Article 20
Every person is free in the Republic; whoever is under the protection of its laws may not be slave [masculine] or slave [feminine].
Article 56.
Work is a right of the individual and an obligation with society. The State must procure that everyone has an honest and useful occupation, duly remunerated, and because of this to impede the establishment of conditions that in some form diminish the freedom or the dignity of man or degrade his work to the condition of simple merchandise. The State guarantees the right to free election of [a] job.
The Constitution of Costa Rica 1949 (Revised 2011) (PDF)
Article 172.
Shall be punishable with imprisonment from six to ten years, who promotes, facilitates or encourages the entry or departure, or movement within the national territory, of persons of either sex to perform one or more acts of prostitution or subjected to exploitation , labor or sexual servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, forced labor or services, servile marriage, begging, illicit removal of organs and illegal adoption. The prison term is eight to sixteen years, if half as well, one of the following circumstances:
- a) The victim is under eighteen years of age or is in a position of vulnerability or disability.
- b) deception, violence or any form of intimidation or coercion.
- c) The author is a spouse, partner or relative of the victim to third degree of consanguinity or affinity.
- d) The author will prevail in their terms of authority or trust with the victim or his family, mediate or no family relationship.
- e) The perpetrator takes advantage of the exercise of their profession or role.
- f) The victim suffered serious damage to health.
- g) The offense is committed by a criminal group composed of two or more members.
[Article as amended by the Law for the Protection of Victims, Witnesses, and Others Involved in the Criminal Process, law no. 8720 of Mar. 4, 2009]
Manufacture, production or reproduction of child pornography
Article 175 bis. Sanction to owners, lessors, administrators or owners of establishments
The owner, lessor, possessor or administrator of an establishment or place that destines or benefits from trafficking in persons, the smuggling of migrants or their related activities shall be punished with imprisonment of between three and five years.
Article 189 bis. Labor exploitation
He shall be punished with imprisonment for four to eight years, who
Induces, maintains, or subjects a person to the performance of work or services that seriously undermines his or her fundamental human rights, whether or not the victim consents. The penalty will be six to twelve years in prison, if the victim is a person under eighteen years of age or is in a situation of vulnerability.
Article 192. Deprivation of liberty
The penalty of imprisonment will be from four to ten years when another is deprived of his personal freedom, if any of the following circumstances:
1) When the victim is a person under the age of eighteen
Of age or is in a situation of vulnerability or disability.
2) By coercion, deception or violence.
3) Against the spouse, cohabiting partner or relative up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity, or a public official.
4) When it lasts more than twenty-four hours.
5) When the author prevails of his relation of authority or trust with the victim or his family, it mediates or not relation of kinship.
6) When the author takes advantage of the exercise of his profession or the role it performs.
Article 192 bis. Abduction of the minor or disabled person
It will be repressed with imprisonment of ten to fifteen years, who deprives a person under age or with cognitive or physical disability, of the power of their parents, guardians, curators, tutors or persons in charge. The penalty shall be from twenty to twenty-five years' imprisonment, if the victim is subjected to serious or very serious injuries, and from thirty-five to fifty years in prison if he dies.
When parents, guardians, guardians, guardians or persons in charge who remove or retain a minor, disabled person or person with no capacity to resist, shall be punished with imprisonment of twenty to twenty-five years.
Article 193. Coercion
He will be punished with a prison sentence of three to five years, who by serious threat or physical or moral violence compels a person to do, not do or tolerate something that is not bound.
Article 376. Trafficking of minors
It shall be punished with imprisonment from eight to sixteen years, who promotes, facilitates or favors the sale, for any purpose, of a person under age and therefore receives any kind of payment, reward, financial reward or otherwise. The same penalty shall be imposed on anyone who pays, gratifies or rewards in order to purchase the minor.
The prison shall be from ten to twenty years, when the author is an ascendant or relative up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity, custodian, custodian or any person who exercises the representation of the person under age. The same penalty shall be imposed on the professional or public official who sells, promotes, facilitates or legitimizes, through any act, the sale of the minor.
The professional and public official shall also be imposed on the duration of the maximum sentence for the exercise of the profession or office in which the event occurred.
Article 377 bis. Illicit trafficking in human organs, tissues and / or fluids
A prison sentence of eight to sixteen years shall be punishable by the possession, transportation, sale or illicit purchase of organs, tissues and / or human fluids.
Article 5. Concept of trafficking
Trafficking in persons shall mean the promotion, facilitate or promote the entry or leave the country or movement within the national territory, of persons of either sex for one or more events prostitution or subject them to exploitation or servitude, either sexual or labor, slavery or practices similar to slavery, forced labor or services, marriage servile, forced begging, illegal logging illegal adoption or organ.
Article 7 Definitions
For the purposes of this Act are defined as follows:
j ) Slavery : status and social status in which a person is lacking freedom and rights by being subjected so absolute to the will and dominion of other.
Article 172. Trafficking in persons
A person shall be punished with imprisonment for six to ten years, who promotes, facilitates or favors the entry or exit of the country, or the movement within the national territory, of persons of any sex to perform one Or acts of prostitution or exploitation, sexual or labor bondage, slavery or practices similar to slavery, forced labor or services, servile marriage, begging, unlawful removal of organs or unlawful adoption. The penalty of imprisonment shall be from eight to sixteen years, if one of the following circumstances also occurs:
- a) The victim is under eighteen years of age or is in a situation of vulnerability or disability.
- b) Deception, violence or any means of intimidation or coercion.
- c) The author is a spouse, partner or relative of the victim up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity.
- d) The author prevails over his relationship of authority or trust with the victim or his family, whether or not the relationship is related.
- e) The author takes advantage of the exercise of his profession or the role it performs.
- f) The victim suffers serious damage to his health.
- g) The offense is committed by a criminal group composed of two or more members.
(As amended by article 19 of the Law on Protection of Victims, Witnesses and other participants in Criminal Procedure No. 8720 of March 4, 2009.)
Article 192.- Imprisonment exacerbated
The term shall be four to ten years when it deprives another of his liberty personal.
Law 9095 against Trafficking in Persons 2012 (PDF)
Note: In May 2018, the Legislative Assembly amended Article 172 of the Penal Code to establish force, fraud, and coercion as essential elements and remove movement as a required element of the offense of Trafficking in persons.
