Legislative Consultation with Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court
This decision is an official consultation by ten legislators to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of Costa Rican tobacco control legislation. After the legislature approved the legislation but before the President signed the law, legislators officially consulted the Constitutional Court asking them to assess if the procedure followed by the leadership of the Legislative Assembly was appropriate and whether the legislation met constitutional standards. The petitioners claim that the Legislative Assembly members used a nonexistent regulatory and Constitutional procedure. Additionally, the petitioners argue that the restrictions regarding advertising, promotion and sponsorship; price and tax measures; smoke free measures; contents and disclosure measures; illicit trade; and other such measures are disproportionate and unreasonable. The Court declared the law constitutional and explained that the country has the power to place effective restrictions on tobacco, all with the goal of protecting public health.
Legislative Consultation with Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court, No. 2012-003918, Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court (2012)
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
[Citing FCTC Preamble and Objective] "Thus, there is no doubt that the measures questioned in the enquiry are in keeping with the objective assumed by our country to place effective restrictions on tobacco, all with the goal of protecting public health, which was already confirmed by this Constitutional Tribunal."
"We deduce from the above international norm [FCTC ARTICLE 16] that there are clearly identifiable and legitimate grounds in the provisions drafted by the lawmaker, which consists of putting up barriers to the commercialization of tobacco products, such as the type the questioners show (setting a minimum number of units for retail sale), in order to prevent or block their acquisition by minors. Given the above, the objections formulated here are inadmissible, as well."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
This decision is an official consultation by ten legislators to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of Costa Rican tobacco control legislation. After the legislature approved the legislation but before the President signed the law, legislators officially consulted the Constitutional Court asking them to assess if the procedure followed by the leadership of the Legislative Assembly was appropriate and whether the legislation met constitutional standards. The petitioners claim that the Legislative Assembly members used a nonexistent regulatory and Constitutional procedure. Additionally, the petitioners argue that the restrictions regarding advertising, promotion and sponsorship; price and tax measures; smoke free measures; contents and disclosure measures; illicit trade; and other such measures are disproportionate and unreasonable. The Court declared the law constitutional and explained that the country has the power to place effective restrictions on tobacco, all with the goal of protecting public health.