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Res. 01427-2026 Sala Segunda de la Corte · Sala Segunda de la Corte · 30/04/2026

Civil court jurisdiction over probate of undersized pasture-classified landCompetencia civil en sucesión de terreno de pasto de tamaño urbano

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OutcomeResultado

Civil court designatedCompetencia civil

Sala Segunda declared the Civil Collegiate Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón competent to hear the probate proceeding, finding that the 345.85 m² property lacks agrarian vocation despite being registered as pasture land.La Sala Segunda declaró competente al Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón para conocer el proceso sucesorio, al determinar que la finca de 345,85 m² carece de vocación agraria pese a estar registrada como terreno de pasto.

SummaryResumen

Sala Segunda resolved a jurisdictional conflict between the Civil and Agrarian courts of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón over a probate proceeding whose sole hereditary asset is a plot registered as 'pasture land' measuring 345.85 m². The civil court had declined jurisdiction solely because of the property's agricultural registry classification. The Agrarian Court rejected that referral upon finding the walled, built-up plot had no productive cycle. Sala Segunda holds that registry classification alone is insufficient to establish agrarian jurisdiction, and that complementary factors such as lot size must also be weighed. Citing Article 30 of the 2019 Subdivision Regulation, which sets a 5,000 m² minimum for agricultural parcels, the court concludes the plot lacks the proportionality required for agricultural activity and assigns the probate to the civil court.La Sala Segunda resolvió un conflicto de competencia entre el Tribunal Civil y el Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón en un proceso sucesorio cuyo único bien hereditario es una finca registrada como 'terreno de pasto' de 345,85 m². El tribunal civil había declinado jurisdicción con base exclusiva en la clasificación registral agrícola del inmueble. El Juzgado Agrario rechazó la remisión al constatar que el predio, amurallado y edificado, no desarrolla ciclo productivo alguno. La Sala establece que la clasificación registral del inmueble no es criterio suficiente para determinar la competencia agraria y que deben considerarse factores complementarios como la extensión del terreno. Recurriendo al artículo 30 del Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones (2019), que fija un mínimo de 5.000 m² para parcelas agrícolas, la Sala concluye que el predio carece de proporcionalidad para actividades agrarias y ordena tramitar la mortual en la jurisdicción civil.

Key excerptExtracto clave

The Civil Collegiate Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón based its declaration of lack of jurisdiction solely on the nature of the property, when there are other complementary factors that must be taken into account for that purpose, such as the size of the land. While no exact measurement exists to determine that a real property is considered agricultural, the Subdivision and Urbanization Regulation of October 24, 2019, establishes in its Article 30: 'According to the land-use capacity classes established in the Methodology for the Determination of Land Use Capacity in Costa Rica, Executive Decree No. 41960-MAGMINAE, its amendments or superseding regulations, agricultural, livestock, forestry or mixed parcels classified as Classes I, II, III, IV, V, and VI must have a minimum area of 5,000.00 m²'. The size of the property at issue does not meet the proportionality required to estimate that agricultural activities could take place. In addition, a photograph of the property was submitted as Exhibit 33, which corroborates the foregoing. Consequently, the Court is of the view that this probate must be processed in the civil jurisdiction.El Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón se basó únicamente en la naturaleza del inmueble para declarar su incompetencia, siendo que existen otros factores complementarios que se han de tomar en cuenta para tales efectos, como por ejemplo la extensión del terreno. Si bien no existe una medida exacta para determinar que un bien inmueble es considerado de actividad agraria, el Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones del 24 de octubre de 2019 establece en su ordinal 30: "Según las clases de capacidad de uso establecidas en la Metodología para la determinación de la Capacidad de Uso de las Tierras de Costa Rica, Decreto Ejecutivo N°41960-MAGMINAE, sus reformas o normativa que le sustituya, las parcelas agrícolas, pecuarias, forestales o mixtas cuya clasificación sea I, II, III, IV, V y VI deben tener un área mínima de 5000,00 m²". La medida de la propiedad objeto de este proceso no se ajusta a la proporcionalidad de una terreno para estimar que se puedan realizar actividades agrarias. Aunado a lo anterior, a imagen 33 se aportó una fotografía del bien en cuestión que corrobora lo anterior. En consecuencia, la Sala es del criterio de que esta mortual ha de ser tramitada en la jurisdicción civil.

