Emilia Navas Aparicio

Emilia María Navas Aparicio (born 16 December 1964) is a Costa Rican retired prosecutor who served as the 9th Attorney General of Costa Rica from 2017 to 2021, the first woman to hold the position.

Early life and career Navas was born on 16 December 1964 in San José, Costa Rica, the daughter of a Spanish woman and a Costa Rican doctor. In 1988, she graduated with a degree in law and as a notary public from the University of Costa Rica, and in 2013 she obtained a master’s degree in the administration of justice from the National University of Costa Rica.

During the following months, Navas ordered raids on the Legislative Assembly, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Costa Rica as part of an investigation into businessman Juan Carlos Bolaños regarding the importation of Chinese cement, on charges including influence peddling, among others.

In October 2017, she also ordered a raid on the office of magistrate on suspicion of abuse of authority, influence peddling and bribery, amongst other offences, as well as the reopening of the investigation into former president and Nobel laureate Óscar Arias Sánchez for malfeasance, alongside new cases against businessmen and drug traffickers.

On 9 March 2018, Navas recommended to the court to abide by the IACHR ruling and declare article 14 of the Family Code, which prohibited same-sex marriage, unconstitutional.

She was unanimously elected Attorney General on 12 March 2018 by the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and was sworn in that same day as the first female to hold this office in Costa Rica. For this reason, the National Association of Judicial Employees asked the President of the Supreme Court, Fernando Cruz Castro, to consider whether it was appropriate for Navas to remain in office, although she herself, amidst criticism, insisted that she would not resign.

On 25 June 2021, she announced her retirement, which took effect on 29 June and Warner Molina succeeded her ad interim.

Personal life Navas has been divorced since 2010; she has two children with her ex-husband.

She is Christian and is passionate about criminalistics and investigation.