The validity\\r\\nof each PGAI is 5 years, therefore an update must be carried out for the year\\r\\n2017, unless one is necessary in a shorter time due to operational changes or\\r\\nanother reason considered by the responsible Commission.
\\r\\n\\r\\n\\r\\n\\r\\n
The\\r\\ninstitutional historical development of the Supreme Court of Justice begins\\r\\nwith the very Independence of Costa Rica, on September 15, 1821, when the\\r\\npeople of the time decided to organize themselves politically and form their\\r\\nown government. From the first constitutional text issued on December 1, 1821,\\r\\ncalled the Interim Fundamental Social Pact of Costa Rica and known as the Pacto de Concordia, the foundations of the current State were laid. It was thus that the Junta Suprema Gubernamental was established, in charge of exercising government functions, and a Tribunal was created with the function of administering justice, following the laws for the Indo-Spanish peoples, known as the Laws of the Indies, which had been issued by the rulers of Spain to regulate the interests of the Spanish empire in American territories; thus emerging the “first foundation of the Supreme Court”
From that\\r\\nmoment on, social, political, and economic phenomena began to emerge that, over\\r\\ntwo centuries, shaped the structure of the current State, the balance in the\\r\\nfunctioning of the branches of government (executive, legislative, and\\r\\njudicial), and the organization of its institutions and dependencies.
\\r\\n\\r\\nGuided by\\r\\nthe principle of judicial independence visualized in its powers of\\r\\nself-government and the allocation of its own budget, the Supreme Court of Justice\\r\\nhas had to grow throughout the national territory, in accordance with the real\\r\\nneeds to fulfill its function of administering justice, and to bring the\\r\\nfundamental, constitutionally mandated service to all populations and social\\r\\nsectors.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe Judicial\\r\\nBranch is fundamental for the existence and strengthening of Costa Rican\\r\\ndemocracy and the achievement of social peace; therefore, its functions are\\r\\nindispensable. Article 121, subsection 20 of the Political Constitution\\r\\nestablished the power to create new Tribunals within the Judicial Branch in\\r\\ndifferent parts of the country, according to the criteria of the Court and\\r\\napproval by the Legislative Assembly. For this reason, throughout its history,\\r\\nnew offices and jurisdictions have been integrated, which has resulted in the\\r\\npresence of many buildings of various sizes throughout the national territory.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe Judicial\\r\\nBranch of Costa Rica, Supreme Branch of the Republic, has the obligation to\\r\\nenforce the laws and administer justice; a fundamental objective designated by\\r\\nthe Political Constitution; likewise, it is guided by the legal directives\\r\\nestablished in the Organic Law of the Judicial Branch, Law number 7333 of May\\r\\n5, 1993, which establishes in Article 1:
\\r\\n\\r\\n“...It corresponds\\r\\nto the Judicial Branch, in addition to the functions that the Constitution\\r\\nassigns to it, to hear civil, criminal, juvenile criminal, commercial, labor,\\r\\ncontentious-administrative and civil treasury, constitutional, family, and\\r\\nagrarian proceedings, as well as others established by Law; to resolve\\r\\ndefinitively on them and to execute the resolutions it pronounces, with the\\r\\nhelp of the Public Force if necessary.”
\\r\\n\\r\\nFor the\\r\\nfulfillment of these functions, Article 2 of that same normative body\\r\\nreinforces the functional independence of the Judicial Branch by stating:
\\r\\n\\r\\n“The Judicial\\r\\nBranch is only subject to the Political Constitution and the Law. The\\r\\nresolutions it issues, in matters of its competence, impose no other\\r\\nresponsibilities than those expressly indicated by legislative precepts. \\r\\nNotwithstanding, the superior authority of the Court will prevail over its\\r\\nperformance to guarantee that the administration of justice is prompt and\\r\\nfulfilled.”
\\r\\n\\r\\nSupported by\\r\\nthe principle of independence reaffirmed in Article 9 of the Political\\r\\nConstitution, which grants this Branch of the Republic total and absolute\\r\\nindependence, and which constitutes a guarantee that justice is imparted in\\r\\nCosta Rica in strict adherence to the spirit of the Law; the administration of\\r\\njustice, to avoid arbitrariness and achieve prompt and expeditious justice, is\\r\\norganized by important principles, such as due process, from which stem the\\r\\nright to a hearing, to a defense, to equality and procedural loyalty, to be\\r\\njudged by impartial and independent tribunals, by competent courts through\\r\\npre-established procedures.
\\r\\n\\r\\nTo achieve\\r\\nits objectives, the Judicial Branch formed a structure divided and organized\\r\\ninto three different areas, which depend on the Supreme Court of Justice;\\r\\nnamely: the jurisdictional area, the auxiliary justice area, and the\\r\\nadministrative area, as illustrated in the following figure:
\\r\\n\\r\\nFigure 1. Organizational Chart of the Judicial Branch
\\r\\n\\r\\n\\r\\n\\r\\n
On the other\\r\\nhand, the Strategic Plan 2007-2011 of the Judicial Branch defines the mission and\\r\\nvision of the institution as follows:
\\r\\n\\r\\nMission: “To administer\\r\\njustice in a prompt, fulfilled manner, without denial and in strict conformity\\r\\nwith the legal system, guaranteeing quality in the provision of\\r\\nservices for the users who require it.”
\\r\\n\\r\\nVision:\\r\\n“To be a Judicial Branch that guarantees the user access to\\r\\njustice and resolves their conflicts with modern organizational and\\r\\nmanagement systems; composed of personnel guided by shared institutional\\r\\nvalues, aware of their role in the development of the nation and supported by\\r\\nstrategic partners.”
\\r\\n\\r\\nThrough the\\r\\nactions promoted by the Commission, important contributions are sought, not only at the institutional level but also in global\\r\\nplanning of general and environmental policies, with the aim of establishing within\\r\\nthe Institution a clear awareness of what can be done internally and\\r\\nexternally for the improvement of environmental management.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThrough this\\r\\nCommission, the aim is to establish a general policy with immediate parallel\\r\\nactions, which requires the definition of a diagnostic that\\r\\nwill allow establishing the state in which this Branch of the Republic finds\\r\\nitself on the topic, knowing the ecological footprint of the institution, the\\r\\nmanagement of aspects such as vehicles and the use of fuels, waste management,\\r\\nenergy consumption, recycling, use of technology, building construction and\\r\\nreforestation topics, promoting environmental awareness among officials,\\r\\namong others.
\\r\\n\\r\\nWith the\\r\\nobjective of exchanging experiences and taking advantage of the capacities of\\r\\nsome institutions, the Commission has established contacts with various\\r\\ngovernmental and non-governmental entities such as state universities,\\r\\nthe Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications, the Ministry of\\r\\nthe Presidency, and private organizations, in order to coordinate concrete\\r\\nactions that allow for an integration of their activities.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe\\r\\nEnvironmental Affairs Commission developed an Institutional Environmental\\r\\nManagement Plan for the period 2011-2013, where it covered topics such as\\r\\nresponsible water consumption, reduction in energy consumption, adequate\\r\\nwaste management; as well as other topics such as the construction of\\r\\nbuildings friendlier to the environment (bioclimatic architecture), the\\r\\nmitigation of the institutional carbon footprint, among others; and work is\\r\\ncurrently underway on updating and implementing this Plan.
\\r\\n\\r\\nFor some\\r\\nyears, the Recycling Commission, made up of officials from the institution concerned with the management of\\r\\ninstitutional waste, was in operation. Said Commission began with the topic of\\r\\nrecycling and brought together the various groups within the institution\\r\\nconcerned with the impacts that the Court produces externally.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe forensic\\r\\nenvironmental project began by offering consultancies and advice to judicial\\r\\nauthorities (mainly to the Public Ministry), that require collaboration\\r\\nregarding the way in which the evidence collected should be gathered to be\\r\\nsent for analysis.
\\r\\n\\r\\nStarting in\\r\\nthe year 2007, environmental expert assessments (peritajes ambientales) began, mainly\\r\\nrelated to contamination by pesticides. In the year 2008, the\\r\\nexpert assessments were expanded and wastewater analysis and qualitative analysis of pesticides in bodies of water were\\r\\nincorporated; also maintaining collaboration with samplings and\\r\\nconsultancies. Furthermore, during this period, the study of methodologies for\\r\\nimplementation in subsequent years began, as well as the adaptation of the\\r\\nphysical space and the acquisition of some laboratory equipment.
\\r\\n\\r\\nIn the year\\r\\n2009, a biologist and a forensic laboratory technician were incorporated, leaving\\r\\n the laboratory constituted by three persons at present (1 chemist, 1\\r\\nbiologist, and 1 laboratory technician), and methodological development\\r\\nand the acquisition of instrumentation continued.
\\r\\n\\r\\nIt should be highlighted\\r\\nthat, at the Latin American level, no other equivalent structure is known in\\r\\nterms of forensic laboratories dedicated exclusively to addressing environmental\\r\\ncrime.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe\\r\\nJudicial School of the Supreme Court of Justice, within its multiple\\r\\nfunctions, has developed training courses in the environmental area in matters\\r\\nof environmental law aimed at officials from various areas\\r\\nthat have contributed to expanding knowledge in this legal branch and the\\r\\nconsequent awareness-raising of the judicial population.
\\r\\n\\r\\nThe courses\\r\\ntaught are:
\\r\\n\\r\\n·
· \\r\\nEnvironmental Law Course (introductory) 2008
\\r\\n\\r\\n· \\r\\nCourse “Environmental Law” in coordination with the USAID-CCAD Cooperation Agreement 2009
\\r\\n\\r\\n· \\r\\nCourse “Training of Trainers in Environmental Law: Evaluation, Assessment, and Compensation for Environmental Damage” 2010.
