Creation of the National Commission on Indigenous AffairsCreación de la Comisión Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas

**CHAPTER I** **Constitution and Objectives** **Article 1.** – The National Commission on Indigenous Affairs (Comisión Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas, CONAI) is hereby created, which shall be a public law institution with its own legal personality and assets.

**Article 2.** – The National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall be composed of:

• a)(Annulled by resolution of the Constitutional Chamber No. 3485-03 of 2:07 p.m. on May 2, 2003. Note: The text of this subsection established the following:

"With the representatives of the following agencies and institutions: Presidency of the Republic; University of Costa Rica; National University; Ministry of Public Education; Ministry of Governance and Police; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock; Ministry of Public Security; Joint Institute for Social Aid; Institute of Lands and Colonization; National Service of Aqueducts and Sewers; National Institute of Housing and Urbanism; National Institute of Learning; and National Electricity Service";) b) (Annulled by resolution of the Constitutional Chamber No. 3485-03 of 2:07 p.m. on May 2, 2003. Note: The text of this subsection established the following:

"A representative from each of the Municipal Councils of Guatuso, Talamanca, Coto Brus, Pérez Zeledón, Buenos Aires and Mora and from the District Council of Boruca";) c) A delegate from each Community Development Association that exists in the indigenous communities; and (d) ANNULLED by Resolution of the Constitutional Chamber No. 2253-96 of 3:39 p.m. on May 14, 1996.)

(Thus amended by Article 1 of Law No. 5671 of May 14, 1975).

**Article 3.** – The National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall have its seat in the capital of the Republic, but when deemed necessary, it may establish dependencies or offices in any place within the national territory, especially in the areas inhabited by indigenous people.

**Article 4.** – The fundamental objectives of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs are:

• a)To promote the social, economic and cultural improvement of the indigenous population with a view to raising their living conditions and integrating the aboriginal communities into the development process; b) To serve as a coordination instrument among the various public institutions obligated to execute works and provide services for the benefit of the indigenous communities; c) To promote scientific research into the way of life of indigenous groups, with the purpose of achieving the most complete knowledge of these, and thus base the orientation of programs aimed at their well-being, in order to objectively value our autochthonous cultural traditions; d) To foster the dissemination of indigenous affairs in order to create awareness about them, and thus to stimulate interest in the study of their culture, especially regarding indigenous languages, whose use and study shall be actively promoted; e) To ensure respect for the rights of indigenous minorities, encouraging State action to guarantee the indigenous people individual and collective land ownership; timely use of credit; adequate marketing of production and efficient technical assistance; f) To ensure compliance with any current or future legal provision for the protection of indigenous cultural heritage, collaborating with the institutions in charge of these aspects; g) To guide, stimulate and coordinate the collaboration of private initiative in the work of social, economic and cultural improvement of the aboriginal population; h) To promote, through the development of training, greater capacity-building for those who exercise professions or hold positions in areas inhabited by indigenous people; i) To organize agricultural cooperatives in the various indigenous communities, providing them with agricultural education, technical assistance and adequate financing; j) To establish health centers with well-trained personnel, seeking to train individuals from the different areas inhabited by indigenous people so that they may exercise these functions in the future; k) To create local administration councils to resolve, in principle, the multiple problems of indigenous localities; and l) To serve as the official liaison body with the Inter-American Indian Institute and with other international agencies working in this field.

**CHAPTER II** **Of the Members** **Article 5.** – The duties of the members of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs are:

• a)To fulfill the obligations arising from this law and its regulations; b) To abide by the agreements of the Board of Directors; and c) To collaborate in all activities where their assistance is required for the fulfillment and purposes of this law.

**Article 6.** – The rights of the members of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs are:

• a)To attend the sessions of the Board of Directors with voice but no vote; b) To participate as members of the working commissions that are established; and c) To exercise other rights recognized to them by this law and its regulations.

**Article 7.** – The status of member of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs is lost for the following causes:

• a)By express resignation; b) By legally proven incapacity; and c) By virtue of a declaration approved by three-quarters of the votes of the General Assembly, which qualifies the member as an element detrimental to its interests.

