing that possession for ten years prior to the reserve’s creation had not been proven, that a previous dismissed…
Res. 00846-2017 Tribunal Agrario2017 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos en Refugio de Vida Silvestre y posesión decenal previa
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the dismissal of a possessory information claim for two properties located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge. The petitioner failed to prove ten-year possession prior to the creation of the protected area in 1985, as required by Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law as amended by the Forestry Law.…
Res. 00079-2017 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II2017 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección II
Lesividad por titulación de terrenos del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Second Section of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal upheld a lesividad claim filed by INDER against Ganadera Loma Linda S.A., declaring the absolute nullity of the IDA Board of Directors’ 2004 agreement that authorized the titling of a partially forested parcel under the Aranjuez River Basin Titling Project. The tribunal found that the IDA titled…
Res. 01485-2017 Sala Primera de la Corte2017 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Lesividad y desalojo en Reserva Biológica Alberto Manuel Brenes
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court, in a lesividad (harmfulness) proceeding brought by the State, declares the nullity of ministerial endorsements and cadastral entries granted to individuals over lands within the Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve. The Chamber holds that the authorization required by Article 47 of the National Cadastre Law…
Res. 00002-2016 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I2016 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I
Ratificación de despido de funcionario que participó en titulación irregular dentro del Refugio Gandoca-Manzanillo
The Administrative Court reviewed the dismissal imposed by the Comptroller General of the Republic on an official of the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) who, as Subregional Chief, recommended in 2000 the segregation and transfer to a private individual of a plot located within the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge. The titling was based on…
Res. 00043-2016 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2016 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Indemnización por lesividad contra INDER por parcela en Patrimonio Natural del Estado
This ruling from the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, Section VI, addresses a claim against INDER for damages after the declaration of lesividad that nullified the titling of a parcel in Los Chiles, Alajuela. The claimant sought compensation for the property value and subjective moral damages. The court found that the parcel (278 ha) was part of the…
Res. 00118-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Aprobación de información posesoria sobre terrenos con cobertura boscosa
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 151-hectare property with pasture and forest in Coto Brus, overruling the appeal by the Attorney General's Office. The prosecution argued that forested land was part of the State Natural Heritage and could not be titled. However, the Court, relying on recent…
Res. 00021-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal trasmitida y conservación forestal permiten titular terrenos en reserva forestal
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the lower court's decision and approved the possessory information proceeding for a 268-hectare property covered by natural forest within the Los Santos Forest Reserve. The lower judge had rejected the titling, finding insufficient proof of decennial possession prior to the reserve's creation in 1975 and disregarding…
Res. 00380-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria sobre Patrimonio Natural del Estado en Refugio de Vida Silvestre Maquenque
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a forested property within the Maquenque Mixed National Wildlife Refuge. The promoting company failed to prove ten-year possession prior to the land’s designation as public domain. The court held that the area sought to be titled was not covered by the 1974 survey…
Res. 00352-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble dentro de Reserva Forestal Río Macho
The Agrarian Court reverses the lower court's dismissal of a possessory information proceeding for land located within the Río Macho Forest Reserve, established by Executive Decree 1-A of January 23, 1964. The Court holds that the applicant proved ten-year possession prior to 1964, relying on witness testimony dating possession to 1949-1950 and documentary…
Res. 00393-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Reconocimiento de propiedad sobre parcelas del Asentamiento Sara por autorización de traspaso del IDA
The Agrarian Tribunal partially overturns the lower court's ruling and grants the claim of [Nombre1], recognizing his ownership right over plots 79, 80, 82, and 93 of Asentamiento Sara. The tribunal finds that the IDA's Board of Directors authorized the transfer of title through agreement No. 16, session 008-90 of January 23, 1990, which was never revoked…
Res. 00741-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Confirmación de información posesoria en Zona Protectora Río Toro
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority, confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding to title a 14,589 m² plot within the Río Toro Protective Zone (established in 1994). The applicant proved a continuous possessory chain since the 1950s — by his grandfather, father, and finally himself — involving cattle grazing, reforestation, and protection…
Res. 00774-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal previa a la Reserva Forestal Cordillera Volcánica Central
The Agrarian Court upholds the lower court's decision approving a possessory information proceeding for a forested property within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. Applying Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law and settled case law, the court holds that the applicant must prove decennial possession prior to the creation of the…
Res. 00808-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Rectificación de medida de finca en área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Court heard an appeal of a judgment that approved the correction of the area of a property registered through possessory information, located within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. The applicant sought to increase its area from 223,547 m² to 803,466 m². The Attorney General's Office (PGR) appealed, arguing insufficient proof…
Res. 00823-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal previa a decreto de zona protectora requiere prueba testimonial
The Agrarian Court reverses a judgment that had approved a possessory information proceeding for a property located within the Río Navarro-Río Sombrero Protected Zone, established by Decree No. 15436-MAG of 1984. The court holds that, for protected wild areas, Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law requires proof of decennial possession exercised at…
Res. 01023-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Nulidad de título obtenido al amparo de Ley de Titulación en Reservas Nacionales declarada inconstitucional
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns the lower court judgment and finds that a property title obtained under the National Reserve Titling Law (No. 7599) is absolutely null, as that law was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Chamber through Vote No. 2001-08560. The ruling emphasizes that the declaration of unconstitutionality has retroactive and…
Res. 01171-2016 Tribunal Agrario2016 · Tribunal Agrario
Convalidación de venta de cosa ajena sobre parcelas adjudicadas por el INDER en la Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Agrarian Tribunal partially overturns the lower court ruling that had nullified the 1994 sales of two properties located within the Osa Settlement, originally part of the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The Chamber finds that, although the seller was not the registered owner at the time of the contracts — the land belonged to the Agrarian Development…
Res. 00003-2015 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2015 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Titulación de terreno boscoso anulada por lesividad del INDER
The Contentious Administrative Tribunal, Section IV, hears a lesividad action brought by INDER to annul the titling of a forested parcel, arguing it harmed the State's Natural Heritage and violated Forestry Law 7575. The defendants acquiesced to the annulment claims during conciliation. The Tribunal grants the complaint, annulling the IDA Board agreement,…