\\r\\n\\r\\n\n\n| Circuito Judicial | Edificios | Cantidad de Funcionarios |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| **I Circuito Judicial de San José** | 12 | 49 | 4344 |\n| **II Circuito Judicial de San José** | 2 | | 1188 |\n| **I Circuito Judicial de Alajuela** | 4 | 1 | 538 |\n| **II Circuito Judicial Alajuela (San Carlos)** | 3 | 8[3] | 336 |\n| **III Circuito Judicial Alajuela (San Ramón)** | 1 | 3 | 218 |\n| **III Circuito Judicial de Alajuela (Sede Grecia)** | 2 | | 108 |\n| **Circuito Judicial de Cartago** | 1 | 18 | 489 |\n| **Circuito Judicial de Cartago (Sede Turrialba)** | 2 | | 128 |\n| **Circuito Judicial de Heredia** | 2 | 13 | 550 |\n| **Ciudad Judicial San Joaquín de Flores** | 12 | | 569 |\n| **Circuito Judicial de Puntarenas** | 1 | 19 | 528 |\n| **I Circuito Judicial de Zona Sur (Pérez Zeledón
\n
Summary of the assessment
\n\n| Aspecto Ambiental | Impacto Ambiental identificado | Significancia | Síntesis de la situación ambiental | Indicadores |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **Aguas residuales** | Contaminación del recurso hídrico. Pérdida del hábitat acuático. Generación de gases de efecto invernadero. | Medio | Las aguas residuales se generan a partir del uso diario de inodoros, duchas, lavatorios y sodas en los edificios. De acuerdo con las actividades de donde proceden se consideran de tipo ordinarias. Según estimaciones, en el Primer Circuito Judicial, ubicado en San José se generan 18 684,4 m3 al mes de aguas residuales (Edificio de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Edificio del Organismo de Investigación Judicial y Edificio de los Tribunales de Justicia), mientras que en el edificio del Segundo Circuito Judicial, ubicado en Goicoechea, se generan 45 821,6 m3 al mes. El volumen de agua residual se obtiene mediante una estimación de consumo por número de personas, ya que no se llevan registros de volumen generado. Medidas de prevención: Se establecieron actividades de cumplimiento para funcionarios y funcionarias en general, estas incluyen: Prevenir la contaminación de fuentes de agua potable y pluvial. Mantenimiento de las trampas de grasa ubicadas en las pilas y fregaderos de los edificios. Diagnóstico de los desinfectantes y otras sustancias químicas, empleadas en limpieza y otras actividades, para evaluar la posibilidad de sustitución por otros menos contaminantes. Análisis de las aguas residuales generadas en los edificios. | |\n\nIn the event of non-compliance with one or several parameters, the necessary corrective actions are taken so that the monitored values do not exceed the permissible limits.\n\nFinal disposal: The buildings have a sanitary sewer system where the wastewater is disposed of.\n\nAnnual reports of wastewater analysis.\n\n**Potable water**\n\nDepletion of water resources\n\nHigh\n\nPotable water is supplied by the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados for the buildings of the first and second Judicial Circuits of San José. The main sources of use are toilets, showers, the cafeteria, and consumption by workers and users.\n\nCurrently, no record is kept of the volumes of water consumed; only expense data for consumption is available at the level of the entire Judicial Branch, therefore, specific consumption data per building and per worker is not available.\n\nAmong the pending tasks, it is established to begin recording the cubic meters consumed per building.\n\nSaving measures have been implemented, such as:\nCampaigns to reduce consumption, such as turning off the tap when brushing teeth, washing hands, and washing dishes.\nProcedures to identify and repair leaks.\nAvoiding practices that use large volumes of water, mainly in cleaning.\nPerforming maintenance of the supply system and verification of water quality.\nCarrying out awareness programs using signage and information systems on saving measures and goals for employees and visitors to the site.\n\nCubic meters consumed monthly per building.\n\nRecord of the preventive and corrective maintenance program.\n\nCompliance with the parameters established for water potability.\n\nRecord of the awareness courses and activities given.\n\n**Greenhouse gas emissions (from mobile and/or stationary sources)**\n\nAir pollution, acid rain, generation of greenhouse gases.\n\nDecrease in the ozone layer.\n\nLow\n\nAir emissions come from the vehicle fleet of the Judicial Branch.\n\nThey are a product of the fossil fuels used and are composed of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide, which cause acid rain and are the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect.\n\nPrevention measures:\nProcedures were established for the preventive maintenance of the units, such as vehicle technical inspection.\nPrograms are being developed for the reduction and mitigation of greenhouse gases, as well as energy management programs.\nThe collection of information on energy consumption will begin in order to keep reports, reviews, and controls.\n\nEstimation of CO2 emissions from electricity consumption.\n\nEstimation of CO2 emissions from fuel consumption.\n\n**Consumption of Fossil Fuels**\n\nConsumption of non-renewable resources.\n\nAir pollution, generation of greenhouse gases.\n\nLow\n\nFossil fuels are used only for the vehicle fleet of the buildings of the first and second Judicial Circuits of San José. Diesel and gasoline are currently used.\n\nSaving measures:\nMeasures were established for the preventive maintenance of the vehicle fleet.\nA fuel-saving measures plan was created to be implemented in a short-term period.\n\nTotal fuel consumption per building.\n(liters of fuel consumed per month)\n\n**Energy consumption**\n\nDestruction of forests (dams).\n\nAtmospheric pollution from the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation.\n\nHigh\n\nElectric power is supplied by the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz for the buildings of the first and second Judicial Circuits of San José. The practices related to energy consumption are mainly the use of computers, printers, photocopiers, lighting, refrigeration, and air conditioning.\n\nAmong the measures established for energy saving are:\nAwareness programs were carried out for the optimization of the use of lighting, air conditioning, and other electrical appliances and electronic devices.\nCleaning programs are carried out for lighting systems.\nComputers, printers, and other electronic equipment were configured in energy-saving mode.\n\nTotal electricity consumption per building per month.\n\n**Paper consumption**\n\nDecrease of the resource, incentivizing excessive tree felling and loss of habitat.\n\nMedium\n\nPaper is one of the most used resources within the institution; its consumption takes place in various administrative activities, offices, among others.\n\nIn the last semester of 2011, a total of 7369 reams were delivered in the First Judicial Circuit of San José, while 2400 reams were delivered in the Second Judicial Circuit.\n\nConsumption saving measures:\nIn terms of prevention, measures are established to avoid unnecessary printing, maximizing the use of technology to replace paper, such as the use of email and the intranet for internal communications. Excessive printing of promotional materials was reduced.\nTo reduce paper use, more efficient printing measures were established, such as using both sides of the paper, using recycled paper, and using paper printed on one side as drafts.\nControl of the amount of paper supplied to the buildings continues.\nIn 2010, the Judicial Branch's zero paper program began. With the objective of significantly reducing consumption, this program promotes the substitution of paper through the application of technological resources, in addition to establishing good practices for the rational use of paper.\n\nMonthly paper consumption per office:\nReams of paper consumed per month.\n\n**Generation of solid waste (ordinary, hazardous, and special handling)**\n\nSoil or water contamination\n\nGeneration of greenhouse gases.\n\nDecrease of the resource and loss of habitat.\n\nHigh\n\nThe waste generated in the buildings of the first and second Judicial Circuit of San José is classified as ordinary and special handling; it comes from the daily activities carried out in the buildings.\n\nThe ordinary waste generated is paper and cardboard, plastic containers and briks, aluminum cans, glass, and other ordinary solid waste that is not classified and is delivered to a manager for final disposal.\n\nThe special handling waste consists of cartridges and toner, fluorescent lights, batteries, and electronics.\n\nData on the quantity of solid waste separated per month is not taken periodically, so only scattered data is available on materials delivered in certain months of the last year. These materials were plastic, cardboard, toner, batteries, and paper.\n\nFinal disposal:\nSeparation systems for ordinary waste were established, and its collection is managed with authorized entities. In addition, better controls of the quantities generated for recycling are being incorporated.\nThe placement of identified containers for the proper segregation of waste is in process.\n\n-Monthly quantity of waste collected separately per building according to category (glass, paper, cardboard…)\n\n-Quantity of electronic waste delivered to authorized managers per year.\n\n-Quantity of toner, fluorescent lights, batteries delivered to authorized managers per year.\n\n-Number of areas in the buildings that have waste separation points.\n\n-Number of training sessions held annually.\n\n**Green purchasing**\n\nLow\n\nThe purchasing and acquisition processes for goods and services were evaluated.\n\nThe environmental policy was communicated to the workers in charge of preparing tender documents, contracting, and direct purchases, and training was given on the inclusion of environmental performance criteria in contracting.\n\n- Percentage of officials of the Procurement Department to whom the environmental policy was communicated.\n\n-Number of suppliers and participants in the processes of acquiring goods and services who have received communication of the environmental policy.\n\n-Percentage of officials who would have received training on the subject of purchasing processes and services with environmental performance criteria.\n\n-Percentage of purchases of goods and services under any modality, in which environmental performance criteria were evaluated.\n\n**Urban and natural landscape**\n\nEnvironmental impact from poor landscape management\n\nLow\n\nThe \"Justice with Nature\" Program was established and is being followed up on. This consists of a conservation and ornamentation plan for the La Soledad property, which belongs to the Judicial Branch, and for other judicial circuits in the country.\n\nNumber of program activities carried out per year\n\n**Citizen participation**\n\nDamage to the human and archaeological environment\n\nLow\n\nCommunication spaces were established for consultations, complaints, or suggestions about environmental management.\n\nThe institution's environmental policy and environmental management plan were announced in a visible and permanent manner.\n\nNumber of officials trained per year.\n\n**Occupational health and safety**\n\nHuman resources\n\nLow\n\nThe Institutional Occupational Health Plan must be finalized, according to the pertinent legal standards.\n\nDocumentation of the Occupational health and safety programs.\n\n**Natural Disasters**\n\nEnvironmental damage due to inadequate disaster prevention\n\nLow\n\nTogether with the Occupational Health Offices, prevention, preparation, and evacuation plans were carried out in case of an emergency or a possible disaster.\n\n\n \nEnvironmental legislation (Legislación ambiental)
\n\n
\n
A review was conducted to establish the legal framework that the Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial) had to comply with in environmental matters.
\nThe guidelines of current legislation were incorporated into the institutional environmental management plan along with the necessary environmental measures for compliance with the legislation.
\nSemi-annual reviews are conducted to identify new environmental legislation and thus integrate it into the environmental management plan.\n
\nSemi-annual record of legislative review and updating.
\n\n
\n\n
This Program aims to cover the I and II Judicial Circuit (I y II Circuito Judicial) in 2013, to integrate the Judicial City (Ciudad Judicial) of San Joaquín de Flores in 2014, and to initiate regional efforts.
\n\nIn the medium term, the Plan aims to cover all 162 buildings (55 owned and 107 rented), raising awareness among the judicial officials, who according to Budget Law No. 9103, Fiscal Year 2013, Ordinary and Extraordinary Budget of the Republic for the 2013 Fiscal Year
According to an analysis conducted by the Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales), a questionnaire was sent to each regional administration and variables relating to the environmental impact of each administration were analyzed. The questionnaire consisted of 18 questions, which are divided into General Data, Wastewater (Aguas Residuales), Drinking Water (Agua de consumo), Fuel (Combustible), Energy (Energía), Human Resources (Recurso Humano), among others. The score obtained was related to the number of officials, buildings, and the existence of any environmental subcommittee, in order to understand the ease of implementing the PGAI in each of the Regional Offices. Based on this, it is recommended to begin implementation in Grecia, Turrialba, and Santa Cruz. Then proceed with Osa, Golfito, Nicoya, Corredores, San Carlos, and San Ramón, which, except for San Carlos, have a negative environmental impact tending toward high, so it is necessary to take measures in this regard.
\n\nIn an intermediate stage, the Regional Offices of Pérez Zeledón, Alajuela, Limón, Pococí, and Puntarenas can be integrated, finishing with Cartago. The process would look as follows:
\n\n\n\n
The completion of the assessment for the I and II Judicial Circuit (I y II Circuito Judicial) in San José is being coordinated with the CNFL, and it is intended to start in 2013, in order to take relevant actions during 2014 and 2015. Subsequently, coordination will be made to assess the situation of other Regional Areas (Áreas Regionales).
\n\nThe Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) is responsible for conducting the emissions inventory; these will be conducted in the I and II Judicial Circuits annually. The first inventory is conducted in 2013, taking into account the records from 2012.
\n\nThey are classified as direct and indirect; fugitive emissions will not be calculated.
\n\nDirect Emissions (Emisiones directas):
\n\n·
Table. Annual Diesel and Gasoline Consumption from mobile sources for the I Circuit (Circuito I)
\n\n| \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n
| \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n ||||
| \n Diesel \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n
| \n Gasoline (Gasolina) \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n \n | \n
| \n Total \n | \n \n 602954,32 \n | \n \n 1438487,09 \n | \n \n 484467,89 \n | \n \n 484,46 \n | \n \n 69549,57 \n | \n \n 69,55 \n | \n \n 1470221,29 \n | \n \n 1470,22 \n | \n
\n\n
Table.\n\nAnnual consumption of Diesel and gasoline from mobile sources, Circuit II\n\n| | Litros totales (l) | Dióxido de carbono | Metano | Metano | Óxido nitroso | Óxido nitroso | Kg de CO2 equivalente (kg CO2e) | Toneladas de CO2 equivalente (t CO2e) |\n| ------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------ | ------ | ------ | ------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |\n| | | (kg CO2) | (g CH4) | (kg CH4) | (g N2O) | (kg N2O) | | |\n| Diesel | 3.143,33 | 8455,5577 | 445,1 | 0,45 | 445,1 | 0,45 | 8602,88 | 8,6 |\n| Gasolina | 5464,14 | 12348,96 | 5884,88 | 5,88 | 571 | 0,57 | 12649,55 | 12,65 |\n| Total | 8.607,47 | 20.804,52 | 6.329,98 | 6,33 | 1.016,10 | 1,02 | 21.252,43 | 21,25 |\n\nFigure. Fuel consumption, regarding diesel, 2012, Judicial Circuits I and II, in liters.\n\nSource. Own elaboration, 2013.\n\n· **Emergency electricity generation plants:** Judicial Circuit I has 4 generating plants, which run on Diesel; their fuel consumption varies according to the national-level power outages that occur, although there is a base consumption, which is for maintenance, since these plants are turned on once a month for one hour to ensure their functionality. The 2012 Diesel consumption reported by the procurement department was used for the emissions calculation; the results are shown below.\n\nTable. Calculation of GHG emissions for Judicial Circuit I.\n\n| Diesel (Comercial / institucional) | | | | | |\n| :--------------------------------------------- | :------------------ | :----------------- | :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Litros totales (l) | Dióxido de carbono (kg CO2) | Metano (kg CH4) | Óxido nitroso (kg N2O) | Kilogramos de dióxido de carbono equivalente (kg CO2e) | Toneladas de dióxido de carbono equivalente (t CO2e) |\n| 3.788 | 10189,72 | 1,38 | 0,08 | 10244,17 | 10,24 |\n\nSource. Own elaboration with data from the procurement department and DIGECA, 2013.\n\n**Indirect emissions:**\n\n· **Electricity:** According to reports from ICE, by the end of 2009, 95.9% of electricity generation came from renewable sources, while 4.1% came from fossil fuels. Utilization by source is 84% hydroelectric, 8% geothermal, 5% wind, and 3% biomass. (ICE, 2012).\n\nAccording to the data provided by the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, based on the electrical consumption of the buildings of the I and II Circuito Judicial de San José for the year 2012, the following data are obtained,\n\n| # | Edificio/ Dependencia | Consumo de Energía (kWh/mes) | Demanda máxima (kW) | Importe (¢/mes) | Área fisica (m2) | Indicadores | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| | | | | | | Consumo de energía eléctrica por área física por mes (kWh/m2/mes) | Kilogramos de dióxido de carbono equivalente por mes (kg CO2e/mes) |\n| **1** | Corte Suprema de Justicia | 71,63 | 136,76 | ₡7.331.723 | 16281 | 0,00 | 4,01 |\n| **2** | OIJ Anexo A, B y C | 198,69 | 448,20 | ₡20.904.555 | 31373 | 0,01 | 11,13 |\n| **3** | Tribunales de Justicia I Circuito | 92,95 | 232,94 | ₡9.136.667 | 24040 | 0,00 | 5,21 |\n| **4** | Anexo D | 3,76 | | ₡347.560 | 1428 | 0,00 | 0,21 |\n| **5** | Tribunales de Justicia II Circuito Goicochea | 112,95 | 273,28 | ₡10.522.118 | 23180 | 0,00 | 6,33 |\n| **6** | Tribunales II Circuito edificio Motorola | 28,43 | 130,55 | ₡2.846.629 | 4900 | 0,01 | 1,59 |\n| **TOTAL** | | **508,43** | **448,20** | **₡51.089.253** | **101201,49** | **-** | **28,47** |\n\nFuente: Elaboración propia con datos de CNFyL y DIGECA, 2013.\n\n· **Air Conditioners:** These are considered among the gas emitters since they use refrigerant gases, which are known to be major pollutants. It has\n\n5 12000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n3 14000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n1 15000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n6 18000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n2 24000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n1 36000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n1 48000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n20 Window-Type Air Conditioners\n\n· **Others**\n\nWhile it is true that solid waste, purchases of supplies, and the generation of wastewater contribute Greenhouse Gas (Gases Efecto Invernadero) emissions to the atmosphere, they will not be considered within the calculation.\n\nHowever, it is worth mentioning that there is a recycling program that allows for the reduction of emissions for this concept, green purchasing that collaborates in the reduction of emissions, and regarding the Wastewater (sewage and soapy) from circuit I and II, it is disposed of into the San José sanitary sewer system, so it is not possible to generate conclusive data.\n\nGases evaluated\n\n· Carbon dioxide (CO2) \n\n· Methane (CH4) \n\n· Nitrous Oxide (N2O)\n\n· Halocarbons (HFC): From the use of air conditioning and refrigerator systems.\n\nGENERAL EMISSIONS CALCULATION\n\nTable.\n\nGreenhouse gas emissions 2012 for I and II\nSan José Judicial Circuit.
