Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 14. Disputes › Mediation and conciliation in Costa Rica: Ley 7727, court conciliation, settlement effects and authorised centres

Mediation and conciliation in Costa Rica: Ley 7727, court conciliation, settlement effects and authorised centres

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Ley 7727 gives everyone the right to settle disposable property disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation or arbitration, at any time, even after final judgment. Judicial settlements approved by the judge and extrajudicial settlements have res judicata effect and are immediately enforceable. Conciliation is built into every civil case at the preliminary hearing, and centres that administer mediation need prior authorisation from the Ministerio de Justicia y Paz.

Key facts

Mediation law	Ley 7727 textLey 7727, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Effect of settlement	res judicata, immediately enforceable textLey 7727 art. 9, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Mediation confidential	yes yes or noLey 7727 art. 14, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Pre suit mediation mandatory in civil cases	no; conciliation is part of the preliminary hearing textLey 9342 art. 102.3, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Every person has the right to use dialogue, negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration and similar techniques to settle disposable property disputes; private parties may settle at any time, even with a case pending or after final judgment.Ley 7727, art. 2 and 3, 1997-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Judicial conciliation agreements approved by the judge and extrajudicial agreements have the authority of res judicata and are immediately enforceable; the conciliation judge must approve a total or partial agreement within three days of the last hearing.Ley 7727, art. 7 and 9, 1997-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Settlement agreements must state the parties, the dispute, the mediator and the institution, the agreements reached, any pending case and the will to end it, the mediator's warnings about rights at stake and the right to consult a lawyer, and the signatures and addresses for notice.Ley 7727, art. 12, 1997-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Everything said in mediation is confidential and the mediator holds professional secrecy; testimony on it has no evidentiary value except in cases on the mediator's liability or on interpreting the agreement; agreements are public documents when made in judicial conciliation, by a public office mediator or by a mediator who is or is assisted by a notary.Ley 7727, art. 14 and 15, 1997-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Lawyers must tell clients about mediation, conciliation and arbitration where they may benefit them; an extrajudicial mediator cannot later act as neutral in a judicial or arbitral case on the same dispute unless the parties agree.Ley 7727, art. 11 and 16, 1997-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Entities administering ADR need prior authorisation from the Ministerio de Justicia y Paz, which supervises them and can revoke it; their rules, lists of neutrals and fee schedules must be public.Ley 7727, as amended by Ley 10535, art. 72 and 73, 2024-09-18 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Conciliation can take place before or during any civil case, before a judicial conciliator, a centre or the judge; it is a mandatory item of the preliminary hearing; an approved agreement is enforced like a judgment.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 51 and 102.3, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

Two shareholders in a dispute over a services contract sign a settlement at an authorised centre before a mediator who is a notary. The agreement is a public document with res judicata effect; if one side fails to pay, the other enforces it directly without a new trial.

Step by step

Choose a centre authorised by the Ministerio de Justicia y Paz and check its published fees.
Make sure the written agreement meets every element of art. 12 of Ley 7727, especially the reference to any pending case.
Use a notary mediator or have the agreement approved by the court so it is a public document.

Common traps

An agreement missing the statutory content can be challenged at enforcement.
Admissions in mediation cannot be used later as evidence (art. 14), so keep the evidence file separate.
The mediator is disqualified from later arbitrating the same dispute unless the parties agree (art. 16).

Sources

← Investment protection and investor State arbitration in Costa Rica: ICSID, bilateral investment agreements and CAFTA DRClaims against the State in Costa Rica: contentious administrative courts, the one year deadline, interim measures and payment of judgments →

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