List of presidents of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica

The president of the Supreme Court of Justice is the head of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica, an office established in 1825 as Regent of the Superior Court. Under Article 159 of the Constitution, the president is elected by the magistrates of the Full Court (Corte Plena) for a four-year term and may be re-elected. Unlike the other magistrates of the court, who may be naturalized Costa Rican citizens after ten years of residence, the president must be a Costa Rican citizen by birth.

The president's responsibilities include convening and presiding over sessions of the Full Court, overseeing the implementation of its decisions, representing the Judiciary before the other branches of government and national and international organizations, and directing policies aimed at the administration and modernization of the judicial system. The office also carries responsibility for safeguarding judicial independence and promoting transparency, impartiality, and access to justice.

Since the Supreme Court was established in 1825 as the Superior Court, there have been 55 presidencies. The first was José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes (1826–1827).

List of presidents of the Supreme Court No. Name Notes Period Office vacant (1825–1826) 1 José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes First Regent of the Superior Court of Costa Rica. 1826–1827 Office vacant (1827–1829) 2 Agustín Gutiérrez y LizaurzábalElected in 1829, position ended in 1830 as a new Superior Court was elected according to a constitutional reform 1829–1830 3 José Sacasa y Méndez Elected in 1830, resigned in 1831 1830–1831 4 José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes Elected in 1831, suspended in 1832 1831–1832 5 Atanasio Gutiérrez y LizaurzábalElected in 1832, position ended in 1833 as a new Court was elected according to constitutional reform 1832–1833 6 José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes Elected in 1833, abandoned in 1836 and Superior Court was dissolved 1833–1836 7 Luz Blanco y Zamora Interim Regent (1836–1837) 1836–1839 8 Pedro César y Urroz 1839–1841 9 Luz Blanco y Zamora 1841–1842 10 Manuel Mora Fernández Position ended after Coup d'état that year (August–September) 1842 Office vacant (1842–1843) 11 Ramón Castro y Ramírez 1843–1844 12 Luz Blanco y Zamora 1845–1846 13 Eusebio Prieto y Ruiz Appointed by Senate in 1846 1846–184714Rafael Ramírez HidalgoElected as Regent of the Superior Court in 18471847–185015Juan Mora FernándezResigned1850–1854 16 Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo 1854–1856 17 Vicente Herrera Zeledón 1856–1860 18 José María Castro Madriz 1860–1866 19 Manuel Alvarado y BarroetaAppointed to finish the 1864–1868 term 1866–1868 20 José Gregorio Trejos Gutiérrez 1868–1869 21 Juan José Ulloa SolaresRegent between 1869–1873; President of the Supreme Court after 1870 when the Court was reorganized 1869–1870 22 José María Castro Madriz 1870–1873 23 Vicente Sáenz LlorenteInterim President (1873–1874) 1873–1876 24 Eusebio Figueroa Oreamuno 1876–1878 25 Miguel Macaya de la Esquina 1878–1880 26 Rafael Orozco González 1880–1886 27 José Antonio Pinto CastroAppointed by Congress 1886–1890; died in office 1886–1887 – Vicente Sáenz LlorenteInterim President 1887–1888 28 José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón Elected to end Pinto's term, resigned in 1889 1888–1889 – Vicente Sáenz Llorente Interim President 1889–1890 29 Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno Resigned before time in 1892 due to President Rodríguez's dissolution of Congress 1890–1892 – Ramón Carranza RamírezInterim President 1892–1894 30 Manuel Vicente Jiménez Oreamuno 1894–1898 31 José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón 1898–1902 32 Manuel Vicente Jiménez Oreamuno 1902–1904 33 Alejandro Alvarado García Resigned one year before ending his term 1904–1915 34 Benito Serrano Jiménez 1915–1916 35 Ezequiel Gutiérrez Iglesias 1916–1917 36 Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra 1917–1920 37 Nicolás Oreamuno Ortiz 1920–1934 38 Octavio Béeche Argüello 1934–1935 39 Luis Dávila Solera 1935–1938 40 Víctor Guardia Quirós 1938–1945 41 Enrique Guier Sáenz Until 8 May 1948 1945–1948 42 José María Vargas PachecoMay 8–11; Appointed by ruling Junta; resigned soon after 1948 43 Gerardo Guzmán Quirós Appointed by ruling Junta 1948–1949 44 Jorge Guardia Carazo 1949–1955 45 Fernando Baudrit Solera Died in office 1955–1975 46 Fernando Coto Albán 1975–1983 47 Ulises Odio Santos 1983–1986 48 Miguel Blanco Quirós 1986–1990 49 Edgar Cervantes Villalta 1990–1999 50 Luis Paulino Mora Mora 1999–2013 51 Zarela Villanueva Monge First woman to hold the office. 2013–2017 52 Carlos Chinchilla Sandí 2017–2018 53 Fernando Cruz Castro 2018–2022 54 Orlando Aguirre Gómez 2022 – present

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