\n\n| Emissions | kg CO2e | kg CO2 | kg CH4 | kg N2O |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Transportation | 1.491.417,72 | 1459291,61 | 490,79 | 70,57 |\n| Electricity | **341,66** | - | - | - |\n| Emergency plants | 10244,17 | 10189,72 | 1,38 | 0,08 |\n| Total | 1.502.003,55 | 1469481,33 | 492,17 | 70,65 |\n\nSource: Own elaboration with data from\nprocurement, CNFL and DIGECA formulas, 2013.
\n\n·
\n\n
\n\n
Table. Matrix
\n\n| Theme | Environmental aspect | Priority | Objectives | Environmental goals | Estimated deadline for compliance | Indicators | Environmental measures | Budget | Responsible parties |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Water management | Wastewater | Medium | Comply with legislation on wastewater discharge | Comply with all parameters established in the legislation on wastewater discharge and reuse. | December 2012 | Maximum limits established for universal parameters of wastewater discharged into the sanitary sewer system | Environmental program for wastewater | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission / Regional Administrations |\n| | Drinking water | High | Reduce water consumption | Decrease in water consumption by 5% | December 2012 | Cubic meters consumed monthly per building. Record of the preventive and corrective maintenance program. Compliance with the parameters established for water potability. Record of the courses and awareness activities given. | Environmental program for water consumption | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission |\n| Air management | Greenhouse gas emissions. | Low | Decrease greenhouse gas emissions | Decrease fuel consumption by 5%. Decrease electricity consumption by 5%. | December 2013 | Total fuel consumption (liters of fuel consumed per month) | Environmental program for Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission/Transport Department. |\n| | Fossil Fuel Consumption | Low | Reduce fossil fuel consumption | Decrease fuel consumption by 5% | December 2014 | Total fuel consumption (liters of fuel consumed per month) | Environmental program for fossil fuel consumption. | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission/Transport Department. |\n| Energy management | Energy consumption | High | Reduce electricity consumption | Decrease electricity consumption by 5% | December 2013 | Total electricity consumption per building per month. | Environmental program for energy efficiency. | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission. |\n| Paper management | Paper consumption | Medium | Reduce paper consumption | Decrease paper consumption by 5% | December 2013 | Reams of paper consumed per month. | Environmental program for paper consumption. | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission. |\n| Solid and liquid waste management. | Generation of solid waste (ordinary, hazardous, and special management) | High | Valorize generated solid waste. | Valorization of at least 20% of the ordinary waste generated. | December 2014 | Percentage of waste valorized per year. | Environmental program for solid waste. Environmental program for special waste. | Budget depends on what is allocated in the ordinary budget. | Environmental Affairs Commission. |\n| | | | Incorporate separation systems for ordinary and special solid waste. | Install systems to separate solid waste in all buildings within the scope. | | Kilograms of separated waste per month per building. Quantity of electronic waste delivered to authorized managers per year. Quantity of toner, fluorescent bulbs, batteries delivered to authorized managers per year. Number of areas in the buildings that have waste separation points. | | | |\n| | | | Raise awareness among officials about adequate solid waste management. | | | | | | |\n\n| Environmental Management | Green Purchasing | Low | Include environmental performance criteria in the procurement processes for goods and services. | Incorporate five green purchasing criteria into the bidding documents (carteles de licitación) and direct contracting processes. | December 2014 | Percentage of officials in the Procurement Department who were informed of the environmental policy.
Number of suppliers and participants in the processes for the acquisition of goods and services who have received notification of the environmental policy.
Percentage of officials who have received training on the subject of procurement processes for goods and services with environmental performance criteria.
Percentage of purchases of goods and services under any modality in which environmental performance criteria were evaluated.
| Green Purchasing Environmental Program | No economic investment required. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales)/Procurement Department/General Services |\n| Biotype and Ecosystems | Urban and Natural Landscape | Low | Follow up on the justice with nature programs. | Carry out activities established in the justice with nature program. | December 2014 | Number of program activities carried out per year. | Justice with Nature Program (Programa de Justicia con la naturaleza). | No economic investment required. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n| Human | Citizen Participation | Low | Conduct training and awareness courses. | Train all officials on environmental issues. | December 2014 | Number of officials trained per year. | Environmental Citizen Participation Program | Requires minimal investment. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) / Information Technology Department / Services Comptroller's Office |\n| | | | Communicate the complaint disclosure mechanism. | Communicate the complaint disclosure mechanism to all officials. | | | | | |\n| | | | Disseminate the institution's environmental policy. | Disseminate the environmental policy to all officials. | | | | | |\n| Human | Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene | Low | Document occupational health plans. | Have all Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene plans and programs documented. | December 2015 | Documentation of the Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene programs. | Carry out the safety, health, and occupational hygiene procedures jointly with the Occupational Health office. | Ordinary budget. Minimal investment. | Occupational Health Office / Human Management Department |\n| Threats/Natural and Anthropic Risks | Natural Disasters | Low | Environmental program for the prevention and response to natural disasters. | Comply with all standards established in the regulations regarding disaster prevention. | December 2012 | Emergency response program developed. | Environmental Program for Natural Threats (Programa ambiental de amenazas naturales). | No economic investment required, only human resources. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n| | | | | | | Documentation of communication channels with the neighbors of the buildings. | | | |\n| Environmental Management | Environmental Legislation | medium | Continue the program for the review and updating of environmental legislation. | Update all environmental legislation. | December 2012 | Semi-annual record of the review and updating of legislation.
| Environmental Program for Environmental Legislation (Programa ambiental de legislación ambiental) | No economic investment required, only human resources. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n\nIt is determined that the priority programs to be implemented, due to their economic, temporal, and environmental impact priority, are in the areas of water for human consumption, energy consumption, waste generation, followed by the programs defined as medium priority, which are wastewater, paper consumption, and environmental legislation. The variables of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption are determined to be low priority, as well as the programs for green purchasing, urban and natural landscape, citizen participation, occupational safety, health, and hygiene, and the Natural Disasters variable.\n\nTo achieve the objectives outlined in the Environmental Management Program (Programa de Gestión Ambiental), nine independent environmental programs have been generated, which together constitute the various lines of action for addressing the environmental impacts that the Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial) generates as a result of its daily activities.\n\nThe environmental programs considered are as follows:\n\n| Acronyms (*) | Program Name |\n| :--- | :--- |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-001** | Environmental program for wastewater |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-002** | Environmental program for consumable water |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-003** | Environmental program for vehicle fleet control |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-004** | Environmental program for the prevention and response to natural disasters |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-005** | Environmental program for energy efficiency |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-006** | Environmental program for ordinary solid waste management |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-007** | Environmental program for special waste management |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-008** | Environmental program for the acquisition of environmentally friendly goods and services |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-009** | Environmental program for paper consumption |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-010** | Environmental program for the review and updating of current environmental legislation |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-011** | Environmental program for citizen participation and training |\n\n(*): The acronyms correspond to: P= Protocol (Protocolo), CAA= Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales), PGA= Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental), PAE= Specific Environmental Protocol (Protocolo Ambiental Específico).\n\nThe detail of the programs carried out is presented in Annex X.\n\n# Pending Tasks for Environmental Improvement\n\n### Creation of a unit responsible for the institution's environmental management with suitable personnel.\n\nOnce the institutional PGA has been developed and launched, it is essential to consolidate an entity responsible for the system's operability.\n\nCurrently, this work has been carried out by the Environmental Affairs Commission (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales), which is composed of officials who, on a part-time basis, are dedicated to attending to these matters. However, to guarantee success and continuous improvement, the need for a formally constituted office with suitable staff and knowledge of the subject is evident, one that works in a coordinated manner with areas directly related to its operations, such as the Planning Department (Departamento de Planificación), the Information Technology Department (Departamento de Tecnología de Información), the Occupational Health Office (Oficina de Salud Ocupacional) of the Human Management Department (Departamento de Gestión Humana), among others.\n\n### Progressive Implementation of the Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental) in other Judicial Circuits\n\nDue to the number of buildings and organizations within the Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial), the implementation of an Institutional Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental Institucional) is a process that must be carried out progressively. Currently, the Institution has a total of fourteen Judicial Circuits, in addition to units of the Public Ministry (Ministerio Público), Public Defense (Defensa Pública), and offices, delegations, and sub-delegations of the Judicial Investigation Agency (Organismo de Investigación Judicial).\n\nThe intention is then to gradually incorporate the different offices until encompassing all of the facilities that the Institution has at the national level.\n\n### Elaboration of Energy Audits of the Buildings\n\nOne of the most significant environmental impacts caused by the Institution is the high consumption of energy.\n\nIn an effort to diagnose the most sensitive areas, the collaboration of the National Power and Light Company (Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz) was requested to carry out energy audits that allow for the identification of critical areas and establish actions to optimize the resource.\n\n### Elaboration of the Occupational Health Plan (Plan de Salud Ocupacional) according to pertinent legal norms\n\nAs part of the implementation of the Environmental Management Plan, the Occupational Health Office must finalize the elaboration of the Institutional Occupational Health Plan, according to the pertinent legal norms.\n\nAccording to those in charge of Occupational Health, due to the workload that said area maintains, its completion does not seem possible within a period of less than two years, so it is established as a pending task.\n\n### Elaboration of an Institutional Carbon Dioxide Emission Mitigation Program\n\nFor this first stage of implementation, protocols have been established for vehicle emission control, as well as the establishment of documentation for the Justice in Nature (Justicia en la Naturaleza) program and an energy efficiency program.\n\nThe objective is to consolidate these institutional efforts into a carbon footprint mitigation program, which for the moment is established as a pending task.\n\nAnnexes\n\nQualification of environmental aspects\n\n| Environmental aspect | Qualification obtained |\n| :--- | :--- |\n| Emissions from stationary sources | NA |\n| Emissions from mobile sources | 71% |\n| Generation of noise and vibrations by anthropic activities | NA |\n| Emissions of ionizing radiation | NA |\n| Emissions of odors | NA |\n| Water consumption | 58% |\n| Generation of wastewater | 67% |\n| Generation of ordinary solid waste | 92% |\n| Paper consumption | 100% |\n| Generation of electronic waste | 40% |\n| Generation of hazardous solid waste | 88% |\n| Generation of infectious-contagious waste | NA |\n| Use of hazardous substances | NA |\n| Management of products derived from hydrocarbons | NA |\n| Use of pesticides | NA |\n| Use of radioactive substances | NA |\n| Consumption of fossil fuels | 29% |\n| Consumption of electric energy | 62% |\n| Safety and management of natural disasters | 80% |\n\nPrepared by: Yazmín Carranza Barrantes, 2012.\n\nNA = Not applicable.\n\n### Environmental Programs of the Judicial Branch\n\n### Programs\n\n### Justice for Nature Program (Programa Justicia para la Naturaleza). [6]\n\nThe program seeks to develop, jointly with the National Power and Light Company and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía), a conservation and ornamentation plan on the Finca La Soledad of the Judicial Branch and other judicial circuits of the country, within a concept of sustainable development and as a contribution to Costa Rican society.\n\nThe property, with a total area of 35 hectares, allocates 8 hectares to the project (areas where construction is not feasible, such as the banks of the Río Porrosatí, Río Sajón, Río Segundo, and the Las Flores stream (quebrada Las Flores), on the margins of water sources and springs (nacientes), as well as all those areas that due to their slope imply high costs if construction were to be attempted, sensitive areas for replanting such as the edges of the boulevard and surroundings of the buildings). Additionally, it considers 12570 m² of potential areas in the different judicial circuits.\n\nA planting area per hectare of 816 trees was set, at a distance of 3.5 x 3.5; this means that in the 8 hectares (within which the sensitive replanting areas are included, such as the edges of the boulevard and surroundings of the buildings), approximately 7,000 units of trees and shrubs are required.