Pull quotesCitas destacadas

  • "El Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón se basó únicamente en la naturaleza del inmueble para declarar su incompetencia, siendo que existen otros factores complementarios que se han de tomar en cuenta para tales efectos, como por ejemplo la extensión del terreno."

    "The Civil Court based its declaration of lack of jurisdiction solely on the nature of the property, when there are other complementary factors that must be taken into account for that purpose, such as the size of the land."

    Considerando III

  • "El Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón se basó únicamente en la naturaleza del inmueble para declarar su incompetencia, siendo que existen otros factores complementarios que se han de tomar en cuenta para tales efectos, como por ejemplo la extensión del terreno."

    Considerando III

  • "Las parcelas agrícolas, pecuarias, forestales o mixtas cuya clasificación sea I, II, III, IV, V y VI deben tener un área mínima de 5000,00 m²."

    "Agricultural, livestock, forestry or mixed parcels classified as Classes I through VI must have a minimum area of 5,000.00 m²."

    Considerando III — cita Art. 30 Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones

  • "Las parcelas agrícolas, pecuarias, forestales o mixtas cuya clasificación sea I, II, III, IV, V y VI deben tener un área mínima de 5000,00 m²."

    Considerando III — cita Art. 30 Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones

  • "La medida de la propiedad objeto de este proceso no se ajusta a la proporcionalidad de una terreno para estimar que se puedan realizar actividades agrarias."

    "The size of the property at issue does not meet the proportionality required to estimate that agricultural activities could take place."

    Considerando III

  • "La medida de la propiedad objeto de este proceso no se ajusta a la proporcionalidad de una terreno para estimar que se puedan realizar actividades agrarias."

    Considerando III

  • "Se declara que el competente para conocer el asunto es el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón."

    "It is hereby declared that the competent body to hear the matter is the Civil Collegiate Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón."

    Por tanto

  • "Se declara que el competente para conocer el asunto es el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón."

    Por tanto

Full documentDocumento completo

Procedural marks

Document Review Supreme Court of Justice SECOND CHAMBER Res: 2026001427 SECOND CHAMBER OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE. San José, at nine hours and four minutes on the thirtieth of April, two thousand twenty-six.

Jurisdictional dispute (conflicto de competencia) arising between the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón and the Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón, in the probate proceedings (proceso sucesorio) of VISITACIÓN ZELEDÓN ZELEDÓN and [Nombre 001], filed by [Nombre 002], married, homemaker, resident of Limón, bearing national identity card number [Valor 001].

Drafted by Justice Varela Araya; and,

CONSIDERANDO:

I.- [Nombre 002] initiated, before the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón, the opening of the estate of the late Visitación Zeledón Zeledón and [Nombre 001]. As the sole estate asset, she identified the property (finca) in the province of Limón with registration number (matrícula) [Valor 002] (image 1). The Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón, by ruling issued at fifteen hours and nine minutes on the tenth of November, two thousand twenty-five, ordered: "From the registry search (consulta registral) visible at images 9 and 10, it can be determined that the nature of the property in the Limón registry with folio real registration number (folio real) [Valor 002] corresponds to pastureland (terreno de pasto), which evidences its agricultural character (vocación agrícola). From the foregoing, it follows that the legal subject matter of the proceeding is governed by agrarian law (derecho agrario), which has tribunals designated for that subject matter. Accordingly, this Court declares itself without jurisdiction to hear this matter and orders its referral to the Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón" (image 21). The Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón, by ruling issued at eight hours and twenty-two minutes on the twenty-eighth of January, two thousand twenty-six, filed a jurisdictional dispute on the basis of subject-matter jurisdiction before this Chamber, stating: "Taking into account that the property in dispute has an area of three hundred forty-five meters and eighty-five square decimeters, and that it is apparent from the account of the facts submitted by the petitioner that it has been cleared and walled, and further demonstrated by photographs that only structures exist within the property, this Court concludes that the circumstances described in Articles 1 and 2 of the Code of Agrarian Procedure (Código Procesal Agrario) are not present, as no animal, plant, or other organism production cycle takes place there, nor is the real property subject to a rural territorial development project. Accordingly, this authority considers that the proceeding should be heard by the civil jurisdiction" (image 36).

