Judicial Branch and OIJ (Organismo de Investigación Judicial)

The Judicial Branch is one of the powers of the Republic of Costa Rica (along with the Executive, the Legislative and the TSE in electoral matters), responsible for administering justice. It is headed by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, and includes courts and tribunals in criminal, civil, labor, family, contentious‑administrative and other matters, distributed throughout the country.

The Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) is a dependency of the Corte Suprema de Justicia that performs judicial police functions: it investigates crimes and gathers evidence for criminal proceedings, acting as an assistant to the criminal courts and the Ministerio Publico. It was created in 1973 and is organized into three major areas — criminal investigation, forensic sciences and legal medicine — with 34 regional offices across the country. For a step‑by‑step guide on how to file a complaint with the OIJ, see the dedicated record for that procedure.

Difference between 911 and the OIJ line: 911 is for ongoing emergencies (requires identification and location to dispatch the Red Cross, Firefighters, Fuerza Publica, etc., as appropriate). The confidential OIJ line, 800-8000-645, is used to provide information about crimes that have already occurred anonymously, without requesting personal data — it does not replace a formal in‑person complaint.

Defensa Publica: is the service of the Judicial Branch that provides free legal representation and advice to persons who lack the resources to pay a private attorney. It handles criminal, juvenile criminal, family, alimony, labor, agrarian and traffic matters, among others. In criminal cases, the assignment is usually made by the judicial authority that summons the person (for example the Ministerio Publico in an investigation).

Online services: the Judicial Branch offers an Online Management System to check the status of court files, submit documents and receive notifications; it requires a password that is obtained once at the nearest judicial office. There is also an official mobile application from the Judicial Branch with the same services.

Contact: central switchboard 2295-3000, office in Barrio González Lahmann, Avenida 6 y 8, Calle 19, San José, open Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. For complaints about the service, the Contraloría de Servicios provides free assistance at 800-800-3000. Defensa Publica can be reached at 2284-2062.

Note: this record is the general profile of the institution. For a step‑by‑step guide on how to report a crime, see the criminal complaint record with the OIJ.