\n\n*Principal native species of the zone or those that are in danger of extinction and can adapt to the area:*\n\nRoble Sabana,\n\nCorteza Amarilla\n\nJacaranda\n\nCristóbal (Danger of extinction)\n\nNíspero\n\nCaoba (Danger of extinction)\n\nRon Ron (Danger of extinction)\n\nOjoche (Danger of extinction)\n\nChirraca (Danger of extinction)\n\nCeiba\n\nPochote\n\n*Project Stages*\n\n**Stage I:** Reforestation of areas with species from the region, additionally, experts in the field assess the planting of species in danger of extinction that can adapt to the area, as well as construction of basic infrastructure (trails, trash cans, location signs for species and for visitors).\n\n**Stage II:** Construction of basic infrastructure for picnics and other activities (ranches, tables, sanitary services, bridge, and viewpoints).\n\n**Stage III:** Construction of a butterfly garden, sports complex, open-air amphitheater, lakes\n\n**Stage IV:** Reforestation of potential areas in the other judicial circuits.\n\n*Project beneficiaries:*\n\nDirect: 375 current servants of the Judicial City of San Joaquín de Flores and other employees of the Judicial Branch who in their free time will have access to a place of recreation for their families and all the implicit benefits of a project of this nature.\n\n**Indirect:** Schools, high schools in the area which, in a controlled manner, will be able to access the project, which would contribute to fostering a culture of environmental responsibility in students through common activities and projects.\n\nIn the long term, community access to the facilities will be opened gradually and in a controlled manner so that they visit the place and help in the conservation and protection of the resources of Finca la Soledad.\n\nIn general terms, grassroots organizations, surrounding communities, companies in the area, and Costa Rican society would also indirectly benefit, considering that this project is a contribution to the conservation of the environment, which leads to the protection of biodiversity for the conservation of ecosystems, life forms, and fosters a culture of responsibility toward environmental conservation.\n\n### Zero Paper Program (Programa Cero Papel).\n\nIt aims to guarantee an agile justice system that dispenses with the use of paper, maximizing the use of technological resources and the application of good practices, which contribute to the improvement of the service, reducing the use of the paper resource and photocopies in the offices.\n\nThe Commission in charge of the program's implementation began its functions in March 2010 and is made up of four representatives from each of the various sectors of the Judicial Branch.\n\nAs\nGeneral Coordinator, Doctora Lupita Chávez Cervantes, a member of the Consejo Superior, serves.\n\nThe commitments of this Commission are the following:[7]\n\n* Assume leadership and development of policies and strategies to promote the paperless transition of the justice system.\n* Promote the use of technology, orality, among others.\n* Reduce costs for the justice system and collaborate with the environment.\n* That the uprooting of paper be the means to strengthen the right of users, so that processes receive agile, flexible processing without diminishing the quality of decisions.\n\n### *Emergency Plans: Evacuation Plan prepared by Salud Ocupacional.*\n\nEvacuation plans for earthquake risk have been prepared for the institution's buildings.\n\n \n\n### *Initiatives and campaigns.*\n\n### *Electronic Courts.*\n\nThis initiative has been developed from the Office Management component of the Corte-Inter-American Development Bank Program, which prepared a redesign of processes in Labor, Criminal, and Constitutional matters. Currently, as a pilot plan, it is being developed in three judicial offices in the country, with the objective of streamlining their processing, promoting online litigation, the application of orality through a hearing-based process, and the implementation of paperless offices.\n\nIt seeks speediness and service improvement, as the purpose that will guide three pilot offices that will begin in October: the Criminal Court of the II Judicial Circuit of San José (Goicoechea Venue), the Labor Court of Cartago, and the Constitutional Chamber. These offices took on this program that optimizes the use of technological resources and achieves an improvement in the justice administration service. Its practical effect is the handling of the process from a virtual desktop, the execution of notifications by non-traditional means, and the receipt of case files virtually from the Courts of Appeals. Likewise, litigants and users could file their claims via email, through the online management system, which only requires the parties to appear at the office and request their access key, and from there, any procedure or consultation of the case is done over the Internet, or persons can appear at the office and the claim document is scanned.[8]\n\nThis Initiative positively impacts the efficient use of paper resources and transcends the judicial sphere, because the effect also occurs at the level of litigants and large users, who will likewise, from their operations centers, reduce the consumption of paper and other associated supplies.\n\n### *Actions to reduce paper use within the Planes Anuales Operativos.*\n\nThe Plans and Budget Section of the Planning Department issued circulars No. 006-2010 and its addendum No. 007-2010, addressed to Consejos de Administración, program administrators, those in charge of responsibility centers, office heads, and others involved in the formulation of the 2011 Planes Anuales Operativos. Its purpose is for the policy of reduction in paper use to be incorporated as one of the objectives of the Planes Anuales Operativos for the 2011 period (PAO-2011).\n\nSaid circular reads verbatim:\n\n\"*In Circular 006-2010 of the Planning Department issued on October 1, 2010, point 5) should be read as follows: ...**5-** It is important to emphasize that specific objectives, goals, indicators, activities, and coordination related to the thematic axes of Gender, Accessibility, Values, ***substitution of paper by technological tools (zero paper),** * _***Self-Assessment** * _***and Risks must be mandatorily included, which should be associated with the previous concepts as appropriate, using the last column of the PAO form attached.\" (the underline is what is additional)\"** ._\n\n** **\n\n### *Regional Recycling Initiatives, waste management programs, and occasional environmental awareness campaigns.*\n\nThe various offices and buildings of the judicial circuits have independently sought to solve the management of ordinary solid waste generated by the offices in their daily actions. Thus, institutional efforts by administrators and office heads, as well as by the Department of General Services and the Procurement Department, have been identified. They have made contacts with schools to which they deliver waste for recycling. As an illustration, such actions are followed in the Buildings of the I and II Judicial Circuit of San José through the Administration and General Services, as well as in the Judicial City of San Joaquín de Flores and regional buildings such as Puntarenas. Through this, a percentage of the paper used and discarded by the institution has been recovered to achieve its recovery and subsequent recycling with the managers to whom it is finally delivered.\n\nSimilarly, in the Department of Forensic Sciences of the Judicial Investigation Agency (located in the Judicial City of San Joaquín de Flores), a model for managing hazardous waste has been in place for several years, along with protocols for the collection, treatment, and disposal of infectious materials.\n\nFurthermore, various instances have existed regarding awareness of paper use and waste separation, or the final disposal of cell phones.\n\nAstorga, A. 2007. Manual de Instrucciones para la elaboración de Planes de Gestión Ambiental en el sector público de Costa Rica. Technical Document, Dirección de Gestión de Calidad Ambiental, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía of Costa Rica, 104 p.\"\n\n \n\n- 0 -\n\n**It was agreed:** To approve the Plan de Gestión Ambiental according to the update submitted by the Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales and to make it known to the División de Gestión de Calidad of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. It is understood that the commitment acquired by the Poder Judicial to fulfill the commitments acquired in this document \"Programa de Gestión Ambiental Institucional\" and with what is stated in the Decreto Ejecutivo Número 36499-S-MINAET \"Reglamento para la Elaboración de Programas de Gestión Ambiental Institucional en el Sector Público de Costa Rica\", is based on the prior analysis carried out by the officials who are members of the aforementioned Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. **The agreement is declared final.**\n\nIt should not be viewed as a document for merely fulfilling a requirement, but rather as a process that gradually and sustainably improves the institution's environmental quality, and constitutes a valuable input for the management and awareness-raising of all judicial officials, male and female, regarding their responsibility as individuals for the impacts on the environment from each workplace; for it involves the entire collective.\n\nThe legal framework that underpins this environmental management instrument is composed of Decree No. 36499-S-MINAET, *Reglamento para la Elaboración de Programas de Gestión Ambiental Institucional en el Sector Público de Costa Rica*, and follows the guidelines established in the *Guía para la Elaboración de los Programas de Gestión Ambiental en el Sector Público de Costa Rica*. In addition to this, Article 28 of *Ley para la Gestión Integral de Residuos* N. 8839 refers to the obligation to implement environmental performance programs in the provision of public services and the development of consumption habits and adequate waste management.\n\nThe purpose of the Institutional Environmental Management Program (Programa de Gestión Ambiental Institucional, PGAI) is to define the impacts of the Judicial Branch and the activities required to mitigate them, through environmental quality management, climate change, and energy conservation and rational use. Furthermore, it is intended to be a tool to enable the implementation of various environmental programs and plans that allow the environmental variable to be introduced into every aspect of procurement, planning, and administrative operation.\n\nCross-cutting axes will be included, such as Awareness-raising, Training and Communication, and Procurement of Goods and Technology Transfer. Finally, efforts will be made to maintain a metrics system with reliable, easy-to-use, and verifiable indicators that assist in the measurement process to understand the environmental situation and performance of the Judicial Branch.\n\nFor the preparation of this document, the Environmental Affairs Commission (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) designated Licda. María Rosa Castro, judge of the Agrarian Tribunal of the II Judicial Circuit, and Lic. Mauricio Chacón, Judicial Expert 2 of the Department of Forensic Sciences of the Judicial Investigation Agency (Organismo de Investigación Judicial), and Bach. Tanara Jiménez for its updating.\n\nThe validity of each PGAI is 5 years, therefore an update must be carried out for the year 2017, unless one is necessary in a shorter timeframe due to operational changes or any other reason deemed so by the responsible Commission.\n\n**Background of the Organization.**\n\nThe historical institutional development of the Supreme Court of Justice began with the very Independence of Costa Rica, on September 15, 1821, when the people of that time decided to organize themselves politically and form their own government. From the first constitutional text issued on December 1, 1821, called the *Pacto Social Fundamental Interino de Costa Rica* and known as the *Pacto de Concordia*, the foundations of the current State were laid. Thus, the Supreme Governmental Junta was established, tasked with exercising government functions, and a Tribunal was created with the function of administering justice, following the laws for the Indo-Spanish peoples, known as the *Leyes de Indias*, which had been issued by the rulers of Spain to regulate the interests of the Spanish empire in American territories; giving rise to the \"*first foundation of the Supreme Court*\"[1].\n\nFrom that moment on, social, political, and economic phenomena emerged that, over two centuries, delineated the structure of the current State, the balance in the functioning of the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial), and the organization of its institutions and agencies.\n\nGuided by the principle of judicial independence, visualized in its powers of self-government and the provision of its own budget, the Supreme Court of Justice has had to grow throughout the national territory, according to the real needs of fulfilling its function of administering justice and bringing the fundamental, constitutionally mandated service to all populations and social sectors.\n\nThe Judicial Branch is fundamental for the existence and strengthening of Costa Rican democracy and the achievement of social peace; therefore, its functions are indispensable. Article 121, subsection 20 of the Political Constitution established the power to create new Tribunals within the Judicial Branch in different parts of the country, according to the Court's criteria and approval by the Legislative Assembly. For this reason, throughout its history, new offices and jurisdictions have been integrated, which has resulted in the presence of many buildings of various dimensions across the national territory.\n\n**Function and Organization of the Judicial Branch**[2]\n\nThe Judicial Branch of Costa Rica, Supreme Branch of the Republic, has the obligation to enforce the laws and administer justice; a fundamental objective designated to it by the Political Constitution; likewise, it is governed by the legal directives established in the *Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial*, Law number 7333 of May 5, 1993, which establishes in Article 1:\n\n*“...The Judicial Branch is responsible, in addition to the functions that the Constitution assigns to it, for hearing civil, criminal, juvenile criminal, commercial, labor, contentious-administrative and civil treasury, constitutional, family, and agrarian proceedings, as well as others established by Law; resolving them definitively and executing the resolutions it pronounces, with the help of the Public Force if necessary.”*\n\nFor the fulfillment of these functions, Article 2 of that same regulatory body reinforces the functional independence of the Judicial Branch by stating:\n\n“*The Judicial Branch is subject only to the Political Constitution and the Law. The resolutions it issues, in matters of its competence, impose no other responsibilities than those expressly indicated by legislative precepts. However, the superior authority of the Court will prevail over its performance to guarantee that the administration of justice is prompt and fulfilled*.”\n\nSupported by the principle of independence reaffirmed in Article 9 of the Political Constitution, which grants this Branch of the Republic total and absolute independence, and which constitutes a guarantee that justice is imparted in Costa Rica in strict adherence to the spirit of the Law; the administration of justice, to avoid arbitrariness and achieve prompt and expeditious justice, is organized by important principles, such as due process, from which derive the right to be heard, to defense, to equality and procedural good faith, to be judged by impartial and independent tribunals, by competent courts through pre-established procedures.