II.- Because this proceeding was initiated after the entry into force of the Code of Agrarian Procedure — which occurred on 28 February 2025 — that statute applies. Article 2 governs the subject-matter jurisdiction of agrarian tribunals, and its first subparagraph provides that they have jurisdiction over: "Real and personal rights over agrarian assets intended or suitable for the development of agrarian activities and services, as well as those related to their protection and use. Likewise, probate proceedings concerning such assets." With respect to assets that lack an agrarian character, the competent court for probate proceedings is the civil judge, pursuant to Article 8.3.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Código Procesal Civil), which establishes: "Special criteria. The following matters shall be heard by: 1. Asset preservation measures, opening and recognition of wills, estates, and absences — by the tribunal of the decedent's or absentee's last domicile or, failing that, by the tribunal of the place where the greater part of the assets are located." III.- In accordance with the registry certification (certificación registral) at image 34, the nature of the property in the province of Limón with registration number [Valor 002] is "pastureland" and it measures three hundred forty-five meters and eighty-five square decimeters. The Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón based its finding of lack of jurisdiction solely on the nature of the property, when there are other complementary factors that must also be taken into account, such as the size of the land. While there is no fixed measurement threshold for determining that a real property is considered to be of an agrarian character, the Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones of 24 October 2019 provides in its Article 30: "In accordance with the land-use capability classes established in the Methodology for Determining Land-Use Capability in Costa Rica, Decreto Ejecutivo N°41960-MAGMINAE, its amendments, or the regulations replacing it, agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed parcels classified as I, II, III, IV, V, and VI must have a minimum area of 5,000.00 m². All of the foregoing without prejudice to provisions issued by the municipality in its regulatory plan, the competent environmental authorities, and applicable regional plans. When the property is located within the Gran Área Metropolitana, the minimum area for agricultural parcels is 7,000.00 m², as established by the Reforma Plan Regional Desarrollo Urbano Gran Área Metropolitana, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 25902-MIVAH-MP-MINAE, and Decreto Ejecutivo N°38334-PLAN-MINAE-MIVAH-MOPT-S-MAG, known as: Approves the GAM Plan 2013-2030, Update of the Regional Plan of the Gran Área Metropolitana, its amendments, or the regulations replacing them." The area of the property that is the subject of this proceeding is not consistent with the proportionality of land on which agrarian activities could be carried out. Further, a photograph of the property submitted at image 33 corroborates this finding. Accordingly, the Chamber is of the view that these estate proceedings (mortual) must be handled in the civil jurisdiction.

IV.- As a corollary to the foregoing, it is appropriate to declare that the competent tribunal to hear the matter is the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón.

Por tanto:

It is declared that the competent tribunal to hear the matter is the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón.

Res: 2026001427 SKRAMLAN Luis Porfirio Sánchez Rodríguez Julia Varela Araya Jorge Enrique Olaso Álvarez Roxana Chacón Artavia Ana Patricia Montero Morales Digitally Signed Document -- Verification Code -- 1 Telephone numbers: 2295-3671, 2295-3676, 2295-3675, and 2295-4406. Facsimile: 2258-4165.

Supreme Court of Justice SALA SEGUNDA Res: 2026001427 SALA SEGUNDA OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE.

San José, at nine hours and four minutes on the thirtieth of April, two thousand twenty-six.

Jurisdictional conflict (conflicto de competencia) arising between the Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón and the Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón, in the probate proceeding (proceso sucesorio) of VISITACIÓN ZELEDÓN ZELEDÓN and [Nombre 001], filed by [Nombre 002], married, homemaker, resident of Limón, with identity document number [Valor 001].

