Public Policies and Accountability in the Public Prosecutor's Office: the Costa Rican Experience

Abstract

Introduction: In a democratic state, persons holding public office have the duty to report, justify and be publicly and periodically accountable for the use of allocated funds and the results obtained. Accountability is essential for the credibility and legitimacy of public institutions, however, in Costa it is still an incipient practice.

Objective: The aim of this article is to analyze the stages of the public policy cycle concerning to the Public Prosecutor's Office accountability model and to determine the limitations and progress achieved in relation to its purpose.

Method: The technique used for the systematization is the documentary analysis of materials prepared by the Public Ministry. A matrix of variables was designed that examines the different phases of the public policy cycle, based on guiding questions. To answer the questions, the information was classified into large categories and contrasted to obtain the relevant ideas and visualize the main results obtained with the accountability model in the period between the years 2018-2021.

Results: Among the main findings, it was determined that the model was able to establish a standard in terms of the definition of a concept and structure of contents. Moreover, poorly developed areas were identified, such as administrative and professional support for the Prosecutor's Offices.

[Continue reading in the article]