\n\nTo achieve its objectives, the Judicial Branch formed a structure divided and organized into three different spheres, all of which depend on the Supreme Court of Justice; namely: jurisdictional sphere, auxiliary justice sphere, and administrative sphere, as illustrated in the following figure:\n\n\n\nFigure 1. Organizational Chart of the Judicial Branch\n\nFurthermore, the Strategic Plan 2007-2011 of the Judicial Branch defines the **mission and vision** of the institution as follows:\n\n**Mission:** “To administer justice in a prompt, fulfilled manner, without denial, and in strict conformity with the legal system, guaranteeing quality in the provision of services for the users who require it.”\n\n**Vision:** “To be a Judicial Branch that guarantees the user access to justice and resolves their conflicts with modern organization and management systems; composed of personnel guided by shared institutional values, conscious of their role in the nation's development, and supported by strategic partners.”\n\n### PGAI Support Units\n\n### Environmental Affairs Commission (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales).\n\nIt began functions on September 8, 2009, coordinated by Magistrate Oscar González Camacho, (who presides); and Magistrates Julia Varela and Carmenmaría Escoto; as well as different sectors of judges from the Contentious-Administrative, Agrarian, and Civil courts. Officials from the Public Ministry, General Services, the Procurement Department, the Information Technology Department, the Services Comptrollership, the Department of Forensic Sciences of the Judicial Investigation Agency (Organismo de Investigación Judicial), the Press and Communication Department, the Judicial School, the Graphic Arts Department, the Superior Council, among others, were also integrated.\n\nThrough the actions promoted by the Commission, important contributions are sought, not only at the institutional level but also in a global planning of general and environmental policies, with the aim of positioning within the Institution a clear awareness of what can be done internally and externally to improve environmental management.\n\nThrough this Commission, the aim is to establish a general policy with immediate parallel actions, which requires the definition of a diagnosis that will allow establishing the state this Branch of the Republic is in regarding the issue, understanding the institution's ecological footprint, managing aspects such as vehicles and fuel use, waste management, energy consumption, recycling, technology use, building construction and reforestation issues, promoting environmental awareness among officials, male and female, among others.\n\nThis commission meets the last week of each month to review the progress and projects to be carried out for the Institutional Environmental Management Program (Programa de Gestión Ambiental Institucional).\n\nWith the objective of exchanging experiences and leveraging the capacities of some institutions, the Commission has established contacts with various governmental and non-governmental entities such as state universities, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications, the Ministry of the Presidency, and private organizations, in order to coordinate concrete actions that allow for an integration of their activities.\n\nThe Environmental Affairs Commission prepared an Institutional Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental Institucional) for the 2011-2013 period, which covered topics such as responsible water consumption, reduction in energy consumption, adequate waste management; as well as other topics such as the construction of more environmentally friendly buildings (bioclimatic architecture), the mitigation of the institutional carbon footprint, among others; and work is currently underway on updating and implementing this Plan.\n\n### Recycling Commission (Comisión de Reciclaje).\n\nFor some years, the Recycling Commission (Comisión de Reciclaje), made up of officials, male and female, of the institution concerned with institutional waste management, was in operation. Said Commission began with the theme of recycling and brought together the diverse groups within the institution concerned with the impacts the Court produces externally.\n\n### Forensic Environmental Unit of the Department of Forensic Sciences, Judicial Investigation Agency (Unidad Ambiental Forense del Departamento de Ciencias Forenses, Organismo de Investigación Judicial).\n\nThe Forensic Environmental Unit (Unidad Ambiental Forense) was created on the initiative of the Head of the Department of Forensic Sciences of the Judicial Investigation Agency (Organismo de Investigación Judicial), in mid-2005. That year, the creation of a Chemist position dedicated to addressing the issue of environmental crimes was authorized. That person is dedicated to carrying out a feasibility study to evaluate the need to develop a laboratory of that nature, while considering the type of cases that needed to be addressed.\n\nThe forensic environmental project began by offering consulting and advisory services to judicial authorities (mainly to the Public Ministry), who require collaboration regarding how the collected evidence must be gathered to be sent for analysis.\n\nStarting in 2007, environmental expert reports began to be conducted, mainly related to pesticide contamination. In 2008, the expert analyses were expanded and analyses of wastewater and qualitative analysis of pesticides in bodies of water were incorporated; also maintaining collaboration with sampling and advisory services. Furthermore, during this period, the study of methodologies for implementation in subsequent years began, as well as the adaptation of the physical space and the acquisition of some laboratory equipment.\n\nIn 2009, a biologist and a forensic laboratory technician were incorporated, leaving the laboratory currently composed of three people (1 chemist, 1 biologist, and 1 laboratory technician), and methodological development and the acquisition of instrumentation continue.\n\nIt should be highlighted that at the Latin American level, no other equivalent structure is known in terms of forensic laboratories dedicated exclusively to addressing environmental crime.\n\n### Judicial School: training in environmental matters.\n\nThe Judicial School of the Supreme Court of Justice, among its multiple functions, has developed training courses in the environmental area concerning environmental law, aimed at officials from various areas who have contributed to expanding knowledge in this legal branch and the consequent awareness-raising of the judicial population.\n\nThe courses taught are:\n\n· Environmental Law Course (introductory) 2007\n\n· Environmental Law Course (introductory) 2008\n\n· “Environmental Law” Course in coordination with the USAID-CCAD Cooperation Agreement 2009\n\n· Course \"Training of Trainers in Environmental Law: Evaluation, Assessment, and Compensation for Environmental Damage\" 2010.\n\n## ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH\n\nThe Judicial Branch is the state body that, by constitutional mandate, exercises the Administration of Justice within the national territory, and therefore hears, resolves, and executes the judicial proceedings of the various jurisdictions brought before it. In the exercise of this function, it promotes the sustainable use of resources, preventing and reducing the environmental impacts generated by its activities and complying with current legislation.\n\nTo execute the environmental policy, programs are developed with specific objectives for waste management, energy consumption, consumption and potability of water resources, environmental training and citizen participation, sustainable constructions, green and responsible purchasing, occupational health, emergency management, and conservation of natural resources, thus promoting the adoption of good environmental management practices and continuous improvement in all its activities, fostering awareness, formation, and education in environmental management among all officials, female and male.\n\n## ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ADVANCES\n\nThe initiative for the protection of natural resources and the improvement of the environment has been present in the Institution throughout its operation.\n\nThis is the reason why actions and programs have emerged from various areas that positively affect the environmental performance of the administration of justice.\n\nThe existing actions that are considered fundamental for adequate environmental management of the judicial organization will be set out below.\n\nTable No. 1 General data of the Institution and the Institutional Commission\n\n| **Institution data** | | | | |\n| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |\n| **Institution** | | | | Poder Judicial |\n| **Website** | | | | poder-judicial.go.cr |\n| **Institutional email** | | | | comisionambiental@poder-judicial.go.cr |\n| **Address of Central offices** | | | | I Judicial Circuit: Central Canton of San José (Supreme Court of Justice Building –construction area: 16281 m2-, Judicial Investigation Agency Building –construction area: 28165 m2- and Courts of Justice Building – construction area: 24040 m2-) |\n| **Post office box** | | | | II Judicial Circuit: Courts Building located in the canton of Goicoechea (construction area: 23180 m2) |\n| **Telephone of central offices** | | | | 1-1003 San José |\n| **Working hours** | | | | 2295-3000 fax 2257-4498 |\n| **Number of buildings** | | | | Daytime courts and offices 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |\n| **Number of workers** | | | | Afternoon courts 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. |\n| **Data of the Highest Authority** | | | | I Judicial Circuit (San José) : 4149 officials |\n| **Name** | | | | Zarella Villanueva |\n| **Email** | | | | presidencia@poder-judicial.go.cr |\n| **Telephone** | | | | Central 2295-3000 |\n| **Fax** | | | | - |\n| **Post office box** | | | | 2-1003 San José |\n| **Institutional commission** | | | | |\n| **Data of the PGAI coordinator** | | | | |\n| **Name** | | | | Dr. |\n\nOscar González\nCamacho\n\n**Email**\n\n[comisionambiental@poder-judicial.go.cr](mailto:comisionambiental@poder-judicial.go.cr)\n\n**Telephone**\n\n2295-4996\n\n**Fax**\n\n2257-4498\n\n**Post Office Box**\n\n2-1003 San José\n\n**Representatives of the Institutional Commission**\n\nName\n\nPosition\n\nDepartment / Court\n\nÓscar González Camacho\n\nMagistrate\n\nSala Primera\n\nCarmenmaría Escoto Fernández\n\nMagistrate\n\nSala Primera\n\nJulia Varela Araya\n\nMagistrate\n\nSala Segunda\n\nAlejandro López Mc Adams\n\nCouncil Member\n\nConsejo Superior\n\nAna Eugenia Romero Jenkins\n\nDeputy Director\n\nDirección Ejecutiva\n\nJosé Rubén Dimas Portillo\n\nChief\n\nDepartamento de Artes Gráficas\n\nLena White Curling\n\nChief\n\nContraloría de Servicios\n\nMauricio Quirós Chacón\n\nChief\n\nUnidad de Salud Ocupacional\n\nOrlando Castrillo Vargas\n\nDeputy Chief\n\nDirección de Tecnología de Información\n\nWalter Jiménez Sorio\n\nDeputy Auditor\n\nDepartamento de Auditoría\n\nHellen Poveda Montoya\n\nChief\n\nProceso de Administración de Bienes\n\nMalberth Chaves Sanabria\n\nCoordinator\n\nUnidad de Salud Ocupacional\n\nAmanda Madrigal Valerín\n\nLegal Officer\n\nSala Primera\n\nDaniel Aguilar Méndez\n\nJudge\n\nTribunal Contencioso Administrativo\n\nFrancia León González\n\nTraining Manager\n\nEscuela Judicial\n\nKarla Arias Villalobos\n\nLegal Officer\n\nSala Primera\n\nMauricio Chacón Hernandez\n\nJudicial Expert\n\nDepartamento de Ciencias Forenses\n\nPatricia Bonilla Rodríguez\n\nIT Professional\n\nDirección de Tecnología de la Información\n\n# Institutional Environmental Compliance Affidavit (Declaración Jurada de Cumplimiento Ambiental Institucional, DJCAI)\n\n**The undersigned Zarela Villanueva, in my capacity as President of the Supreme Court of Justice, of the Poder Judicial, commit to fulfilling the commitments acquired in this document, the \"Institutional Environmental Management Program\" (Programa de Gestión Ambiental Institucional), and with what is set forth in Decreto Ejecutivo Número 36499-S-MINAET, \"Reglamento para la Elaboración de Programas de Gestión Ambiental Institucional en el Sector Público de Costa Rica.\"**\n\n**Air management (Climate Change)**\n\nWithin a maximum period of 5 years, fuel and electricity consumption will be reduced by 5%, through the implementation of the corresponding environmental programs.\n\nWithin a maximum period of 6 months, 100% compliance with the current regulation will be met, through the environmental program for vehicle emissions control.\n\n**Water Management**\n\nWithin a maximum period of 6 months, wastewater regulations will be met through the corresponding protocol.\n\nWithin a maximum period of 2 years, water consumption will be reduced by 5%, through the application of the corresponding environmental program.\n\n**Soil and solid waste management**\n\nWithin a maximum period of two years, a waste management program will be implemented that will allow for the recovery of at least 20% of the waste currently generated, achieving the maximum possible compliance with regulations on ordinary solid waste, through the corresponding protocol to prevent and correct environmental pollution.\n\nWithin a maximum period of two years, the workforce will have been made aware of their obligation to separate waste for its subsequent final disposal.\n\n**Energy management**\n\nWithin a maximum period of 4 years, energy consumption will be reduced by at least 5%, through the energy efficiency environmental program.\n\n**Paper management**\n\nWithin a maximum period of 2 years, paper consumption will be reduced by 5%, with the application of the measures established in the respective programs.\n\n**Natural and anthropogenic threats**\n\nWithin a maximum period of one year, the maximum possible compliance with regulations regarding the development and implementation of the Occupational Health Plan and emergency programs will be met.\n\n**Biotopes (flora and fauna)**\n\nWithin a maximum period of 6 months, documentation of existing plans and programs will be available.\n\nIncrease the number of specimens in the area, through the use of available spaces.\n\nWithin a period of 2 years, activities of the \"Justice with Nature\" (justicia con la naturaleza) program will be carried out.\n\n**Human**\n\nWithin a maximum period of one year, environmental training and awareness courses will be designed.\n\nWithin a maximum period of six months, the mechanism for receiving complaints, suggestions, observations, etc., regarding the environmental management of the Poder Judicial shall have been communicated.\n\nWithin a maximum period of six months, the Environmental Policy shall have been disseminated at the Institutional level.\n\n| **Occupational safety, health, and hygiene** | Within a maximum period of 3 years, the documentation of existing plans and programs shall be available. |\n| **Acquisition of goods (compras verdes)** | Within a period of 2 years, at least five compras verdes criteria shall be incorporated into bidding documents and direct contracting. |\n| **Signature of the highest-ranking official** | |\n| **Institutional seal** | |\n\n \n\n** \n**\n\n# Inventory of Organizations\n\nThe Poder Judicial is represented throughout the national territory and comprises the following circuits:\n\n1. I Judicial Circuit San José\n\n2. II Judicial Circuit San José\n\n3. I Judicial Circuit of the Zona Sur (Pérez Zeledón)\n\n4. II Judicial Circuit of the Zona Sur (Corredores)\n\n5. II Judicial Circuit of the Zona Sur (Golfito Office)\n\n6. II Judicial Circuit of the Zona Sur (Osa Office)\n\n7. I Judicial Circuit of Alajuela\n\n8. II Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (San Carlos)\n\n9. III Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (San Ramón)\n\n10. III Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (Grecia Office)\n\n11. Judicial Circuit of Heredia\n\n12. Ciudad Judicial San Joaquín de Flores\n\n13. Judicial Circuit of Cartago\n\n14. Judicial Circuit of Cartago (Turrialba Office)\n\n15. Judicial Circuit of Puntarenas\n\n16. I Judicial Circuit of the Zona Atlántica (Limón)\n\n17. II Judicial Circuit of the Zona Atlántica (Pococí)\n\n18. I Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Liberia)\n\n19. II Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Nicoya)\n\n20. II Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Santa Cruz Office)\n\nRegarding infrastructure, there are privately owned buildings and, in some cases, it is necessary to rent because more space is required; there are approximately 60 privately owned buildings and 206 rented buildings.