Opinion drafted by Justice Varela Araya; and,

CONSIDERING:

I.- [Nombre 002] filed, before the Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón, for the opening of the probate of the estates of those who in life were known as Visitación Zeledón Zeledón and [Nombre 001]. As the sole hereditary asset (bien hereditario), she identified the property (finca) in the province of Limón, registration number (matrícula) [Valor 002] (image 1). The Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón, by ruling issued at fifteen hours and nine minutes on November tenth, two thousand twenty-five, ordered: "From the registry query visible at images 9 and 10, it can be determined that the nature of the property in the Partido de Limón, real folio registration number [Valor 002], corresponds to pastureland (terreno de pasto), which reveals its agricultural vocation (vocación agrícola). From the foregoing, it follows that the legal subject matter of the proceeding is governed by agrarian law (derecho agrario), which has specialized courts for that subject matter. Accordingly, this Tribunal declares itself without jurisdiction to hear this matter and orders its transfer to the Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón" (image 21). The Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón, by ruling issued at eight hours and twenty-two minutes on January twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-six, raised a jurisdictional conflict by subject matter before this Chamber, stating: "Taking into consideration that the property in dispute measures three hundred forty-five square meters and eighty-five square decimeters, and it follows from the account of facts provided by the moving party that the property is cleared and walled, and it is even demonstrated by images that within the property there are only structures, the undersigned concludes that we are not before the scenario contemplated by articles 1 and 2 of the Código Procesal Agrario, since no animal, plant, or other organism production cycle is being carried out, nor is the real property subject to a rural territorial development project. As such, this authority considers that the proceeding should be heard by the civil jurisdiction" (image 36).

II.- Since this proceeding was initiated after the entry into force of the Código Procesal Agrario — which occurred on February 28, 2025 — that body of rules applies to it. Article 2 governs the subject-matter jurisdiction (competencia material) of agrarian courts, and its first subsection provides that they shall hear: "Real and personal rights over agrarian property (bienes agrarios) dedicated to or suitable for the development of agrarian activities and services, as well as those related to their protection and use. In addition, probate proceedings relating to such property." With respect to property lacking an agrarian vocation, the competent court to hear probate proceedings is the civil judge, pursuant to article 8.3.5 of the Código Procesal Civil, which provides: "Special criteria. Jurisdiction is conferred as follows: 1. Property attachments, opening and recognition of wills, probate and absence proceedings shall be heard by the court of the last domicile of the decedent or absentee and, in the absence thereof, by the court of the place where the greater part of the assets is located." III.- According to the registry certificate at image 34, the nature of the property in the province of Limón, registration number [Valor 002], is "pastureland" and it measures three hundred forty-five square meters and eighty-five square decimeters. The Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón based its declaration of lack of jurisdiction solely on the nature of the property, when there are other complementary factors that must be taken into account for such purposes, such as the size of the land. While there is no exact minimum size for determining that a real property is considered suitable for agrarian activity, the Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones of October 24, 2019 establishes in article 30: "According to the land-use capacity classes established in the Methodology for the Determination of Land-Use Capacity in Costa Rica, Decreto Ejecutivo N°41960-MAGMINAE, its amendments or any replacing regulations, agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed parcels classified as I, II, III, IV, V, and VI must have a minimum area of 5,000.00 m². All of the foregoing is without prejudice to the provisions issued by the municipality in its regulatory plan, the competent environmental agencies, and the regional plans in force. When the plot is located within the Gran Área Metropolitana, the minimum area for agricultural parcels is 7,000.00 m², as established by the Reform of the Gran Área Metropolitana Urban Development Regional Plan, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 25902-MIVAH-MP-MINAE, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 38334-PLAN-MINAE-MIVAH-MOPT-S-MAG, entitled: Approves the GAM Plan 2013-2030, Update of the Gran Área Metropolitana Regional Plan, its amendments or any replacing regulations." The size of the property at issue in this proceeding does not correspond to the proportions of a piece of land on which agrarian activities could be carried out. In addition to the foregoing, a photograph of the property in question was submitted at image 33, corroborating the above. Accordingly, the Chamber is of the view that this probate proceeding must be handled in the civil jurisdiction.

IV.- As a corollary of the foregoing, it is proper to declare that the competent court to hear the matter is the Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón.

Por tanto:

It is hereby declared that the competent court to hear this matter is the Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón.

Res: 2026001427 SKRAMLAN [signature] Luis Porfirio Sánchez Rodríguez [signature] The content you've provided does not contain Spanish legal text to translate. It consists of raw HTML markup enclosing base64-encoded JPEG image data, with two Costa Rican person-name captions:

- **Julia Varela Araya** - **Jorge Enrique Olaso Álvarez** Per the translation instructions, proper nouns (person names) are preserved verbatim and require no translation.