Res. 00286-2015 Sala Primera de la Corte2015 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Ostional y la inaplicación del artículo 73 de la Ley 6043 sobre zona marítimo terrestre
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court dismisses an appeal in cassation filed by an individual against a judgment ordering his eviction and the demolition of his structures in the public zone of Playa Guiones, within the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. The appellant argued that under Article 73 of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone Law (Law 6043), this law…
Res. 00024-2015 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2015 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Negatoria de visado de plano que extiende finca sobre humedal manglar declarado Área Silvestre Protegida
The Administrative Contentious Court dismissed Hacienda Carrizal S.A.'s lawsuit challenging SINAC's refusal to approve a cadastral plan that would have added 3.89 hectares to its property. The plot originated from a 1916 titling law, but the expansion area fell within the "Humedal Estero Puntarenas y Manglares Asociados" protected area, declared by…
Res. 00045-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria y posesión ecológica
The ruling confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings to register three properties (with pasture, cocoa, and forest) in Golfito, Puntarenas, in favor of Rio Claro Land Company LLC. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested lands are part of national reserves and imprescriptible. The Agrarian Court reaffirms its…
Res. 00046-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión de monte y posesión ecológica en reservas nacionales
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms that a forested property (woodland, scrub, and fruit trees) may be titled via possessory information proceedings, provided the applicant proves ten-year possession with conservation of the forest resource. It rejects the Attorney General's objection that forested lands form part of the national reserves and are therefore…
Res. 00048-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno boscoso mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 404,633 m² forested property. The Attorney General argued that, being part of national reserves, it was imprescriptible. The Court, relying on Constitutional Chamber precedent (Vote 4587-97), holds that forested land in national reserves can be acquired by adverse…
Res. 00044-2015 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I2015 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I
Nulidad de adjudicación del IDA sobre terreno con bosque que constituye patrimonio natural del Estado
The Administrative Litigation Tribunal declared the nullity of the IDA Board’s 2003 decision to segregate and transfer parcel 1-4 of the Cuenca del Río Aranjuez Project to Desarrollo Cerdeña Menorca S.A., along with subsequent registrations. The court upheld the State’s lesividad action, finding that at the time of adjudication the property contained…
Res. 00343-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos en reservas nacionales mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 79-hectare property with forest and pasture cover in Guanacaste, sought by individuals who proved decennial possession and conservation of forest resources. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forested land belonged to the public domain under the…
Res. 00395-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria y conservación del recurso
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings for two forested lots in Osa, Puntarenas, brought by a corporation. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested land belongs to the State's Natural Heritage and is inalienable public domain, thus not subject to private possession or adverse possession. The Court…
Res. 00678-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación en zona protectora requiere posesión decenal previa a la declaratoria
The Agrarian Tribunal revokes the lower court ruling and grants the possessory information proceedings filed by an individual over a plot located within the Cuenca del Río Tuis Protected Zone, declared in 1986. The court concludes that the petitioner demonstrated quiet, public, peaceful and uninterrupted possession since 1972, i.e., more than ten years…
Res. 00762-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión de terreno de bosque en reserva nacional requiere posesión decenal y conservación del recurso
The Agrarian Court adjudicates the Attorney General's Office's appeal against a judgment approving possessory information over two mountain plots in Santa Rosa, Puntarenas. The Attorney General argues that because the land is forested and lies within national reserves, it forms part of the State Natural Heritage and is therefore inalienable and…
Res. 00876-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisito de reforestación previa para aprobar información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal overturns a judgment that had approved possessory information proceedings for a property with streams and springs, after finding clearing and unauthorized tree cutting in the water resource protection area. The ruling emphasizes that Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law requires, as a condition for titling, that natural…
Res. 00966-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Competencia agraria sobre usucapión especial en Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Barra del Colorado
The Agrarian Tribunal resolved an exception of lack of jurisdiction filed by the Procuraduría General de la República in an ordinary proceeding where an individual claims special agrarian usucapión over part of a property registered under the name of the Instituto de Desarrollo Rural (INDER), located within the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge.…
Res. 01230-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Reconocimiento de propiedad por usucapión en área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over pastureland located within a protected wild area. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that cattle-raising activities are incompatible with the area's protection and that "ecological possession" should have been demonstrated. The Tribunal rejects this…
Res. 01250-2015 Tribunal Agrario2015 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque secundario mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings for a property with secondary forest in natural regeneration, rejecting the arguments of the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General alleged a change in land use detrimental to the forest resource and argued that the forest is public domain. The Tribunal found no…
Res. 00126-2014 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2014 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de titulación de terreno en Refugio de Vida Silvestre por lesividad
The Administrative Contentious Court, Section VI, granted the lesividad action brought by the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA, now Inder) against two individuals, annulling the 2005 Board of Directors agreement that segregated and transferred a 82.64-hectare property in Pital de San Carlos. The court verified that the property lies entirely within the…
Res. 00080-2014 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2014 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Allanamiento en proceso de lesividad por segregación de predio del IDA en zona de Patrimonio Natural del Estado
Section VI of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal heard an acquiescence filed by Jadimar Bosques de Doña Rosa S.A. in a lesividad proceeding brought by the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA). The lawsuit sought the partial absolute nullity of a 2003 IDA board agreement that segregated a lot from the Llanuras de San Carlos y Sarapiquí titling project…
Res. 00084-2014 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2014 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Lesividad de titulación agraria sobre terreno del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court hears a lesividad (harmfulness) claim filed by the Rural Development Institute (INDER) against an individual, seeking to annul the titling of a property granted by the former IDA in 2005, on the grounds that the land belongs to the State's Natural Heritage and its allotment violated protective regulations. The defendant acquiesced,…
Res. 00792-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria y protección del recurso forestal
