GMO Opponents Receive Victory from Costa Rican Court as Permitting Process Declared Unconstitutional

Anti-GMO activists recently applauded a ruling issued by the country's Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court that struck down the regulatory framework previously in existence regarding genetically modified organisms. As part of the ruling, the court declared that the process of approval for genetically modified organism projects is unconstitutional.

Chief Justice gilbert Armijo Sancho wrote the court's opinion, stating that the existing regulations are in violation of the Costa Rican Constitution due to the lack of transparency that GMO companies are allowed in terms of their products' genetic information. Such secrecy is in violation of the constitutional right to freedom of information.

Only the country's Fitosanitary Law will be affected by the ruling. That law regulates the GMO project approval process. GMOs are not banned under the ruling. Furthermore, projects that are already in existence in Costa Rica will not be affected.

Anti-GMO activists praised the ruling, which comes as a result of a complaint that was originally filed in 2012 by environmental groups. The Costa Rican Federation for Environmental Conservation issued a press release following the ruling, stating that the new ruling would ensure that the procedures used to authorize GMOs in the future would remain accessible to everyone, also guaranteeing that the cultivation of crops would not disrupt public health or the balance of ecosystems. FECON further pointed out that current GMO project applications will need to be placed on hold until they are in compliance with the court's ruling.