DECLASSIFIED REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES Authority Stateletter Inhz 8: ML, HORS Cate 24191 THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA American Embassy San José, October 19, 1948 818. 00 10 1948 UNCLASSIFIED: No. 511 SUBJECT: tile Max Text of Supreme Court Case on Deoreelaw Outlawing Vanguardia Popular.
Rec Oct 25 THE HONORABLE THE SECRETARY OF STATE, ACTION ARA WASHINGTON.
SIR: INFO DCR EUR SY OLI POS have the honor to refer to the Embassy despatch No. 356 of July 19, 1948 transmitting, in translation, the text of Decree Law No. 105, by means of which the Vanguardia Popular Party was out lawed; also to despatch No. 376 of July 29, 1948, which transmitted the text of an additional article to the foregoing law, hastily attempting to plug a loophole in the original law; and, finally, the Embassy despatch No. 430 of September 10, 1948 reported the invalidation of article of the decree law under reference by unanimous decision of the Supreme Court and transmitted a translation of the text of the Court decision.
818. 00 10 1948 To complete the Department records on the subject, there is enclosed a translation of the original petition filed with the Court by former Vanguardia leadors Carlos Luis FALLAS, Rodolfo GUZMAN, Arnoldo FERRETO, Fernando CHAVES Molina and Adolfo BRAÑA, together with refutation thereof presented to the Court by the Solicitor General of the Republic, as published in the Judicial Bulletin for October 17. oursory examination of the latter reveals it to be weak argument, lacking even in logic. It is quite possible that it was responsible, to a considerable extent, for the Court unanimous decision invalidating article of the law, which road as follows. The dissolution of the parties or organizations contemplated in articles and 2, as well as the individual or collective disassociation of their members, does not relieve UNCLASSIFIED NOV FLD 1948 UMIR ACTION COPY RETURN TO DC FILES WITHIN 14 DAYS, WITH NOTATION OF ACTION TAKEN.