Could you paste the actual Spanish legal prose you need translated? It looks like the wrong content — likely the raw HTML source of a document page that contains embedded photos — was copied instead of the text excerpt.

Roxana Chacón Artavia Ana Patricia Montero Morales Digitally Signed Document -- Verification Code -- Telephones: 2295-3671, 2295-3676, 2295-3675 and 2295-4406.

Facsimile: 2258-4165.

Email: [email protected] Supreme Court of Justice SALA SEGUNDA Res: 2026001427 SALA SEGUNDA DE LA CORTE SUPREMA DE JUSTICIA.

San José, at nine hours four minutes on the thirtieth of April of two thousand twenty-six.

Jurisdictional conflict (conflicto de competencia) arising between the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón and the Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón, in a probate proceeding (proceso sucesorio) of VISITACIÓN ZELEDÓN ZELEDÓN and [Nombre 001], filed by [Nombre 002], married, homemaker, resident of Limón, with identity card number [Valor 001].

Opinion authored by Justice Varela Araya; and,

WHEREAS:

I.- [Nombre 002] filed, in the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón, a petition to open the estate of those who were known in life as Visitación Zeledón Zeledón and [Nombre 001]. As the sole hereditary asset (bien hereditario), she identified the property (finca) in the province of Limón, registry number (matrícula) [Valor 002] (image 1). The Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón, by resolution of fifteen hours nine minutes on November 10, 2025, ordered: "From the registry query visible at images 9 and 10, it can be determined that the nature of the property in the Party of Limón, real property folio (folio real) registry number [Valor 002], corresponds to pasture land, which reveals its agricultural character (vocación agrícola). From the foregoing, it is inferred that the legal matter at issue in this proceeding is governed by agrarian law (derecho agrario), which has courts with jurisdiction over that subject matter. Consequently, this Court declares itself incompetent to hear this matter and orders its referral to the Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón" (image 21). The Agrarian Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of Limón, by resolution of eight hours twenty-two minutes on January 28, 2026, raised a jurisdictional conflict on subject-matter grounds before this Chamber, stating: "Taking into consideration that the disputed property measures three hundred forty-five meters and eighty-five square decimeters, and it emerges from the account of the facts provided by the moving party that the property is cleared and walled in, and it is further demonstrated through photographs that the property contains only structures, the undersigned concludes that we are not before the scenario contemplated by articles 1 and 2 of the Código Procesal Agrario, given that no productive cycle of animal, plant, or other organisms is being carried out, nor is the real property subject to a rural territorial development project. Under these circumstances, this authority considers that the proceeding should be heard by civil jurisdiction" (image 36).

II.- Since this proceeding was initiated after the entry into force of the Código Procesal Agrario (which occurred on February 28, 2025), that legislation applies to it. Article 2 governs the subject-matter jurisdiction (competencia material) of agrarian courts, and its first subsection provides that they are competent to hear: "Real and personal rights over agrarian property (bienes agrarios), destined or suited for the development of agrarian activities and services, as well as those related to their protection and exploitation. In addition, probate proceedings relating to such property." With respect to property lacking an agrarian character (vocación agraria), the competent authority to hear probate proceedings is the civil judge, pursuant to article 8.3.5 of the Código Procesal Civil, which provides: "Special criteria. The following fall within jurisdiction: 1. The securing of assets, opening and recognition of wills, successions, and absences to the court of the decedent's or absentee's last domicile, or, failing that, to the court of the place where the greater part of the assets is located." III.- In accordance with the registry certification (certificación registral) at image 34, the nature of the property in the province of Limón, registry number [Valor 002], is "pasture land," and it measures three hundred forty-five meters and eighty-five square decimeters. The Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón based its declaration of incompetence solely on the nature of the property, when there are other complementary factors that must be taken into account for that purpose, such as the area of the land. While there is no exact minimum size for determining that a real property is considered to be used for agrarian activity, the Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones of October 24, 2019, provides in its article 30: "According to the land-use capability classes (clases de capacidad de uso) established in the Methodology for Determining Land-Use Capability in Costa Rica, Decreto Ejecutivo N°41960-MAGMINAE, its amendments, or replacing regulations, agricultural, livestock, forestry, or mixed parcels whose classification is I, II, III, IV, V, or VI must have a minimum area of 5000.00 m². All of the foregoing is without prejudice to the provisions issued by the municipality in its regulatory plan, the competent environmental authorities, and applicable regional plans. Where the parcel is located within the Gran Área Metropolitana, the minimum area for agricultural parcels is 7000.00 m², as established by the Reforma Plan Regional Desarrollo Urbano Gran Área Metropolitana, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 25902-MIVAH-MP-MINAE, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 38334-PLAN-MINAE-MIVAH-MOPT-S-MAG, titled: Aprueba Plan GAM 2013-2030, Actualización del Plan Regional de la Gran Área Metropolitana, its amendments, or replacing regulations." The size of the property at issue in this proceeding does not meet the proportions required of land on which agrarian activities could be carried out. In addition, a photograph of the property in question was submitted at image 33, corroborating the foregoing. Consequently, the Chamber holds that this probate estate (mortual) must be processed in civil jurisdiction.