\n\nThe following table shows the number of buildings by Regional Area:\n\n| Judicial Circuit | Buildings | | Number of Employees |\n| :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: |\n| | **Owned** | **Leased** | |\n| **I Judicial Circuit of San José** | 12 | 49 | 4344 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of San José** | 2 | | 1188 |\n| **I Judicial Circuit of Alajuela** | 4 | 1 | 538 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (San Carlos)** | 3 | 8[3] | 336 |\n| **III Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (San Ramón)** | 1 | 3 | 218 |\n| **III Judicial Circuit of Alajuela (Grecia Office)** | 2 | | 108 |\n| **Judicial Circuit of Cartago** | 1 | 18 | 489 |\n| **Judicial Circuit of Cartago (Turrialba Office)** | 2 | | 128 |\n| **Judicial Circuit of Heredia** | 2 | 13 | 550 |\n| **San Joaquín de Flores Judicial City** | 12 | | 569 |\n| **Judicial Circuit of Puntarenas** | 1 | 19 | 528 |\n| **I Judicial Circuit of Zona Sur (Pérez Zeledón)** | 2 | 2 | 320 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Zona Sur (Corredores)** | 2 | 4[4] | 177 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Zona Sur (Golfito Office)** | 2 | | 76 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Zona Sur (Osa Office)** | 1 | 1 | 65 |\n| **I Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Liberia)** | 2 | 14 | 380 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Nicoya)** | 1 | 5 | 167 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Guanacaste (Santa Cruz Office)** | 2 | | 213 |\n| **II Judicial Circuit of Zona Atlántica (Pococí)** | 3 | 6 | 377 |\n| **I Judicial Circuit of Zona Atlántica (Limón)** | 3 | 2 | 462 |\n| **TOTAL** | 60 | 145 | 11233 |\n\n# Initial Environmental Diagnosis\n\nSynthesis of the diagnosis\n\n| Environmental Aspect | Environmental Impact Identified | Significance | Synthesis of the environmental situation | Indicators |\n| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |\n| **Wastewater** | Contamination of water resources. Loss of aquatic habitat. Generation of greenhouse gases. | Medium | Wastewater is generated from the daily use of toilets, showers, washbasins, and cafeterias in the buildings. According to the activities from which it originates, it is considered ordinary type. According to estimates, in the First Judicial Circuit, located in San José, 18,684.4 m3 of wastewater are generated per month (Supreme Court of Justice Building, Judicial Investigation Agency Building, and Courts of Justice Building), while in the building of the Second Judicial Circuit, located in Goicoechea, 45,821.6 m3 are generated per month. The volume of wastewater is obtained through an estimate of consumption by number of people, since no records of generated volume are kept. Prevention measures: Compliance activities were established for employees in general, these include: Prevent the contamination of drinking water and stormwater sources. Maintenance of grease traps located in the sinks and dishwashers of the buildings. Diagnosis of disinfectants and other chemical substances used in cleaning and other activities, to evaluate the possibility of substitution for less polluting ones. Analysis of the wastewater generated in the buildings. |\n\nIn the event of non-compliance with one or more parameters, the necessary corrective actions are taken so that the monitored values do not exceed the permissible limits.\n\nFinal disposal: The buildings have a sanitary sewer system where the wastewater is disposed.\n\n| **Potable Water** | Depletion of water resources | High | Potable water is supplied by the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados for the buildings of the first and second Circuitos Judiciales of San José. The main sources of use are toilets, showers, cafeteria, and consumption by workers and users.\nCurrently, no record is kept of volumes of water consumed; only data on expenditure for consumption at the level of the entire Poder Judicial is available, therefore, specific consumption data per building and per worker are not available.\nIt is established among the pending tasks to begin recording the cubic meters consumed per building.\n\nSaving measures have been implemented, such as:\nCampaigns for consumption reduction such as turning off the tap when brushing teeth, washing hands, and dishes.\nProcedures for identifying and repairing leaks.\nAvoiding practices that use large volumes of water, mainly in cleaning.\nPerforming maintenance of the supply system and verification of water quality.\nImplementing awareness programs using signage and information systems on saving measures and goals for employees and visitors to the site.\n\n | Monthly cubic meters consumed per building.\n\nRecord of the preventive and corrective maintenance program.\n\nCompliance with the parameters established for water potability.\n\nRecord of the awareness courses and activities given.\n\n| **Emissions of Greenhouse Gases (from mobile and/or stationary sources)** | Air pollution, acid rain, generation of greenhouse gases.\nDepletion of the ozone layer. | Low | Air emissions come from the vehicle fleet of the Poder Judicial.\nThey are a product of the fossil fuels used and are composed of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide, which cause acid rain and are the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect.\n\nPrevention measures:\nProcedures were established for the preventive maintenance of vehicles, such as technical vehicle inspection.\nPrograms are being developed for the reduction and mitigation of greenhouse gases as well as energy management programs.\nInformation gathering on energy consumption will begin to keep reports, reviews, and controls.\n\n | Estimation of CO2 emissions from electricity consumption.\n\nEstimation of CO2 emissions from fuel consumption.\n\n|\n| **Fossil Fuel Consumption** | Consumption of non-renewable resources.\nAir pollution, generation of greenhouse gases. |\nLow | Fossil fuels are used only for the vehicle fleet of the buildings of the first and second Circuitos Judiciales of San José. Currently, diesel and gasoline are used.\nSaving measures:\nMeasures for the preventive maintenance of the vehicle fleet were established.\nA plan for fuel saving measures was created, to be implemented in the short term.\n | Total fuel consumption per building.\n(liters of fuel consumed per month)\n|\n| **Energy Consumption** | Destruction of forests (dams).\nAtmospheric pollution from the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation. | High | Electric energy is supplied by the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz for the buildings of the first and second Circuitos Judiciales of San José. The practices related to energy consumption are the use of computers, printers, photocopiers, lighting, refrigeration, and air conditioning, mainly.\n\nAmong the measures established for energy saving are:\nAwareness programs were implemented for the optimization of the use of lighting, air conditioning, and other electrical appliances and electronic devices.\nCleaning programs are carried out for lighting systems.\nComputers, printers, and other electronic equipment were configured in energy-saving mode.\n | Total electricity consumption per building per month.\n|\n| **Paper Consumption** | Resource decrease, incentivizing excessive tree felling and loss of habitat. | Medium | Paper is one of the most used resources within the institution; its consumption occurs in various administrative activities, offices, among others.\nIn the last semester of 2011, a total of 7,369 reams were delivered in the Primer circuito judicial of San José, while 2,400 reams were delivered in the Segundo Circuito Judicial.\n\nConsumption saving measures:\nRegarding prevention, measures are established to avoid unnecessary printing, maximizing the use of technology to replace paper, such as the use of email and the intranet for internal communications. Excessive printing of promotional materials was reduced.\nTo reduce paper use, more efficient printing measures were established: use both sides of the paper, use recycled paper, use paper printed on one side as drafts.\nControl of the quantity of paper supplied to buildings continues.\nIn 2010, the zero paper program of the Poder Judicial began. With the objective of significantly reducing consumption, this program promotes the substitution of paper through the application of technological resources, in addition to establishing best practices for the rational use of paper.\n | Monthly paper consumption per office:\nReams of paper consumed per month.\n|\n| **Generation of Solid Waste (ordinary, hazardous, and special handling)** | Soil or water contamination\nGeneration of greenhouse gases.\nResource decrease and habitat loss. | High\n| The waste generated in the buildings of the first and second Circuito Judicial of San José is classified as ordinary and special handling waste; this comes from the daily activities carried out in the buildings.\nThe ordinary waste generated is paper and cardboard, plastic containers and briks, aluminum cans, glass, and other ordinary solid waste that is not classified and is delivered to a manager for final disposal.\nThe special handling waste consists of cartridges and toners, fluorescent lights, batteries, and electronic devices.\nThe data on the quantity of solid waste separated per month is not taken periodically, so only scattered data are available for materials delivered in certain months of the last year. These materials were plastic, cardboard, toner, batteries, and paper.\nFinal disposal:\nSeparation systems for ordinary waste were established, and its collection is managed with authorized entities. Additionally, better controls are being incorporated for the quantities generated for recycling.\nThe placement of identified containers for the adequate segregation of waste is in process.\n | -Monthly quantity of waste collected separately per building according to category (glass, paper, cardboard…)\n\n-Quantity of electronic waste delivered to authorized managers per year.\n\n-Quantity of toners, fluorescent lights, batteries delivered to authorized managers per year.\n\n-Number of areas in the buildings that have waste separation points.\n\n-Number of training sessions conducted annually.\n|\n| **Green Procurement** |\n| Low | The purchase and acquisition processes for goods and services were evaluated.\nThe environmental policy was communicated to the workers in charge of preparing bidding, contracting, and direct purchase specifications, and training was given on the inclusion of environmental performance criteria in procurement.\n\n | - Percentage of officials from the Department of Procurement to whom the environmental policy was communicated.\n\n-Number of suppliers and participants in the processes of acquiring goods and services who have received communication of the environmental policy.\n\n-Percentage of officials who have received training on procurement processes for goods and services with environmental performance criteria.\n\n-Percentage of purchases of goods and services under any modality, in which environmental performance criteria were evaluated.\n\n|\n| **Urban and Natural Landscape** | Environmental impact due to poor landscape management | Low | The \"Programa justicia con la naturaleza\" was established and is being followed up on. This consists of a conservation and ornamentation plan for the La Soledad farm, which belongs to the Poder Judicial, and other circuitos judiciales of the country.\n | Number of program activities carried out per year\n|\n| **Citizen Participation** | Damage to the human and archaeological environment | Low | Communication spaces were established for inquiries, complaints, or suggestions about environmental management.\nThe environmental policy and the environmental management plan of the institution were visibly and permanently announced.\n\n | Number of officials trained per year.\n|\n| **Occupational Health and Safety** | Human resources | Low | The preparation of the Institutional Occupational Health Plan must be completed, according to the relevant legal standards.\n | Documentation of the occupational health and safety programs.\n|\n| **Natural Disasters** | Environmental damage due to inadequate disaster prevention | Low | Together with the Occupational Health Offices, prevention, preparation, and evacuation plans were implemented in case of an emergency or a possible disaster. | |\n\nEmergency response program prepared.\n\nDocumentation of communication channels with neighboring buildings.\n\n---\n\n| Environmental legislation | | | A review was conducted to establish the legal framework that the Judicial Branch must observe in environmental matters. The guidelines of current legislation were incorporated into the institutional environmental management plan, along with the necessary environmental measures to comply with the legislation. Biannual reviews are conducted to identify new environmental legislation and integrate it into the environmental management plan. | Biannual record of the review and updating of legislation. |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n\n---\n\nScope of the PGAI\n\nThis Program intends to encompass the I and II Judicial Circuit in the year 2013, to incorporate the Judicial City of San Joaquín de Flores in 2014, and to initiate regional efforts.\n\nThe Plan aims to encompass, in the medium term, the 162 buildings (55 owned and 107 leased), reaching out to the judicial officials who, according to the Budget Law N° 9103 Year 2013, Ordinary and Extraordinary Budget of the Republic for the 2013 Economic Execution, the Judicial Branch has 11,233 employees (10,793 ordinary positions and 440 extraordinary).\n\nAccording to an analysis conducted by the Environmental Affairs Commission, a questionnaire was sent to each regional administration; variables alluding to each administration's environmental impact were analyzed. The questionnaire consisted of 18 questions, divided into General Data, Wastewater, Drinking Water, Fuel, Energy, Human Resources, among others. The score obtained was correlated with the number of officials, buildings, and the existence of any environmental subcommittee, in order to understand the ease of implementing the PGAI in each of the Regional Offices. Based on this, it is recommended to begin implementation in Grecia, Turrialba, and Santa Cruz, then proceed with Osa, Golfito, Nicoya, Corredores, San Carlos, and San Ramón, which, with the exception of San Carlos, have a negative environmental impact tending to high, making it necessary to take measures in this regard.\n\nIn an intermediate stage, the Regional Offices of Pérez Zeledón, Alajuela, Limón, Pococí, and Puntarenas can be integrated, finishing with Cartago. The process would be seen as follows:\n\n---\n\nSpecific Diagnostics: Energy Efficiency Diagnostic and Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory\n\n---\n\nEnergy Efficiency Diagnostic\n\nThe execution of the diagnostic for the I and II Judicial Circuit in San José is being coordinated with the CNFL. It is planned to begin in 2013, with the aim of taking relevant actions during 2014 and 2015. Subsequently, coordination will be established to diagnose the situation of other Regional Areas.