The Agrarian Court reviews a possessory information proceeding concerning a forested property bordering the Juan Castro Blanco National Park. The Attorney General's Office appealed the trial court's approval of the titling, arguing that forested land is part of the public domain and thus inalienable and not subject to adverse possession. The Court…
Res. 00803-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal reviewed an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against a lower court decision that granted a possessory information claim over an 18-hectare property containing pasture, forest, and scrubland in San Carlos. The Attorney General argued that forested land forms part of the State's Natural Heritage, making it inalienable and…
Res. 00819-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Nulidad de información posesoria por no resolver oposición sobre áreas silvestres protegidas
The Agrarian Court annuls a first-instance ruling that had approved possessory information proceedings to title a property adjacent to the Río Macho Forest Reserve. The Attorney General's Office argued that the submitted cadastral map modified an earlier one, increasing the area by over 4,000 square meters and encroaching on lands of the forest reserve,…
Res. 00840-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno boscoso mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possessory information over a 20,396 m² plot with forest, pasture, and buildings in Sarapiquí, Heredia. The petitioner proved decennial possession by himself and his predecessor, with environmentally friendly activities such as butterfly gardens, fruit tree planting, and fence maintenance. The Court determines…
Res. 00883-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión de terreno forestal mediante información posesoria y demostración de posesión decenal ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding regarding a 99-hectare forested property in Pérez Zeledón. The petitioner proved over thirty years of public, peaceful, and continuous possession, including that of his predecessors, and demonstrated conservation of primary forest, springs, and biodiversity. The Attorney…
Res. 00894-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the ruling that approved possessory information proceedings for two forest and fruit-tree lands in the province of Alajuela. The Attorney General's Office appealed on the grounds that forested lands are public domain, inalienable and imprescriptible, forming part of the State’s Natural Heritage, and that a ten-year possession…
Res. 01073-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Función ambiental de la propiedad y humedales en información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a property containing a swamp, stream, and spring, challenged by the Attorney General’s Office on the grounds that wetlands are part of the State’s Natural Heritage and cannot be privately owned. The tribunal rules that agro-environmental limitations—stemming from the…
Res. 01145-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de bosque por usucapión acredita posesión ecológica decenal
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the lower court's ruling granting possessory information proceedings over a secondary-forest property located outside any protected wild area. The Attorney General argued that forested land forms part of the national reserves and is inalienable; the Tribunal rejects this. Applying Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law —…
Res. 01148-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Usucapión de bosque mediante posesión ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld the approval of an information of possession over a property consisting of forest and pasture in Santo Domingo de Katira, Alajuela. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forested land belongs to national reserves and is imprescriptible. However, the Tribunal held that the 1996 Forestry Law amended the…
Res. 01157-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Concepto de bosque en información posesoria agraria
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority vote, upheld the approval of possessory information proceedings over three lots located in Corredores, Puntarenas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the lands, being forested in nature, formed part of the State's Natural Heritage and thus were not susceptible to possession or adverse possession. The…
Res. 00078-2014 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I2014 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección I
Desalojo de parcela en Río Celeste constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Contentious Court dismisses the annulment claim against INDER's Board decision that ordered the eviction of an occupant from parcel 40 of the Río Celeste Settlement. The ruling declares the occupation entirely illegal because the plaintiff showed no right over the property —owned by INDER— and entered via an alleged unwritten…
Res. 00114-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación posesoria sobre terreno con tacotal no califica como bosque demanial
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of possessory title proceedings over a 20-hectare property in Guacimal, Puntarenas, used for pasture and scrubland. The Attorney General appealed, arguing that the land contained forest and that forests are part of the State Natural Heritage, thus not subject to private appropriation. The Court rejects this…
Res. 00206-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Resolución 00206-2014 Tribunal Agrario: información posesoria sobre terreno con tacotal no constituye bosque demanial
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 14-hectare property in Golfito, rejecting the appeal by the Attorney General's Office. The appellant argued that the land contained forest and therefore was part of the State's Natural Heritage, not subject to adverse possession. The Court analyzed the expert evidence and…
Res. 00052-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica y titulación de terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria
This ruling by the Agrarian Tribunal decides an appeal filed by the Attorney General's Office against the approval of possessory information proceedings for a property with pasture and primary forest. The Attorney General argued that the forested land was part of national reserves and thus imprescriptible under prior laws. The Tribunal confirms the lower…
Res. 00513-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos por información posesoria fuera de áreas silvestres protegidas
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority vote, confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a property with forest cover (reforestation and secondary forest) located outside protected wild areas. The Attorney General's Office opposed, arguing that forests and forest lands form part of the State's Natural Heritage, are inalienable and…
Res. 00592-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque fuera de áreas protegidas mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a forested property located outside protected wild areas. The majority applies Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, as amended by Forestry Law 7575, which allows titling of forested lands outside such areas upon proof of ten-year possession and resource…
Res. 00594-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque fuera de áreas protegidas bajo la Ley de Informaciones Posesorias
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings for a property with secondary forest and scrubland, located outside protected wild areas. The petitioner, a conservation organization, demonstrated compliance with Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law: decennial possession transmitted, land demarcation, and protection of…
Res. 00633-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con plantación forestal y tacotal fuera de área protegida
The Agrarian Tribunal reviews the appeal by the Attorney General's Office against the approval of a possessory information proceeding to register a 22-hectare property with melina plantation, scrubland, and mountain in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. The prosecution argued nullity due to lack of judicial inspection, that the forested land is part of the State's…
Res. 01069-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno boscoso fuera de áreas protegidas mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court confirmed the judgment approving possessory information proceedings filed by a Dutch citizen to register a 64-hectare mountain property in Siquirres, Limón. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the land included a public road and that the forested land was part of the State's Natural Heritage and therefore could not be titled.…