IV.- As a corollary to the foregoing, it is appropriate to declare that the competent court to hear this matter is the Collegiate Court of First Civil Instance of the First Judicial Circuit of Limón.

Por tanto:

It is hereby declared that the competent court to hear this matter is the Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón.

Res: 2026001427 SKRAMLAN [signature] Luis Porfirio Sánchez Rodríguez [signature] The content you've provided does not contain Spanish legal text to translate. It consists of raw HTML markup enclosing base64-encoded JPEG image data, with two Costa Rican person-name captions:

- **Julia Varela Araya** - **Jorge Enrique Olaso Álvarez** Per the translation instructions, proper nouns (person names) are preserved verbatim and require no translation.

Could you paste the actual Spanish legal prose you need translated? It looks like the wrong content — likely the raw HTML source of a document page that contains embedded photos — was copied instead of the text excerpt.

Roxana Chacón Artavia Ana Patricia Montero Morales Digitally Signed Document -- Verification Code -- Telephones: 2295-3671, 2295-3676, 2295-3675 and 2295-4406.

Facsimile: 2258-4165. Email: [email protected]

Marcadores

Revisión del Documento  Corte Suprema de Justicia SALA SEGUNDA Res: 2026001427 SALA SEGUNDA DE LA CORTE SUPREMA DE JUSTICIA. San José, a las nueve horas cuatro minutos del treinta de abril de dos mil veintiseis .

Conflicto de competencia suscitado entre el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón y el Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón, en proceso sucesorio de VISITACIÓN ZELEDÓN ZELEDÓN y [Nombre 001], establecido por [Nombre 002], casada, ama de casa, vecina de Limón y con cédula de identidad número [Valor 001].

Redacta la Magistrada Varela Araya; y,

CONSIDERANDO:

I.- La señora [Nombre 002] promovió, en el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón, la apertura de la sucesión de quienes en vida se llamaron Visitación Zeledón Zeledón y [Nombre 001]. Como único bien hereditario, indicó la finca de la provincia de Limón matrícula [Valor 002] (imagen 1). El Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón, por resolución de las quince horas nueve minutos del diez de noviembre de dos mil veinticinco, dispuso: “De la consulta registral visible a imágenes 9 y 10 se logra determinar que la naturaleza de la finca del Partido de Limón, matrícula de folio real número [Valor 002] corresponde a terreno de pasto, lo que viene a poner en evidencia su vocación agrícola. De lo antes expuesto, se infiere que el tema jurídico objeto del proceso es regulado por el derecho agrario, el cual cuenta con tribunales por razón de esa materia. En consecuencia, este Tribunal se declara incompetente para conocer este asunto y ordena su envío al Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón” (imagen 21). El Juzgado Agrario del Segundo Circuito Judicial de Limón, mediante resolución de las ocho horas veintidós minutos del veintiocho de enero de dos mil veintiséis, planteó un conflicto de competencia por la materia ante esta Sala, exponiendo: “Tomando en consideración que el fundo en litigio tiene una medida de trescientos cuarenta y cinco metros con ochenta y cinco decímetros cuadrados, y se desprende del relato de los hechos por la parte gestionante que el mismo se encuentra barrido y amurallado, e incluso se demuestra mediante imágenes que dentro del inmueble únicamente se encuentran construcciones, concluye el suscrito que no estamos ante el supuesto de los artículos 1 y 2 del Código Procesal Agrario, al no desarrollarse ningún ciclo productivo animal, vegetal u otros organismos, ni estar el bien inmueble sujeto a un proyecto de desarrollo rural territorial. Así las cosas, considera esta autoridad que el proceso corresponde ser conocido por la jurisdicción civil” (imagen 36).