\n\nGreenhouse Gas Emission Inventory\n\nDefinition of responsible party and scope of the inventory\n\nThe Environmental Affairs Commission is responsible for conducting the emission inventory. These will be carried out annually in the I and II Judicial Circuits. The first inventory is conducted in the year 2013, taking into account the records from 2012.\n\nIdentification of Emissions\n\nThey are classified as direct and indirect; fugitive emissions will not be calculated.\n\nDirect Emissions:\n\n- **Judicial branch vehicle fleet:** It is well known that the transportation sector is the main responsible for emitting greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, due to its massive consumption of hydrocarbons. It is essential to analyze institutional consumption and what it represents in terms of atmospheric emissions.\n\nTable. Annual Consumption of Diesel and Gasoline from Mobile Sources, I Circuit\n\n| | **Total liters (l)** | **Carbon dioxide (kg CO2)** | **Methane (g CH4)** | **Methane (kg CH4)** | **Nitrous oxide (g N2O)** | **Nitrous oxide (kg N2O)** | **Kg of CO2 equivalent (kg CO2e)** | **Tons of CO2 equivalent (ton CO2)** |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| **Diesel** | **176303.09** | **474255.31** | **24964.52** | **24.96** | **24964.52** | **24.96** | **482518.57** | **482.52** |\n| **Gasoline** | **426651.23** | **964231.78** | **459503.37** | **459.5** | **44585.05** | **44.59** | **987702.72** | **987.7** |\n| **Total** | 602954.32 | 1438487.09 | 484467.89 | 484.46 | 69549.57 | 69.55 | 1470221.29 | 1470.22 |\n\nTable.\n\nAnnual consumption of Diesel and gasoline from mobile sources, Circuit II\n\n| | Litros totales (l) | Dióxido de carbono | Metano | Metano | Óxido nitroso | Óxido nitroso | Kg de CO2 equivalente (kg CO2e) | Toneladas de CO2 equivalente (t CO2e) |\n| ------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------ | ------ | ------ | ------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |\n| | | (kg CO2) | (g CH4) | (kg CH4) | (g N2O) | (kg N2O) | | |\n| Diesel | 3.143,33 | 8455,5577 | 445,1 | 0,45 | 445,1 | 0,45 | 8602,88 | 8,6 |\n| Gasolina | 5464,14 | 12348,96 | 5884,88 | 5,88 | 571 | 0,57 | 12649,55 | 12,65 |\n| Total | 8.607,47 | 20.804,52 | 6.329,98 | 6,33 | 1.016,10 | 1,02 | 21.252,43 | 21,25 |\n\nFigure. Fuel consumption, regarding diesel, 2012, Judicial Circuits I and II, in liters.\n\nSource. Own elaboration, 2013.\n\n· **Emergency electricity generation plants:** Judicial Circuit I has 4 generating plants, which run on Diesel; their fuel consumption varies according to the national-level power outages that occur, although there is a base consumption, which is for maintenance, since these plants are turned on once a month for one hour to ensure their functionality. The 2012 Diesel consumption reported by the procurement department was used for the emissions calculation; the results are shown below.\n\nTable. Calculation of GHG emissions for Judicial Circuit I.\n\n| Diesel (Comercial / institucional) | | | | | |\n| :--------------------------------------------- | :------------------ | :----------------- | :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Litros totales (l) | Dióxido de carbono (kg CO2) | Metano (kg CH4) | Óxido nitroso (kg N2O) | Kilogramos de dióxido de carbono equivalente (kg CO2e) | Toneladas de dióxido de carbono equivalente (t CO2e) |\n| 3.788 | 10189,72 | 1,38 | 0,08 | 10244,17 | 10,24 |\n\nSource. Own elaboration with data from the procurement department and DIGECA, 2013.\n\n**Indirect emissions:**\n\n· **Electricity:** According to reports from ICE, by the end of 2009, 95.9% of electricity generation came from renewable sources, while 4.1% came from fossil fuels. Utilization by source is 84% hydroelectric, 8% geothermal, 5% wind, and 3% biomass. (ICE, 2012).\n\nAccording to the data provided by the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, based on the electrical consumption of the buildings of the I and II Circuito Judicial de San José for the year 2012, the following data are obtained,\n\n| # | Edificio/ Dependencia | Consumo de Energía (kWh/mes) | Demanda máxima (kW) | Importe (¢/mes) | Área fisica (m2) | Indicadores | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| | | | | | | Consumo de energía eléctrica por área física por mes (kWh/m2/mes) | Kilogramos de dióxido de carbono equivalente por mes (kg CO2e/mes) |\n| **1** | Corte Suprema de Justicia | 71,63 | 136,76 | ₡7.331.723 | 16281 | 0,00 | 4,01 |\n| **2** | OIJ Anexo A, B y C | 198,69 | 448,20 | ₡20.904.555 | 31373 | 0,01 | 11,13 |\n| **3** | Tribunales de Justicia I Circuito | 92,95 | 232,94 | ₡9.136.667 | 24040 | 0,00 | 5,21 |\n| **4** | Anexo D | 3,76 | | ₡347.560 | 1428 | 0,00 | 0,21 |\n| **5** | Tribunales de Justicia II Circuito Goicochea | 112,95 | 273,28 | ₡10.522.118 | 23180 | 0,00 | 6,33 |\n| **6** | Tribunales II Circuito edificio Motorola | 28,43 | 130,55 | ₡2.846.629 | 4900 | 0,01 | 1,59 |\n| **TOTAL** | | **508,43** | **448,20** | **₡51.089.253** | **101201,49** | **-** | **28,47** |\n\nFuente: Elaboración propia con datos de CNFyL y DIGECA, 2013.\n\n· **Air Conditioners:** These are considered among the gas emitters since they use refrigerant gases, which are known to be major pollutants. It has\n\n5 12000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n3 14000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n1 15000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n6 18000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n2 24000 BTU Air Conditioners\n\n1 36000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n1 48000 BTU Air Conditioner\n\n20 Window-Type Air Conditioners\n\n· **Others**\n\nWhile it is true that solid waste, purchases of supplies, and the generation of wastewater contribute Greenhouse Gas (Gases Efecto Invernadero) emissions to the atmosphere, they will not be considered within the calculation.\n\nHowever, it is worth mentioning that there is a recycling program that allows for the reduction of emissions for this concept, green purchasing that collaborates in the reduction of emissions, and regarding the Wastewater (sewage and soapy) from circuit I and II, it is disposed of into the San José sanitary sewer system, so it is not possible to generate conclusive data.\n\nGases evaluated\n\n· Carbon dioxide (CO2) \n\n· Methane (CH4) \n\n· Nitrous Oxide (N2O)\n\n· Halocarbons (HFC): From the use of air conditioning and refrigerator systems.\n\nGENERAL EMISSIONS CALCULATION\n\nTable.\n\nGreenhouse gas emissions 2012 for I and II\nJudicial Circuit of San José.\n\n| Emisiones | kg CO2e | kg CO2 | kg CH4 | kg N2O |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Transporte | 1.491.417,72 | 1459291,61 | 490,79 | 70,57 |\n| Electricidad | **341,66** | - | - | - |\n| Plantas de emergencia | 10244,17 | 10189,72 | 1,38 | 0,08 |\n| Total | 1.502.003,55 | 1469481,33 | 492,17 | 70,65 |\n\nSource: Own elaboration with data from the procurement department, CNFL and formulas from DIGECA, 2013.\n\nWe are currently working on calculating gas emissions from the use of air conditioners; as this is in process, it is not presented in this document.\n\nAmong the pending environmental improvement tasks within the Institutional Plan, the following is established:\n\n· Development of an Institutional carbon dioxide emission mitigation program.\n\nFor this first implementation stage, protocols have been established for vehicle emission control, as well as the documentation for the Justice in Nature program and an energy efficiency program. The objective is to consolidate these institutional efforts into a carbon footprint mitigation program, which for now is established as a pending task. Despite having some progress in this matter, it is considered a pending task to work on, at the latest in 2013, to have the emission calculations for the I and II Judicial Circuit and, if possible, integrate data collection efforts into the regional areas in that same year.\n\nAction Plan\n\nTable. Matrix\n\n| Tema | Aspecto ambiental | Prioridad | Objetivos | Metas ambientales | Plazo estimado de cumplimiento | Indicadores | Medidas ambientales | Presupuesto | Responsables |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Gestión del agua | Aguas residuales | Medio | Cumplir con la legislación sobre vertido de aguas residuales | Cumplir con todos los parámetros los establecidos en la legislación de vertido y reúso de aguas residuales. | Diciembre 2012 | Límites máximos establecidos para parámetros universales de aguas residuales vertidas en alcantarillado sanitario Reporte de análisis anual. | Programa ambiental para aguas residuales | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales / Administraciones Regionales |\n| Gestión del agua | Agua potable | Alto | Reducir el consumo de agua | Disminución del consumo de agua en un 5% | Diciembre 2012 | Metros cúbicos consumidos mensualmente por edificación. Registro del programa de mantenimiento preventivo y correctivo. Cumplimiento de los parámetros establecidos para la potabilidad de agua. Registro de los cursos y actividades de sensibilización impartidos. | Programa ambiental para consumo de agua | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales |\n| Gestión del aire | Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. | Bajo | Disminuir emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero | Disminuir consumo de combustibles en un 5%. Disminuir consumo de electricidad en un 5%. | Diciembre 2013 | Consumo total de combustibles (litros de combustible consumidos por mes) | Programa ambiental para Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales/Departamento de transportes. |\n| Gestión del aire | Consumo de Combustibles Fósiles | Bajo | Reducir el consumo de combustibles fósiles | Disminuir consumo de combustibles en un 5% | Diciembre 2014 | Consumo total de combustibles (litros de combustible consumidos por mes) | Programa ambiental de consumo de combustibles fósiles. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales/Departamento de transportes. |\n| Gestión de la energía | Consumo de energía | Alto | Reducir el consumo de electricidad | Disminuir consumo de electricidad en un 5% | Diciembre 2013 | Consumo total de electricidad por edificación al mes. | Programa ambiental de eficiencia energética. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. |\n| Gestión del papel | Consumo de papel | Medio | Reducir consumo de papel | Disminuir el consumo de papel en un 5% | Diciembre 2013 | Resmas de papel consumidas por mes. | Programa ambiental de consumo de papel. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. |\n| Gestión de residuos sólidos y líquidos. | Generación de residuos sólidos (ordinarios, peligrosos y de manejo especial) | Alto | Valorizar residuos sólidos generados. | Valorización de al menos un 20% de los residuos ordinarios generados. | Diciembre 2014 | Porcentaje de residuos valorizados por año. | Programa ambiental de residuos sólidos. Programa ambiental de residuos especiales. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. |\n| Gestión de residuos sólidos y líquidos. | Generación de residuos sólidos (ordinarios, peligrosos y de manejo especial) | Alto | Incorporar sistemas de separación de residuos sólidos ordinarios y especiales. | Instalar sistemas para separar residuos sólidos en todos los edificios dentro del alcance. | Diciembre 2014 | Kilogramos de residuos separados al mes por edificio. Cantidad de residuos electrónicos entregados a gestor autorizados por año. Cantidad de tóner, fluorescentes, baterías entregadas a gestores autorizados por año. Cantidad de áreas en los edificios que cuentan con puntos de separación de los residuos. | Programa ambiental de residuos sólidos. Programa ambiental de residuos especiales. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. |\n| Gestión de residuos sólidos y líquidos. | Generación de residuos sólidos (ordinarios, peligrosos y de manejo especial) | Alto | Sensibilizar a los funcionarios sobre adecuada gestión de residuos sólidos. | | Diciembre 2014 | | Programa ambiental de residuos sólidos. Programa ambiental de residuos especiales. | Presupuesto depende de lo que se asigne en presupuesto ordinario. | Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. |\n\n| Environmental Management | Green Purchasing | Low | Include environmental performance criteria in the procurement processes for goods and services. | Incorporate five green purchasing criteria into the bidding documents (carteles de licitación) and direct contracting processes. | December 2014 | Percentage of officials in the Procurement Department who were informed of the environmental policy.
Number of suppliers and participants in the processes for the acquisition of goods and services who have received notification of the environmental policy.
Percentage of officials who have received training on the subject of procurement processes for goods and services with environmental performance criteria.
Percentage of purchases of goods and services under any modality in which environmental performance criteria were evaluated.
| Green Purchasing Environmental Program | No economic investment required. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales)/Procurement Department/General Services |\n| Biotype and Ecosystems | Urban and Natural Landscape | Low | Follow up on the justice with nature programs. | Carry out activities established in the justice with nature program. | December 2014 | Number of program activities carried out per year. | Justice with Nature Program (Programa de Justicia con la naturaleza). | No economic investment required. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n| Human | Citizen Participation | Low | Conduct training and awareness courses. | Train all officials on environmental issues. | December 2014 | Number of officials trained per year. | Environmental Citizen Participation Program | Requires minimal investment. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) / Information Technology Department / Services Comptroller's Office |\n| | | | Communicate the complaint disclosure mechanism. | Communicate the complaint disclosure mechanism to all officials. | | | | | |\n| | | | Disseminate the institution's environmental policy. | Disseminate the environmental policy to all officials. | | | | | |\n| Human | Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene | Low | Document occupational health plans. | Have all Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene plans and programs documented. | December 2015 | Documentation of the Occupational Safety, Health, and Hygiene programs. | Carry out the safety, health, and occupational hygiene procedures jointly with the Occupational Health office. | Ordinary budget. Minimal investment. | Occupational Health Office / Human Management Department |\n| Threats/Natural and Anthropic Risks | Natural Disasters | Low | Environmental program for the prevention and response to natural disasters. | Comply with all standards established in the regulations regarding disaster prevention. | December 2012 | Emergency response program developed. | Environmental Program for Natural Threats (Programa ambiental de amenazas naturales). | No economic investment required, only human resources. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n| | | | | | | Documentation of communication channels with the neighbors of the buildings. | | | |\n| Environmental Management | Environmental Legislation | medium | Continue the program for the review and updating of environmental legislation. | Update all environmental legislation. | December 2012 | Semi-annual record of the review and updating of legislation.