Res. 01076-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal examines whether a forest-covered property located outside protected wilderness areas can be registered through possessory information proceedings. The Attorney General's Office argued that forests are public domain assets, inalienable and imprescriptible, and therefore cannot be acquired by adverse possession. However, the Tribunal…
Res. 00650-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Definición de bosque y aptitud de tacotal para usucapir en información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings over a property with scrubland and pasture cover in Osa, Puntarenas, rejecting the arguments of the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General argued that the land contained forest and therefore formed part of the State Natural Heritage, making it ineligible for…
Res. 00689-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con cobertura boscosa mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the ruling that ordered the registration of a 54-hectare property containing pastures and secondary forest in Puntarenas through possessory information proceedings. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested lands are public domain, inalienable and imprescriptible, and therefore cannot be possessed or…
Res. 00741-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Posibilidad de titular terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Costa Rican Agrarian Tribunal, in Resolution No. 00741-2014, upheld the registration of three properties containing pasture, forest, and scrubland via possessory information, over the opposition of the Attorney General's Office. The appellant contended that forested land belongs to the State's Natural Heritage and cannot be acquired by adverse…
Res. 00743-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a property combining pasture and regenerating forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested areas are state natural heritage and cannot be acquired by adverse possession. The Tribunal rejects this argument because the technical study showed the…
Res. 00755-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre terreno con bosque secundario regenerado
The Agrarian Court upheld the registration via possessory information of a 60-hectare property in Guanacaste composed of secondary forest (24.96%), scrub and brushland (68.39%), and crops (6.65%). The Attorney General's Office appealed, claiming all forest lands are state public domain since the 1969 Forestry Law. The Court, however, distinguished…
Res. 00957-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble con bosque fuera de área protegida mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a forested property located outside protected wild areas, rejecting the appeal by the Attorney General's Office. The State argued that since the land was forested, it formed part of the State's Natural Heritage and was inalienable and imprescriptible public domain under…
Res. 01003-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno boscoso fuera de ASP mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority, upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a primary forest mountain land located outside protected wild areas. The court analyzes the tension between the public domain regime of the State's Natural Heritage and the possibility of titling forested lands under Article 7 of the Possessory Information…
Res. 01102-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmuebles con bosque fuera de áreas protegidas mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 45-hectare property with pasture and forest in Tilarán, Guanacaste. The Attorney General’s Office appealed, arguing the forested land was part of the State’s Natural Heritage and thus not subject to adverse possession. The Tribunal rejected this, noting the soil study…
Res. 01108-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque secundario mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal ruled on an appeal against a judgment that approved a possessory information proceeding to register a 118-hectare property in Santo Domingo, Belén, Guanacaste. The Attorney General's Office objected, claiming the land was public forest domain, part of the State's natural heritage under the 1969 Forestry Law. The Tribunal upheld the…
Res. 01204-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque secundario mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the lower court ruling ordering the registration in the name of Corporación Wilkin S.A. of a 1.21-hectare property composed of secondary forest and improved pastures in Santa Elena de Monteverde, Puntarenas. The Office of the Attorney General had appealed, arguing the land was forested public domain under the 1969 Forestry…
Res. 00459-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria sobre bien demanial forestal en zona protectora
The Agrarian Tribunal, by majority, reverses the lower court ruling and approves possessory information over an 82,880 m² property located entirely within the Nicoya Peninsula Protected Zone, with 83.26% forest cover. The majority finds that the petitioner met the requirements of Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law: ten-year possession prior to the…
Res. 00907-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos fuera de ASP sin posesión decenal previa a Ley Forestal
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 75-hectare property with forest cover and pasture in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas. The Attorney General’s Office appealed, arguing that forest lands are public domain and therefore inalienable and imprescriptible, and that no decennial possession prior to the State’s forest…
Res. 01210-2014 Tribunal Agrario2014 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria en Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas por falta de posesión ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned the approval of a possessory information claim over 79 hectares entirely within Piedras Blancas National Park. The claimants proved decade-long possession prior to the creation of the protected area but failed to demonstrate ecological possession—meaning conduct consistent with conservation and protection of natural…
Res. 00799-2013 Sala Primera de la Corte2013 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Naturaleza demanial de predio con manglar y entrada de marea — lesividad imprescriptible
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice overturned a lower court decision that had dismissed the IDA's lesividad claim on grounds of statute of limitations. The dispute involved two lots transferred by the IDA to the environmental association APROAMBIDA in 1995. The Chamber held that Lot 11-1, based on transferred evidence (including reports from…
Res. 00023-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Tribunal Contencioso reconoce derecho de propiedad a poseedor decenal sin limitaciones de ley agraria
The Contentious Administrative Tribunal, Section IV, ruled in favor of Olivier Sánchez Jiménez, who proved decennial, quiet, public, peaceful, and continuous possession of three parcels in Coto Brus, Puntarenas, acquired by INDER from the defunct Banco Anglo. The Court held that INDER, through a 2004 Board agreement, recognized subjective rights of the…
Res. 00032-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Reconocimiento de mejoras y daño moral por desalojo en tierras del INDER
The Administrative Contentious Court examines the claims of a group of good-faith occupants of a farm owned by INDER (formerly IDA) in Los Chiles, Alajuela, who sought title by adverse possession and claimed material and moral damages after an administrative eviction. The Court rejects acquisition by usucapion due to the absence of a just title and the…
Res. 00051-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Declara lesividad y nulidad absoluta de titulación de parcela que afecta patrimonio natural del Estado
The Administrative Appeals Court, Section IV, partially grants the lesividad action brought by the Rural Development Institute (INDER) and declares the absolute nullity of the Board of Directors' agreement that authorized the transfer of a parcel within the Los Chiles titling project, as it affects public domain assets forming part of the State's natural…
Res. 00036-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII
Nulidad de titulación de tierras con cobertura boscosa en Coto Brus
The Administrative Court annuls an IDA agreement that titled a 296-hectare parcel to individuals, after proving that 59% of the land has forest cover according to FONAFIFO maps and therefore constitutes State natural heritage. The court upholds the IDA's lesividad claim, confirming that lands forming part of the State’s natural heritage are inalienable,…
Res. 00068-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección IV
