In September, the highest court in Costa Rica issued a resolution that gave Paul Watson, the controversial founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a partial victory in a case that presented several complaints by the Canadian environmentalist against prosecutors and government officials.

The Constitutional Chamber, popularly known as Sala IV, issued a resolution that determined that the government of Costa Rica failed to give Paul Watson the right to seek consular services, an essential aspect of criminal prosecutions filed against foreigners in Costa Rica. Mr. Watson holds citizenship from Canada and the United States, and thus the Sala IV magistrates believe that he should have been reminded of his right to reach the consular section of the appropriate embassy. Furthermore, Mr. Watson should have been accommodated for the purposes of accessing these services.

In addition to admonishing prosecutors for not facilitating consular services to Mr. Watson, the court also ordered the government to pay for damages incurred by Mr. Watson as a result of not being able to receive assistance from the consulate. According to a news report filed by Pablo Rojas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, Mr. Watson intends to donate all funds from this legal award to a marine conservation charity such as Sea Shepherd.

Sala IV did not rule in favor of Mr. Watson on more than a dozen complaints in his filing, which sought to absolve him of any responsibility in the case of the fishing vessel Varadero, which prompted his arrest in Costa Rica and his many legal woes since 2002. As reported by The Costa Rica Star upon Mr. Watson’s arrest in Germany a few years ago:

[the] Sea Shepherd vessel Ocean Warrior, which is now known as the Research Vessel Farley Mowat and is no longer in service [she sank in Canada and caused an oil spill], repeatedly attempted to ram the Varadero until successfully striking her on the port side of the berth near the bow. Mr. Watson has often explained that the vessels collided when the Varadero tried to escape, after pyrotechnic flares and water cannons were used against the fishermen.

At some point, the Varadero was taken in tow by the Ocean Warrior, allegedly at the behest of Guatemalan officials working with Sea Shepherd to control illegal fishing, shark finning, poaching, etc. Mr. Watson would later flee Puntarenas, thereby entering fugitive status. Since then, Mr. Watson has starred in the reality TV series Whale Wars and continued his marine conservation mission; he has escaped arrest in Europe and later married a stunning opera singer in France on Valentine’s Day.

The INTERPOL notice against Mr. Watson, which was filed at the behest of Costa Rica, still stands.