**CHAPTER III** **Of the Assets** **Article 8.** – The assets of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall be formed by:

• a)The subsidy that, in the General Ordinary Budget Law of the Republic, has been provided to the former Protection Board for the Aboriginal Races of the Nation; b) The extraordinary contributions agreed upon by the State, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions of the Republic; c) The property belonging to the former Protection Board for the Aboriginal Races of the Nation; d) Donations from individuals, foreign states, and international agencies and foundations or any other entity; e) Indigenous names, symbols and figures; and f) The proceeds from the rights granted for the commercial use of indigenous names, symbols and figures.

**Article 9.** – For the purposes of subsection b) of Article 8, the State, and the autonomous or semi-autonomous institutions of the country are empowered to provide assistance of any kind to the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs.

**Article 10.** – The funds of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall be managed autonomously through its own checking account in a State bank and audited by the Comptroller General of the Republic.

**CHAPTER IV** **Organization** **Article 11.** – The National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall have the following bodies:

• a)The General Assembly; b) The Board of Directors; c) The Special Working Commissions; and d) The local committees constituted by the indigenous people.

**Article 12.** – The powers of the General Assembly are:

• a)To set the general policy of the Commission; b) To approve the regulations and propose reforms to the Constitutive Law of the Commission; c) To approve or reject the projects submitted to it by the Board of Directors; d) To approve the ordinary and extraordinary budgets of the Institution; e) To appoint and remove, when there is legal cause to do so, the members of the Board of Directors; f) To constitute the special commissions it deems appropriate for the fulfillment of the purposes of this law, and to assign them their powers and responsibilities; g) To ensure compliance with the objectives of this law and its regulations; and h) To fulfill the other powers assigned by the law and its regulations.

**Of the Board of Directors** **Article 13.** – The Board of Directors shall be the executive body of the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs and shall be composed of seven members of CONAI elected by the General Assembly.

**Article 14.** – Once the seven members of the Board of Directors have been designated, they shall proceed in their first session to elect a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Auditor (Fiscal) and two Members-at-Large (Vocales), at the same time setting the date and time for ordinary sessions. Likewise, in this first session, an Executive Director shall be appointed, who may or may not be a member of the Board of Directors and shall have the functions entrusted to them by it.

**Article 15.** – The Board of Directors shall meet when convened by the President, whether on their own initiative or at the written request of three of its members and at least forty-eight hours in advance. A quorum shall be formed with half plus one of its members.

**Article 16.** – The members of the Board of Directors shall hold their positions for two years, and may be re-elected, and may only be removed when, in the judgment of the majority of the General Assembly, they have incurred legally proven responsibility; or are declared incapacitated for the exercise of the position, or when they miss four consecutive sessions without justified cause.

**Article 17.** – The members of the Board of Directors shall not receive per diems (dietas) or any other remuneration.

**Article 18.** – The duties and powers of the Presidency are:

• a)To exercise the judicial and extrajudicial representation of the Board in accordance with the provisions of this law; b) To convene sessions and preside over them; c) To authorize with their signature the minutes of the commission, its official documents and the checks it issues; d) To prepare, jointly with the Treasurer, the ordinary and extraordinary budgets of the Commission and submit them to the knowledge of the Board of Directors for approval, subject to the provisions of the Financial Administration Law and the regulations of the Comptroller General of the Republic; and e) To fulfill the other functions assigned to them by this law and its regulations.

The Vice President shall substitute for the President in their temporary absences, and in turn the latter shall be substituted by the Members-at-Large (Vocales) in their respective order.

**Article 19.** – It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary:

• a)To prepare the draft minutes; b) To prepare, in consultation with the President, the agenda for the sessions of the Board of Directors; c) To issue certifications of the agreements of the Board of Directors; d) To sign, with the President, the minutes of the sessions of the Board of Directors; e) To serve as a means of communication between the Commission and public and private entities; f) To notify the agreements of the Commission; g) To prepare the reports entrusted to them by the Board of Directors; and h) To carry out the other tasks assigned to them by this law and its regulations.