Bien demanial — naturaleza imprescriptible e inalienable del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court denies the claim of two individuals who alleged possession over forested land and sought to annul its transfer from the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) to the environment ministry. The Court finds that the parcel constitutes State Natural Heritage due to its forest cover, forestry aptitude, and location in a protective zone of…
Res. 00103-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección V
Confirmación de despido de funcionario por titulación irregular de terrenos del Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal rejects the lawsuit filed by a former IDA official who challenged his disciplinary dismissal imposed by the Comptroller General’s Office. The plaintiff had participated in the titling of two parcels located within the Los Santos Forest Reserve and the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, at a time when the rule…
Res. 00089-2013 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII2013 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VII
Nulidad de adjudicación del IDA sobre terrenos que constituyen patrimonio natural del Estado
The Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, Section VII, partially grants the lesividad action filed by the Rural Development Institute (formerly IDA) against the cooperative COOPROSUR R.L. The challenged act is the 1998 IDA Board of Directors' agreement that segregated, adjudicated, and transferred approximately 292 hectares of the Nazareno Farm in Piedras…
Res. 00303-2013 Tribunal Agrario2013 · Tribunal Agrario
Posibilidad de titular terreno con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a property containing mountain forest, coffee and pasture, rejecting the appeal of the Attorney General's Office. The State argued that forests are public domain goods forming part of the Natural Heritage of the State since the 1969 Forestry Law, and thus cannot be…
Res. 00947-2013 Tribunal Agrario2013 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble con bosque mediante información posesoria agraria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a lower court ruling ordering the registration of a 20.9-hectare forested property located outside protected wild areas in Gigante de Paquera, Puntarenas, in favor of a private individual. The applicant proved more than ten years of possession—both personal and transmitted—forest protection, and proper boundary demarcation,…
Res. 01062-2013 Tribunal Agrario2013 · Tribunal Agrario
Confirmación de titulación posesoria de terreno mixto con bosque, charral y tacotal
The Agrarian Tribunal affirms the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 119-hectare property with pasture, forest, scrub, and fallow land. The Attorney General’s Office appealed, arguing that the forest is public domain and unregistrable, and that no decennial possession was proven. The Tribunal rejects both: evidence — MINAE’s soil-use…
Res. 01675-2012 Sala Primera de la Corte2012 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Titulación del IDA en zona boscosa es nula por ser bien demanial forestal
The First Chamber upheld the nullity of a title granted by the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) to a private individual over 45 hectares in Limón. The land, forested since at least 1960, is part of the State's natural patrimony and constitutes inalienable, imprescriptible public domain. The court found that the IDA was never authorized to issue titles…
Res. 00046-2012 Tribunal Agrario2012 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos boscosos fuera de áreas protegidas con posesión decenal y ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the lower court ruling that approved a possessory information proceeding for a forested and scrubland property in Guápiles, Limón. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested lands in national reserves are part of the State's natural heritage and thus inalienable. The Tribunal rejects that argument, finding…
Res. 00188-2012 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2012 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de traspaso de terreno boscoso del IDA a cooperativa por ser Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Appeals Court, Section VI, annuls the 1998 IDA agreement that adjudicated and transferred 150 hectares of the Guaycará Cattle Farm to Sermucoop R.L. The ruling establishes that at the time of transfer the land already had forest cover and thus constituted State Natural Heritage (PNE) under articles 13, 14, and 15 of Forestry Law 7575. As…
Res. 01103-2012 Tribunal Agrario2012 · Tribunal Agrario
Procede titular bosque secundario en información posesoria si se probó posesión decenal y regeneración natural
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of possessory information proceedings over a property mainly covered by primary forest, pasture, and scrub. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing forested lands are public domain and not subject to titling, and that decennial possession was not proved. The Court rejected both arguments: testimonial evidence…
Res. 01106-2012 Tribunal Agrario2012 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble con cobertura boscosa mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the lower court ruling that approved possessory information proceedings for a 134-hectare property covered by forest, mountain, scrubland, and pasture, located outside protected wildlife areas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forested land forms part of the State's natural heritage and cannot be…
Res. 01154-2012 Tribunal Agrario2012 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de titular mediante información posesoria en terrenos con cobertura boscosa
The Agrarian Tribunal confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a property that, according to the certificate of soil use conformity, contains natural pastures and a portion of regenerated secondary forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the land is forest and therefore part of the public domain, and that decennial…
Res. 01088-2011 Sala Primera de la Corte2011 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Nulidad de traspaso ilegal de bien cubierto de bosque que es patrimonio natural del Estado
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court upholds the ruling of the Administrative Court, which declared with merit the claim filed by the Comptroller General of the Republic. The Chamber nullified the resolution of the Board of Directors of the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA), the public deed of transfer, and the corresponding registry entry, through…
Res. 00095-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario en regeneración no es demanial si hay posesión decenal y conservación ambiental
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for several properties, including one with scrubland and trees that the Attorney General's Office sought to classify as state-owned forest. The court finds the land does not meet the technical forest definition under Forestry Law No. 7575, as the vegetation cover does not reach…
Res. 00092-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario y posesión agroambiental en información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings for a 4,021 m² property in San Carlos, used for pasture and containing secondary forest along the Los Negritos River. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that a judicial inspection was needed to verify forest protection, as a soil study indicated part of the land was…
Res. 00125-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque en regeneración y Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information over a 12,228 m² parcel in Turrubares, San José, which had scrubland, mountain, and abandoned pasture cover. The Attorney General’s Office appealed, arguing that the presence of forest made it part of the State’s Natural Heritage and thus not subject to adverse possession. The Court rejects…
Res. 00158-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre terreno con bosque secundario
The Agrarian Court upheld the first-instance ruling approving possessory information proceedings over a 14-hectare property in Golfito which included a small area of secondary forest and scrubland. The Attorney General's Office had argued on appeal that forested land is public domain property forming part of the State's Natural Heritage and thus not…
Res. 00207-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre inmueble con cobertura boscosa
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory registration proceeding brought by a corporation for a 101-hectare property in Guanacaste, which is 41% forested. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that a forested property has public domain status and cannot be privately owned. The court rejects the appeal, applying Article 7 of the…