II.- Como este proceso se inició luego de la entrada en vigencia del Código Procesal Agrario -lo que ocurrió el 28 de febrero de 2025-, dicha normativa le resulta aplicable. El artículo 2 regula la competencia material de los tribunales agrarios y su primer inciso determina que les corresponde conocer acerca de: “Derechos reales y personales sobre bienes agrarios, destinados o aptos para el desarrollo de actividades y servicios agrarios, así como los vinculados a su tutela y aprovechamiento. Además, los procesos sucesorios relativos a estos”. Respecto de los bienes que no tengan vocación agraria, el competente para conocer los procesos sucesorios es el juez civil, de conformidad con el artículo 8.3.5 del Código Procesal Civil, que establece: “Criterios especiales. Corresponde conocer lo siguiente: 1. Los aseguramientos de bienes, apertura y reconocimiento de testamentos, sucesiones y ausencias al tribunal del último domicilio del causante o ausente y, en su defecto, al del lugar donde esté la mayor parte de los bienes”.

III.-De conformidad con la certificación registral de imagen 34, la naturaleza de la finca de la provincia de Limón matrícula [Valor 002] es “terreno de pasto” y mide trescientos cuarenta y cinco metros con ochenta y cinco decímetros cuadrados. El Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón se basó únicamente en la naturaleza del inmueble para declarar su incompetencia, siendo que existen otros factores complementarios que se han de tomar en cuenta para tales efectos, como por ejemplo la extensión del terreno. Si bien no existe una medida exacta para determinar que un bien inmueble es considerado de actividad agraria, el Reglamento de Fraccionamiento y Urbanizaciones del 24 de octubre de 2019 establece en su ordinal 30: “Según las clases de capacidad de uso establecidas en la Metodología para la determinación de la Capacidad de Uso de las Tierras de Costa Rica, Decreto Ejecutivo N°41960-MAGMINAE, sus reformas o normativa que le sustituya, las parcelas agrícolas, pecuarias, forestales o mixtas cuya clasificación sea I, II, III, IV, V y VI deben tener un área mínima de 5000,00 m². Todo lo anterior sin perjuicio de las disposiciones emitidas por la municipalidad en su plan regulador, los entes competentes en materia ambiental y los planes regionales vigente. Cuando el predio se localice dentro del Gran Área Metropolitana, el área mínima para parcelas agrícolas es 7000,00 m², según lo establece la Reforma Plan Regional Desarrollo Urbano Gran Área Metropolitana, Decreto Ejecutivo N° 25902-MIVAH-MP-MINAE, el Decreto Ejecutivo N°38334-PLAN-MINAE-MIVAH-MOPT-S-MAG, denominado: Aprueba Plan GAM 2013-2030, Actualización del Plan Regional de la Gran Área Metropolitana, sus reformas o normativa que les sustituya”. La medida de la propiedad objeto de este proceso no se ajusta a la proporcionalidad de una terreno para estimar que se puedan realizar actividades agrarias. Aunado a lo anterior, a imagen 33 se aportó una fotografía del bien en cuestión que corrobora lo anterior. En consecuencia, la Sala es del criterio de que esta mortual ha de ser tramitada en la jurisdicción civil.

IV.- Como corolario de lo expuesto, procede declarar que el competente para conocer el asunto es el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón.

POR TANTO:

Se declara que el competente para conocer el asunto es el Tribunal Colegiado de Primera Instancia Civil del Primer Circuito Judicial de Limón.

Res: 2026001427 SKRAMLAN Luis Porfirio Sánchez Rodríguez Julia Varela Araya Jorge Enrique Olaso Álvarez Roxana Chacón Artavia Ana Patricia Montero Morales Documento Firmado Digitalmente -- Código verificador --  1

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