| Environmental Program for Environmental Legislation (Programa ambiental de legislación ambiental) | No economic investment required, only human resources. | Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales) |\n\nIt is determined that the priority programs to be implemented, due to their economic, temporal, and environmental impact priority, are in the areas of water for human consumption, energy consumption, waste generation, followed by the programs defined as medium priority, which are wastewater, paper consumption, and environmental legislation. The variables of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption are determined to be low priority, as well as the programs for green purchasing, urban and natural landscape, citizen participation, occupational safety, health, and hygiene, and the Natural Disasters variable.\n\nTo achieve the objectives outlined in the Environmental Management Program (Programa de Gestión Ambiental), nine independent environmental programs have been generated, which together constitute the various lines of action for addressing the environmental impacts that the Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial) generates as a result of its daily activities.\n\nThe environmental programs considered are as follows:\n\n| Acronyms (*) | Program Name |\n| :--- | :--- |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-001** | Environmental program for wastewater |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-002** | Environmental program for consumable water |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-003** | Environmental program for vehicle fleet control |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-004** | Environmental program for the prevention and response to natural disasters |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-005** | Environmental program for energy efficiency |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-006** | Environmental program for ordinary solid waste management |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-007** | Environmental program for special waste management |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-008** | Environmental program for the acquisition of environmentally friendly goods and services |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-009** | Environmental program for paper consumption |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-010** | Environmental program for the review and updating of current environmental legislation |\n| **P-CAA-PGA-PAE-011** | Environmental program for citizen participation and training |\n\n(*): The acronyms correspond to: P= Protocol (Protocolo), CAA= Commission on Environmental Affairs (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales), PGA= Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental), PAE= Specific Environmental Protocol (Protocolo Ambiental Específico).\n\nThe detail of the programs carried out is presented in Annex X.\n\n# Pending Tasks for Environmental Improvement\n\n### Creation of a unit responsible for the institution's environmental management with suitable personnel.\n\nOnce the institutional PGA has been developed and launched, it is essential to consolidate an entity responsible for the system's operability.\n\nCurrently, this work has been carried out by the Environmental Affairs Commission (Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales), which is composed of officials who, on a part-time basis, dedicate themselves to addressing these issues. However, to guarantee success and continuous improvement, the need for a formally constituted office with suitable personnel and knowledge of the subject is evident, one that works in coordination with areas directly related to its activities such as the Planning Department (Departamento de Planificación), the Information Technology Department (Departamento de Tecnología de Información), the Occupational Health Office (Oficina de Salud Ocupacional) of the Human Management Department (Departamento de Gestión Humana), among others.\n\n### Progressive Implementation of the Environmental Management Plan in other Judicial Circuits\n\nDue to the number of buildings and organizations within the Judicial Branch (Poder Judicial), the implementation of an Institutional Environmental Management Plan (Plan de Gestión Ambiental Institucional) is a process that must be carried out progressively. Currently, the Institution has a total of fourteen Judicial Circuits (Circuitos Judiciales), in addition to offices of the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministerio Público), Public Defense (Defensa Pública), and offices, delegations, and sub-delegations of the Judicial Investigation Agency (Organismo de Investigación Judicial).\n\nThe intention, therefore, is to gradually incorporate the various offices until covering all of the Institution's facilities nationwide.\n\n### Conducting Energy Audits of Buildings\n\nOne of the most significant environmental impacts caused by the Institution is high energy consumption.\n\nIn an effort to diagnose the most sensitive areas, the collaboration of the National Power and Light Company (Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz) was requested to conduct energy audits that allow for the identification of critical areas and the establishment of actions to optimize the resource.\n\n### Development of the Occupational Health Plan according to relevant legal standards\n\nAs part of the implementation of the Environmental Management Plan, the Occupational Health Office (Oficina de Salud Ocupacional) must finalize the development of the Institutional Occupational Health Plan (Plan de Salud Ocupacional Institucional), according to the relevant legal standards.\n\nAs indicated by the Occupational Health managers, due to the workload of that area, its completion does not seem possible within a period of less than two years, so it is established as a pending task.\n\n### Development of an Institutional carbon dioxide emissions mitigation program\n\nFor this first stage of implementation, protocols have been established for vehicle emissions control, as well as the documentation of the Justice in Nature (Justicia en la Naturaleza) program and an energy efficiency program.\n\nThe objective is to consolidate these institutional efforts into a carbon footprint mitigation program, which for the moment is established as a pending task.\n\n# Annexes\n\n## Rating of environmental aspects\n\n| Environmental aspect | Rating obtained |\n| :--- | :--- |\n| Fixed source emissions | NA |\n| Mobile source emissions | 71% |\n| Generation of noise and vibrations from anthropic activities | NA |\n| Emissions of ionizing radiation | NA |\n| Odor emissions | NA |\n| Water consumption | 58% |\n| Generation of wastewater | 67% |\n| Generation of ordinary solid waste | 92% |\n| Paper consumption | 100% |\n| Generation of electronic waste | 40% |\n| Generation of hazardous solid waste | 88% |\n| Generation of infectious waste | NA |\n| Use of hazardous substances | NA |\n| Management of hydrocarbon-derived products | NA |\n| Use of pesticides | NA |\n| Use of radioactive substances | NA |\n| Consumption of fossil fuels | 29% |\n| Consumption of electrical energy | 62% |\n| Safety and management of natural disasters | 80% |\n\nPrepared by: Yazmín Carranza Barrantes, 2012.\n\nNA = Not applicable.\n\n### Environmental programs of the Judicial Branch\n\n### Programs\n\n### Justice for Nature Program. [6]\n\nThe program seeks to develop jointly with the National Power and Light Company (Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía) a conservation and landscaping plan on the Judicial Branch's La Soledad Farm (Finca La Soledad) and other judicial circuits of the country, within a concept of sustainable development and as a contribution to Costa Rican society.\n\nThe farm, with a total area of 35 hectares, allocates 8 hectares to the project (areas where construction is not feasible, such as the banks of the Porrosatí River, Sajón River, Segundo River, and the Las Flores stream, the margins of water sources and springs (nacientes), as well as all those zones that due to their slope imply high costs if construction were to be attempted, sensitive replanting areas such as the edges of the boulevard and surroundings of the buildings). Additionally, it considers 12570 m2 of potential areas in the different judicial circuits.\n\nA planting density per hectare of 816 trees was set, at a distance of 3.5 x 3.5; this means that in the 8 hectares (which include sensitive replanting areas such as the edges of the boulevard and surroundings of the buildings) approximately 7,000 units between trees and shrubs are required.\n\n*Main native species of the area or that are endangered and can adapt to the area:*\n\nRoble Sabana,\n\nCorteza Amarilla\n\nJacaranda\n\nCristóbal (Endangered)\n\nNíspero\n\nCaoba (Endangered)\n\nRon Ron (Endangered)\n\nOjoche (Endangered)\n\nChirraca (Endangered)\n\nCeiba\n\nPochote\n\n*Project Stages*\n\n**Stage I:** Reforestation of areas with species from the region; additionally, experts in the field assess the planting of endangered species that can adapt to the area, as well as the construction of basic infrastructure (trails, trash cans, location signs for species and for visitors).\n\n**Stage II:** Construction of basic infrastructure for picnics and others (ranches, tables, sanitary services, bridge, and viewpoints).\n\n**Stage III:** Construction of a butterfly garden, sports complex, open-air amphitheater, lakes\n\n**Stage IV:** Reforestation of potential areas in the other judicial circuits.\n\n*Project Beneficiaries:*\n\nDirect: 375 current employees of the San Joaquín de Flores Judicial City and other Judicial Branch employees who, in their free time, will have access to a recreational place with their families and all the implicit benefits of a project of this nature.\n\n**Indirect:** Schools, high schools in the area which, in a controlled manner, will have access to the project, which would contribute to fostering a culture of environmental responsibility in students through common activities and projects.\n\nIn the long term, there will be a gradual and controlled opening for community access to the facilities so that they visit the place and help in the conservation and protection of the resources of La Soledad Farm.\n\nIn general terms, grassroots organizations, surrounding communities, companies in the area, and Costa Rican society would also benefit indirectly, since this project is a contribution to environmental conservation, which entails the protection of biodiversity for the conservation of ecosystems and life forms, and fosters a culture of responsibility towards environmental conservation.\n\n### Zero Paper Program.\n\nThis program aims to guarantee a swift justice system that dispenses with the use of paper, maximizing the use of technological resources and the application of best practices that contribute to improving the service, reducing the use of paper resources and photocopies in offices.\n\nThe Commission responsible for implementing the program began its functions in March 2010 and is composed of four representatives from each of the various sectors of the Judicial Branch.\n\nDoctora Lupita Chávez Cervantes, a member of the Consejo Superior, serves as General Coordinator.\n\nThe commitments of this Commission are the following:[7]\n\n- Assume leadership and development of policies and strategies to promote the paperless transition of the justice system.\n- Encourage the use of technology, orality, among others.\n- Reduce costs for the justice system and collaborate with the environment.\n- That the uprooting from paper be the means to strengthen the right of users, so that processes receive agile, flexible processing without diminishing the quality of decisions.\n\n*Emergency Plans: Evacuation Plan prepared by Salud Ocupacional.*\n\nEvacuation plans for earthquake risk have been prepared for the institution's buildings.\n\n*Initiatives and campaigns.*\n\n*Electronic Courts.*\n\nThis initiative has been developed from the Court-Inter-American Development Bank Program's Office Management component, which produced a process redesign in Labor, Criminal, and Constitutional matters. Currently, as a pilot plan, it is being developed in three judicial offices in the country, with the objective of streamlining their processing, promoting online litigation, the application of orality through a hearing-based process, and the implementation of paperless offices.\n\nThe aim is speed and service improvement, as the purpose that will guide three pilot offices starting in October: Juzgado Penal del II Circuito Judicial de San José, (Sede Goicoechea), Juzgado de Trabajo de Cartago, and Sala Constitucional. These offices took on this program, which optimizes the use of technological resources and achieves an improvement in the administration of justice service. Its practical effect is the handling of the process from a virtual desktop, the delivery of notifications through non-traditional means, and the receipt of case files virtually from the Tribunales de Apelación. Similarly, litigants and users could file their claims via email through the online management system, which only requires that the parties appear at the office and request their access code; from there, any procedure or case inquiry is done online, or individuals can appear at the office and the claim document is scanned.[8]\n\nThis Initiative positively impacts the efficient use of paper resources and transcends the judicial sphere, as the effect also occurs at the level of litigants and large users, who likewise, from their operations centers, will reduce the consumption of paper and other associated implements.\n\n*Actions to reduce paper use within Planes Anuales Operativos.*\n\nThe Sección de Planes y Presupuesto of the Departamento de Planificación issued circulars N. 006-2010 and its addendum N. 007-2010, addressed to Consejos de Administración, program administrators, heads of responsibility centers, office chiefs, and others involved in the formulation of the Planes Anuales Operativos 2011. Its purpose is to incorporate the policy on paper use reduction as one of the objectives of the Planes Anuales Operativos for the 2011 period (PAO-2011).\n\nSaid circular reads verbatim:\n\n“*In Circular 006-2010 of the Departamento de Planificación issued on October 1, 2010, point 5) should read as follows: …**5-** It is important to emphasize that specific objectives, goals, indicators, activities, and coordination must be mandatorily included, related to the thematic axes of Gender, Accessibility, Values, **substitution of paper with technological tools (zero paper),** Self-evaluation and Risks, which must be associated with the previous concepts as appropriate, using the last column of the attached PAO formula.” (the underlining is the addition).”*\n\n*Regional Recycling Initiatives, waste management programs, and occasional environmental awareness campaigns.*\n\nThe various offices and buildings of the judicial circuits have independently sought to resolve the management of ordinary solid waste generated by the offices in their daily operations. Thus, institutional efforts have been identified by administrators and office chiefs, as well as by the Departamento de Servicios Generales and the Proveeduría, who have made contacts with schools to which they deliver the waste for recycling. By way of illustration, such actions are followed in the Buildings of the I and II Circuito Judicial de San José through the Administración and Servicios Generales, as well as in the Ciudad Judicial de San Joaquín de Flores and regional buildings such as Puntarenas. Through this, a percentage of the paper used and discarded by the institution has been recovered for its valorization and subsequent recycling with the managers to whom it is finally delivered.\n\nSimilarly, the Departamento de Ciencias Forenses of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (located in the Ciudad Judicial de San Joaquín de Flores) has for several years had a hazardous waste management model, as well as protocols for the collection, treatment, and disposal of infectious materials.\n\nMoreover, various instances regarding awareness about paper use and waste separation, or final disposal of cell phones have existed.\n\nAstorga, A. 2007. Manual de Instrucciones para la elaboración de Planes de Gestión Ambiental en el sector público de Costa Rica. Technical Document, Dirección de Gestión de Calidad Ambiental, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía de Costa Rica, 104 p.”\n\n- 0 -\n\n**It was agreed:** To approve the Plan de Gestión Ambiental according to the update submitted by the Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales and to make it known to the División de Gestión de Calidad of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. It is understood that the commitment made by the Poder Judicial to fulfill the commitments acquired in this document “Programa de Gestión Ambiental Institucional” and with what is stated in Decreto Ejecutivo Número 36499-S-MINAET “Reglamento para la Elaboración de Programas de Gestión Ambiental Institucional en el Sector Público de Costa Rica”, is based on the prior analysis carried out by the officials who make up the aforementioned Comisión de Asuntos Ambientales. **The agreement is declared final.**" }