Res. 00353-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Aprobación de Información Posesoria sobre Terreno con Bosque Secundario
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José upholds the ruling approving possessory information proceedings over a secondary forest lot in Guanacaste, initiated by a private individual. The Attorney General's Office appealed, claiming that forested land belongs to the State's natural heritage and is inalienable. The Tribunal rejects…
Res. 00429-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Anulación de información posesoria por incumplimiento de normativa agroambiental
The Agrarian Tribunal annuls a ruling that approved possessory information proceedings, because the lower court failed to properly verify compliance with proper soil use. The submitted certification stated that proper use had not been exercised and it included conservation recommendations, but the judge ignored them. The Tribunal reiterates that agrarian…
Res. 00438-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con cobertura boscosa vía información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José hears an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 10-hectare property with forest and scrubland in Upala, Alajuela. The Attorney General argues that forests are public domain, inalienable and imprescriptible, and cannot be…
Res. 00233-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre terreno con tacotal puede aprobarse si no es bosque demanial y se protege el recurso
The Agrarian Court upheld the approval of possessory information for a 50-hectare property in Lepanto, Puntarenas, rejecting the State's appeal. The Deputy Attorney General argued the land contained forest and was therefore part of the State Natural Heritage, and that witness testimony did not prove ten-year possession. The Court found the land was not…
Res. 00397-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de finca boscosa mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court affirms the approval of possessory information proceedings for a 30.6-hectare property with forest cover and pasture in Uvita de Osa, rejecting the appeal of the Office of the Attorney General, which argued that because of the forest cover, the land formed part of the State's natural heritage and was not susceptible to private possession…
Res. 00435-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de titular bosque fuera de áreas protegidas mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court upheld a ruling ordering the registration of a 3.4-hectare property in Paquera, Puntarenas, despite a portion containing natural forest. The majority applied Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, which permits titling of forested land outside protected areas if the applicant proves ten-year possession, protection of forest…
Res. 00573-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de charral en regeneración y distinción frente al bosque
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 2.8 ha property in Montaña Grande, Puntarenas, whose vegetative cover is predominantly scrub in natural regeneration. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the land is mountainous and therefore part of the public domain, thus not susceptible to titling,…
Res. 00571-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de fincas con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a ruling granting possessory title to a 39-hectare parcel in San Carlos containing pasture and forest cover. The Attorney General appealed, arguing that forested land falls under public domain (State's natural heritage) and that ten-year possession was not proven. The Tribunal rejects both arguments: it notes that Article 7,…
Res. 00555-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José affirms the judgment approving possessory information over a 6.22-hectare property in Horquetas de Sarapiquí, consisting of wooded pasture, shrubby pastures, and forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the forest turns the land into State Natural Heritage, which is…
Res. 00175-2011 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2011 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de titulación de terreno por constituir Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Court grants the petition of the Comptroller General and annuls the titling, by the Rural Development Institute (IDA), of a property in Matina, Limón, finding it has always been forest-covered State Natural Heritage—inalienable, imprescriptible public domain. Evidence showed forest coverage since 1960; IDA omitted mandatory soil-use…
Res. 00794-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de titular bosques del Patrimonio Natural del Estado sin posesión decenal anterior a 1961
The Agrarian Court hears an ordinary proceeding brought by the Monteverde Conservationist Association against several individuals who were pursuing possessory information proceedings to title lands covered by primary forest within the Arenal‑Monteverde Protective Zone. The Court analyzes the legal nature of public domain and the State Natural Heritage,…
Res. 00980-2011 Tribunal Agrario2011 · Tribunal Agrario
Tacotal y cobertura boscosa menor a 2 hectáreas no son patrimonio natural del Estado
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings for a plot of approximately 1.18 ha, mostly pasture, with a small area of forest cover (0.2 ha). The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forest cover constituted state-owned natural patrimony and was thus inalienable. The Tribunal rejects this argument: it…
Res. 00038-2010 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2010 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de titulación del IDA sobre inmueble boscoso que constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Contentious Court declares the absolute nullity of the titling carried out by the Institute for Agrarian Development (IDA) in favor of an individual over a 12-hectare plot in Tarrazú, after determining it is forest-covered and thus constitutes State Natural Heritage (PNE). The ruling thoroughly examines the PNE as an expression of the…
Res. 00050-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre bosque secundario es aprobable
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings over lands with secondary forest and pasture in Golfito, Puntarenas. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing the properties are state-owned forest under the Forestry Law. The Court holds by majority that secondary forest, regenerated by the possessors from pastures,…
Res. 00216-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Propiedad privada sobre bosque secundario no es demanial
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of an información posesoria (possessory information proceeding) over a plot partially covered by secondary forest. The Attorney General's Office had appealed, arguing the land was mountainous and thus public domain, not subject to private ownership. The Tribunal rejects this: although the land may have once been…
Res. 00240-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmuebles fuera de zonas protegidas con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Court, by majority, confirmed the lower court's ruling approving the possessory information proceeding over a 135-hectare property in Guanacaste, located outside protected wildlands, containing pasture, scrubland, and forest. The majority found that the requirements of Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law were met: ten-year possession…
Res. 00370-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal en zona boscosa fuera de ASP permite titular
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 35-hectare property in Purruja de Golfito, Puntarenas, despite most of it being secondary forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forest forms part of the State's forest heritage and is therefore ineligible for adverse possession (usucapión). The…
Res. 00257-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación posesoria de inmueble con cobertura boscosa fuera de áreas protegidas
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a property of approximately 26.5 hectares in Guaycará de Golfito, Puntarenas. The State Attorney General appealed, claiming the land contained forest and that, under Forestry Law 7575, it should be considered public domain. The tribunal rejects the appeal after reviewing…
Res. 02166-2010 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2010 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Titulación de inmueble en reserva nacional constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Court annuls the IDA's agreement that titled a 59-hectare forested property in Tarrazú, San José, and the subsequent deeds, because it constitutes State Natural Heritage (SNH) and public domain land. The Constitutional Chamber had previously struck down the Regulation for Titling in National Reserves, on which the title was based. The Court finds that…
