No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaNo shirt, no shoes, no hospital visiting privileges, says Costa Rican Supreme...

No shirt, no shoes, no hospital visiting privileges, says Costa Rican Supreme Court 

Walk down the street in any Costa Rican city and there will be some, well, interesting fashion choices. But it’s not the Navajo print leggings, tube tops or flat-billed, gold-studded New York Yankees cap that’s at issue here: The Costa Rican Supreme Court upheld a public hospital’s right to refuse a man entry because of his beachy attire.

The Costa Rican man, who was not named in the case summary, tried to enter San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela wearing a tank top and shorts. When a security guard turned him away at the door for violating the hospital’s dress code, he filed a complaint with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, or Sala IV, saying that the guard abused his authority.

The complainant argued that the hospital, as part of the Costa Rican Social Security System, was a public building and did not have the right to limit his access based on his dress, and should remove the sign outside saying so.

The Sala IV was not impressed with the complainant’s “sun’s out, guns out” argument and upheld the hospital’s right to impose a public dress code so long as the rules are clearly posted and applied equally to all.

The Sala’s judges ruled that the dress code was not arbitrary or harmful to the complainant’s or other hospital users’ fundamental rights. The hospital can limit any “inappropriate clothing” like tank tops and shorts that could “threaten the order, hygiene or respect of those visiting the facilities or harm the image of the institution,” the judges ruled.

Trending Now

Costa Rica’s Cutris Mining Bill Threatens Massive Environmental Damage

Costa Rica’s government is pushing a controversial bill that could open the entire Cutris district in San Carlos—848 square kilometers—to open-pit gold mining. The...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

Panama Vows Constitutional Action Amid Worsening Bocas del Toro Unrest

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino announced Thursday that he will take “constitutional measures” to stop the wave of protests and road blockades affecting the...

Why Costa Rica’s Northern Huetar Region Struggles Despite Its Riches

Costa Rica’s Northern Huetar Region, a sprawling area of 9,790 square kilometers, is home to over 437,000 people across districts like San Carlos, Upala,...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...

Mexican Influencer “El Arturito” Falls for Costa Rican Cuisine at Silvestre

Arturo Lemmen, a Mexican food critic known as “El Arturito” to his social media fans, used to think Costa Rican cuisine was nothing to...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica