Constitutional Court to examine if Central Bank secrecy is lawful

May 6^th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Thanks to an appeal filed by former lawmaker Patricia Pérez Hegg, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court will examine if the Central Bank’s claim to secrecy of meeting minutes of the Bank’s board of directors is lawful.

The appeal is in regards to the Central Bank’s interventions in the currency market, the decision making process of which is kept secret by the Central Bank.

Central Bank president Rodrigo Bolaños claims it is a bad idea to disclose the minutes of the board, because it could make the Bank’s decisions known to market speculators who could profit from the information.

Perez, who has requested the records on several occasions, said it is important for the records to be analyzed in order to determine if the Bank’s decisions to intervene in the currency market were correct under the circumstances when they occurred.

Perez had requested information on what the Bank’s budget is for interventions in the currency market and the criteria used to determine the need for an intervention, amongst other information.

The Central Bank’s response was that the information was confidential and could not be disclosed.

Previously, the Technical Services Department of the Legislative Assembly established that the information requested by Perez is not covered under the veil of state secrecy.

Perez filed the constitutional appeal last week.