Res. 00510-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario y tacotal no son bienes demaniales
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 12 ha property in Golfito consisting of secondary forest, brushland, and a teak plantation. The Attorney General appealed arguing the land is forest and thus public domain under Forestry Law 7575. The Tribunal rejects this argument based on a soils study and technical…
Res. 00480-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión en zona protectora debe alinearse con fines ambientales
The Agrarian Court upholds the denial of a possessory information claim for a property located within the Río Toro Protected Zone. The claimant sought to register a 7,034.91 m² lot based on acts of clearing, fencing, and maintaining green area. Applying Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law, the court requires possession in protected wild areas to…
Res. 00623-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica en áreas protegidas: requisito de conservación forestal previa
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 58-hectare property located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The Attorney General’s Office had appealed, arguing that the land showed high erosion (71%) and that the applicant had not proven protection of the forest resource, as required by Article 7 of the…
Res. 00760-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre terreno con tacotal y charral — no constituye bosque demanial
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of possessory information proceedings over a 91.9-hectare property in Guatuso, Cartago, brought by Hacienda Los Jaules S.A. The State Attorney General's Office appealed on the grounds that the land contained forest and therefore formed part of the State's Natural Heritage, making it ineligible for acquisitive…
Res. 00837-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Información posesoria sobre terreno boscoso fuera de área protegida
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José confirms the lower court ruling approving possessory information proceedings for a 13-hectare property in Tarrazú, San José, entirely covered by forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested land is part of the State's Natural Heritage and cannot be acquired by adverse…
Res. 00909-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de información posesoria sobre terrenos con bosque
The Agrarian Court confirms the approval of a possessory information proceeding over land with forest cover, rejecting the appeal by the Attorney General's Office. The State argued that forests are part of the State's natural patrimony and inalienable, and that original ten-year possession was not proven. The Court interprets that the amendment to Article…
Res. 00952-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Sentencia sobre titulación de plantación forestal y desarrollo sostenible
This ruling by the Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José upholds the approval of possessory information proceedings for a property that the Attorney General's Office claimed contained forest and was therefore subject to State Natural Heritage restrictions dating back to 1969. The Court determines that the tree coverage on the land…
Res. 00928-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con cobertura de tacotal y charral
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a property in Guanacaste, rejecting the Attorney General's objections that the land contained forest and thus belonged to the State's Natural Heritage, making it ineligible for adverse possession. After evaluating the judicial inspection, the soil study by INTA, and…
Res. 01019-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal de terreno con tacotal no impide su titulación
The Attorney General's Office appealed the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 47-hectare property in Puntarenas, arguing that the presence of “montaña” made it State-owned forest land. The Agrarian Court upheld the lower court’s ruling granting title. It distinguished between the colloquial term “montaña” and the technical definition of…
Res. 01040-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de inmueble con bosque secundario en información posesoria
The Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José upheld the approval of possessory information proceedings regarding a property with secondary forest in Nicoya, Guanacaste. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that forested lands belong to the State Natural Heritage and cannot be acquired by adverse possession. The Court rejected…
Res. 03609-2010 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2010 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Invalidez de titulación de inmueble boscoso que constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Sixth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, in an inter-administrative preferential proceeding, upheld the claim filed by the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) against the Institute of Agrarian Development (IDA) and a private individual. The CGR sought the annulment of the title granted by the IDA over a property of approximately…
Res. 00954-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque secundario y regeneración natural
The Agrarian Tribunal upheld the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a property containing secondary forest and natural regeneration. The Attorney General's Office argued that the land was forest and therefore public domain, not subject to titling. The Tribunal, after analyzing the legal definitions of forest, brushland (tacotal), and…
Res. 01069-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terreno con bosque secundario procede bajo Ley de Informaciones Posesorias
The Agrarian Tribunal reviewed an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against a lower court ruling that approved a possessory information claim over a plot of agricultural and forest land in San Carlos. The State argued that forested areas are part of the National Natural Heritage and therefore inalienable public domain. The Tribunal affirmed the lower…
Res. 01070-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal upholds a ruling approving a possessory information proceeding for a 52,371.53 m² plot in Osa used for cacao cultivation. The Attorney General argued that because the property had forest, it was part of the State's Natural Heritage and therefore inalienable public domain. The Tribunal rejects this based on Article 7 of the reformed…
Res. 00987-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de informaciones posesorias en terrenos con bosque fuera de áreas protegidas
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding for a 2.7-hectare plot with forest cover in Cartago, filed by a woman farmer who received it as a donation from her husband in 1987. The Office of the Attorney General objected, arguing that the forest is part of the State’s natural…
Res. 01089-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
El bosque secundario en finca menor a dos hectáreas no constituye Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Agrarian Court upholds the approval of a possessory information proceeding over a 6,368 m² lot with natural pastures and a small area of secondary forest. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the forest cover constituted public domain land forming part of the State Natural Heritage. The Court rejects the argument, holding that under the…
Res. 01205-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Titulación de terrenos privados con bosque mediante información posesoria
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José ruled on an appeal by the Attorney General's Office against the approval of a possessory information proceeding. The applicant sought registration of a land parcel containing agriculture and forest in San Carlos, Alajuela, based on ten years of possession. The appeal argued that due to its…
Res. 01210-2010 Tribunal Agrario2010 · Tribunal Agrario
Bosque secundario combinado con cultivo de mango no constituye delito forestal
The Agrarian Tribunal of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José, by majority vote, confirmed the approval of a possessory information claim over a 4,238.06 m² property in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. The Attorney General's Office appealed, arguing that the soil use certificate classified the entire land as secondary forest, that mango cultivation constituted…
