Fernando Cruz Castro


Fernando Cruz Castro is a Costa Rican lawyer and judge. He serves as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica.

Early life

He has a degree in Law from the University of Costa Rica and holds a Law Doctorate from the Complutense University of Madrid.

Career

He began his career as an agent of Faults and Misdemeanor in Alajuela in 1972, where he served as a public prosecutor, general prosecutor, general judge, superior judge and president of the Court of Criminal Cassation. He was appointed as magistrate of the Constitutional Court, replacing Carlos Arguedas Ramírez, who retired in 2004.
On November 15, 2012, 38 deputies of the Legislative Plenary did not re-elect Cruz, who received votes only from the benches of the Citizen Action Party, the Accessibility Without Exclusion Party and independent deputies José María Villalta and Luis Fishman. The then leader of the faction of the ruling National Liberation Party, Fabio Molina, stated that it was a call for attention to the Judiciary. The opposition accused the ruling party of forging a political vendetta since Cruz had voted against various liberationist interests such as the presidential re-election, the Free Trade Agreement and the Crucitas mining case. His dismissal caused protests from citizens and staff of the Judicial Branch, as well as the condemnation of the International Union of Magistrates and Judges. Fishman filed an amparo appeal before Chamber IV arguing that the vote was taken at the wrong time, resulting in Cruz' automatic re-election. The substitute magistrates who heard the appeal agreed and Cruz was reinstated.