Judicial Investigation Department

The Judicial Investigation Department (Spanish, Organismo de Investigación Judicial, OIJ), is a unit of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica. Currently its director is Walter Espinoza.[1]

It was founded in 1973 as a subsidiary body of the Criminal Courts of Public Prosecutions in scientific discovery and verification of the crimes and their responsible. Its Organic Law stipulates that act on their own initiative, by denunciation or by order of competent authority in the investigation of crimes of public action in identifying and apprehension prevention of alleged offenders. It also aims to collect, secure and manage scientific evidence and other background needed for research. Also, the OIJ sit in the crimes of private action, in order of competent authority after receiving the claim or indictment of the party concerned. To meet the wide variety of tasks, the OIJ is structured as follows.

Structure

General Directorate

Is responsible for directing and coordinating all the overall activities of the OIJ.

General Secretariat

Coordinates everything related to the budgetary system of transport and radio; assigns the distribution of researchers in different sections.

Criminal Investigations Department

It is responsible for search and collect all tests necessary and to make inquiries relevant to the proper clarification of the case. It is composed of:

Its primary function is to carry out the autopsys, reconnaissance, and other examinations in respective cases that require it. Evacuate medical consultations forensics applied to the Agency.

It is composed of different sections:

Account in addition to the Chair in medicine of University of Costa Rica as a teacher. And the Medico-Legal Council and believes that rules on medico-legal aspects that occurred in judicial proceedings when requested by the court. The Department of Forensic Medicine is at the Forensic Complex, San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia.

Forensic Science Laboratory

Technically analyzes each of the evidence gathered during investigations. What are the following sections:

Located at the Forensic Complex, San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia.

Criticism

The OIJ was criticized for its illegal surveillance of Diario Extra journalist Manuel Estrada, who had written an article critical of the OIJ. In a victory for press freedom and citizen journalists, Judge Ernesto Jinesta Lobo of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court censured the OIJ for conducting illegal wiretaps to identify his sources for the article. In addition to “traditional” journalists, Judge Lobo indicated that citizen journalists (those who “regularly contribute” to reporting or public opinion) also deserve to be shielded from prosecutorial abuses of surveillance.[2] Further criticism includes automatic dismissal of investigations related to intellectual property crimes up to 2011.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nuevo director del OIJ Wálter Espinoza promete golpear el crimen organizado" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  2. ↑ International Press Institute (25 March 2014). "Costa Rican court rules surveillance of journalist is unconstitutional". IFEX.
  3. ↑ Colegio de Abogados. "Ministerio Público Cambió Política de Persecución Penal para los Delitos de la Propiedad Intelectual" (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2014.
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