Res. 00088-2009 Tribunal Agrario2009 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica y titulación de bosques como Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Agrarian Court heard a possessory information claim brought by a corporation over forested land in Puntarenas. The majority confirmed the approval of titling, applying Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law and the principles of ecological possession and the ecological function of forest property. According to the majority, current possessors may…
Res. 01842-2009 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2009 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad de titulación del IDA sobre terreno con cobertura boscosa declarado Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Court annuls the land title granted by the Agrarian Development Institute (IDA) to an individual over a 35‑ha property in La Legua de Aserrí, because it constitutes State Natural Heritage. Despite SINAC certifications and cadastral maps showing forest cover, the IDA proceeded with the titling. The ruling holds that forested land is automatically…
Res. 01482-2009 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2009 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Anulación de titulación de terrenos boscosos por ser Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Contentious Administrative Court upheld the complaint by the Comptroller General against the Institute of Agrarian Development (IDA) and an individual, annulling the titling of a 35-hectare farm in Aserrí. The court found that the property has significant forest cover and natural regeneration areas, thus constituting State Natural Heritage under…
Res. 00655-2009 Tribunal Agrario2009 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal sobre inmueble sin inscribir parcialmente boscoso fuera de área silvestre protegida
The Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José heard the appeal of the Attorney General's Office against a judgment that approved the possessory information proceeding for a 23-hectare property in San Carlos, partially covered by forest but located outside protected wild areas. The Attorney General argued that forest lands are public domain…
Res. 00063-2009 Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI2009 · Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo Sección VI
Nulidad del Plan Regulador Costero y Concesiones en Punta Ventanas de Osa por constituir Patrimonio Natural del Estado
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Section VI, annuls the Coastal Regulatory Plan of Punta Ventanas de Osa and the concession contracts granted by the Municipality of Osa to private companies. It declares that most of the land in the maritime-terrestrial zone consists of forested areas and thus constitutes State Natural Heritage (PNE) under the…
Res. 00419-2006 Tribunal Agrario2006 · Tribunal Agrario
Procedencia de titulación posesoria en terreno con aptitud forestal bajo protección del recurso natural
The Agrarian Tribunal, with a dissenting vote, rules on an appeal against the approval of possessory information proceedings brought by a livestock corporation over a 95‑hectare property containing forest, scrubland, and pasture in Pococí. The lower agrarian court had approved the titling, imposing restrictions from the Water, Public Roads, and Forestry…
Res. 00698-2006 Tribunal Agrario2006 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de información posesoria en Zona de Titulación Puriscal-Parrita
The Agrarian Court upholds the dismissal of a possessory information claim regarding land in Higuerón de León Cortés upon finding the property falls within the Puriscal-Parrita Titling Zone registered under IDA (now INDER). Although the Law on Land Titling in National Reserves was annulled by the Constitutional Chamber in 2001, prior good-faith titles…
Res. 01229-2006 Tribunal Agrario2006 · Tribunal Agrario
Requisitos de posesión decenal en áreas silvestres protegidas
The Agrarian Court confirms the ruling that dismissed the ordinary agrarian lawsuit, in which the plaintiff sought to be declared as having a better right of possession over a property located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The ruling analyzes the normative evolution of Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law and concludes that, since the land…
Res. 00929-2005 Tribunal Agrario2005 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión ecológica prevalece sobre invasión precarista — Confirmación de mejor derecho posesorio con voto salvado
The Agrarian Court upholds the lower court's ruling in favor of [Nombre1]'s claim of better possessory right against [Nombre2]. The court found that the plaintiff had exercised possessory acts for years by abandoning pasture areas for natural regeneration and dedicating the property to forest and ecological conservation, even applying for forestry…
Res. 00013-2004 Tribunal Agrario2004 · Tribunal Agrario
Falta de legitimación en usucapión agraria sobre terreno boscoso inscrito
The Agrarian Court upheld the dismissal of an ordinary agrarian lawsuit filed by an individual seeking to be declared the superior possessor and owner of a mostly forested property located within land registered under a company. The plaintiff claimed over ten years of personal and transferred possession, but in a judicial confession he admitted to having…
Res. 00217-2004 Tribunal Agrario2004 · Tribunal Agrario
Falta de posesión decenal en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce impide titulación
The Agrarian Court upholds the denial of a possessory information claim over a property partially within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The applicant failed to prove decennial possession prior to the 1961 Land and Colonization Law, an essential requirement for acquiring rights over lands forming the State's Natural Heritage. The court emphasizes that…
Res. 00033-2003 Tribunal Agrario2003 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión decenal para titular en reserva forestal se mide desde decreto de creación
The Agrarian Tribunal reversed a lower court ruling that had approved a possessory information for land partially within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and the Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland. The majority held that the ten-year possession required under Article 7 of the Possessory Information Law must be proven with ten years preceding the decree that…
Res. 00194-2002 Tribunal Agrario2002 · Tribunal Agrario
Rechazo de información posesoria sobre terreno en Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce
The Agrarian Tribunal overturned a trial court ruling that had granted a possessory information claim over a 16-hectare property located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, declared in 1978. The Attorney General's Office objected, arguing the land is part of the State's Natural Heritage and is inalienable. The trial judge approved the titling, but the…
Res. 00323-2000 Tribunal Agrario2000 · Tribunal Agrario
Denegatoria de información posesoria en reserva forestal por falta de posesión ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal reverses a lower court decision that had granted a possessory information claim over approximately 299 hectares located entirely within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. The claimant argued possession through successive purchases since 1974. The Tribunal holds that the land is part of the State's Natural Heritage and…
Res. 00238-1998 Tribunal Agrario1998 · Tribunal Agrario
Posesión en reserva forestal: ni agraria ni ecológica
The Agrarian Tribunal reviews a possessory dispute between two private parties over land located within the Cordillera Volcánica Central Forest Reserve. The plaintiff claims exclusive ownership and eviction; the defendant counterclaims for a better right of possession and ownership of a commercial business. Neither party proved qualified agrarian or…
Res. 00682-1998 Tribunal Agrario1998 · Tribunal Agrario
Improcedencia de titular bosque primario en zona protectora por falta de posesión decenal anterior a 1979
The Agrarian Court reviews an appeal against the denial of a possessory information proceeding over 202 hectares in Aguas Zarcas de Limón, located within the Protective Zone of the Río Banano Basin. The applicant claimed transmitted possession and acts of forest conservation. The Court, following the Constitutional Chamber's case law (Ruling 4587-97) and…
Res. 00051-1995 Sala Primera de la Corte1995 · Sala Primera de la Corte
Negatoria de posesión en Reserva Forestal de la Cordillera Volcánica de Guanacaste
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court, in an ordinary agrarian proceeding, examines the claim of several farmers seeking to be declared possessors of lands located within the Guanacaste Volcanic Range Forest Reserve. The plaintiffs alleged decennial possession through livestock, agriculture, and conservation activities. The Court rejects most of the…