**Article 20.** – It shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer:

• a)The collection and administration of revenues in accordance with the laws and regulations; b) The initiation of the corresponding procedures for the timely issuance of official subsidies; c) To issue the checks issued by the Commission; and d) To prepare the ordinary and extraordinary budgets jointly with the President and submit them for the approval of the Board of Directors.

**Article 21.** – The powers of the Auditor (Fiscal) are:

• a)To audit all actions of the Board of Directors, and to inform it when they find any irregularity that harms the proper functioning of the Commission.

**Article 22.** – The Members-at-Large (Vocales) shall substitute, in their order, the President and Vice President in their temporary absences.

**Of the Representatives** **Article 23.** – The powers and duties of the representatives are:

• a)To facilitate the coordination work between the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs and the entity they represent; b) To attend the ordinary sessions of the Board of Directors with voice and vote and the extraordinary sessions when they are convened, with the same right.
• c)To participate in special working commissions where their services are required; d) To advise the Board of Directors on matters concerning the Institution they represent; and e) To inform their Institution about the agreements of the Commission that concern it.

**Of the Special Commissions** **Article 24.** – The powers and duties of the Special Commissions are:

• a)To submit their work projects for consideration of the Board of Directors, which shall approve them by simple majority, and may only reject them by a vote of five votes against; b) To advise the Board of Directors in their specialties and make recommendations on the projects; and c) To report on the progress of the projects entrusted to them within the deadlines set by the Board of Directors.

**Of the Local Committees** **Article 25.** – The powers and duties of the Local Indigenous Committees are:

• a)To prepare their own working regulations; b) To inform the Commission about local problems and needs at least twice a year; and c) To facilitate the implementation of projects aimed at their respective localities.

**Article 26.** – The resolutions of the Board of Directors shall be considered for all purposes as final and enforceable. However, any member of the Board of Directors may appeal to the President of the Republic within a period of one calendar month from the date the agreement was reached, in the following cases:

• a)Against the agreement ordering the removal of a member of the Board of Directors; and b) Against the resolution issued based on subsection c) of Article 7 of this law.

**Article 27.** – The National Commission on Indigenous Affairs shall enjoy exemption from the payment of registration fees and the use of revenue stamps (timbres) and stamped paper in the acts, operations or contracts it enters into.

(NOTE: See Observations - Option 3-).

**Article 28.** – In order for the Executive Branch (Poder Ejecutivo) to be able to set, in the draft General Budget Law of the Republic, the subsidy it deems appropriate, no later than July 31 of each year, the Board of Directors shall send to the Planning Office of the Presidency of the Republic a reasoned estimate of its needs for the next fiscal period. It is understood that this provision does not apply for the fiscal period of 1973. Likewise, the budgets of the Institution shall be submitted to the Comptroller General of the Republic for their approval and settlement in accordance with the law.

**Article 29.** – Executive Decrees Nos. 45 of December 3, 1945, 34 of November 15, 1956 and 34 of October 17, 1968, as well as Decree-Law No. 346 of January 14, 1949 and Law No. 4732 of March 10, 1971, are hereby repealed.

**Article 30.** – This law is effective as of its publication.

**Transitory Provision.** – The indigenous reserves registered in the name of the Institute of Lands and Colonization (ITCO) are declared inalienable, which shall be destined exclusively for the settlement of indigenous communities, indispensable public services, and the use, habitation and usufruct of aborigines who lack land of their own, registered or unregistered outside these reserves. Within these, the ITCO may grant leases to said aborigines, for a limited and non-transferable term, except to other aborigines who are in the same conditions.

The National Banking System and the other State institutions, jointly with the National Commission on Indigenous Affairs (CONAI), shall regulate special systems so that the members of the aboriginal communities may obtain credits for the adequate exploitation of the lands referred to in this transitory provision.

(Thus amended by Article 1 of Law No. 5651 of December 13, 1974).

en la totalidad del texto - Usted está en la última versión de la norma - Texto Completo Norma 5251 Creación de Comisión Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas (CONAI) Texto Completo acta: 2C0EB 1

Constitución y Objetivos

CAPITULO I

CAPITULO II

CAPITULO III

CAPITULO IV