TLC To Be Reviewed By Sala IV Before Referendum Voting
At the request of a group of legislators, the Sala Constitucional or Sala IV as it is often referred to (Constitutional Court) has said it will fully review the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States - before Costa Ricans will get to vote on it in the referendum slated for September 23.

A group of 19 legislators, the majority of whom are from the Partido Acción Cuidadana (PAC), who are against the trade deal, asked the Court on May 24 to review the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA), arguing that portions of the free trade deal are unconstitutional.

The Court has 30 days to render its decision, a press release by the Judicial branch of the government said on Friday.

In addition to the review as petitioned by the legislators, the Sala IV is also studying a "consulta" by the Defensora de los Habitantes (Ombudsman), Lisbeth Quesada, which expresses the lack of human rights concerns contained in the document.

The referendum date tentatively slated for September 23 is yet to be made "official" by the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) - the elections tribunal - board, which is to meet in the coming weeks to ratify the popular vote.

For his part, the Ministro de la Presidencia, Rodrigo Arias, said that the government will totally respect the Court decision to accept the legislators request, in addition to the Quesada presentation.

Both Rodrigo and his brother, Oscar Arias, the president, support the trade deal. The Arias campaign focused on the support for free trade and the brothers are confident that Sala IV will not find any constitutional issues with the document because it was professional negotiated and discussed fully before being inked.

The Arias government is also confident that Costa Ricans will vote "si" for the trade deal and be enacted as it has been done in the other Central American countries to the trade pact.

For their part, the PAC, lead by Ottón Solís, have started a strong campaign to "educate the public" on the content of the trade deal before voting takes place. The PAC is confident that Costa Ricans will vote "no", which will mean a renegotiating of the TLC, which is what it has wanted all along.