Another hitch has developed with lawmakers approving the free trade treaty with the United States.

The Centro para el Desarrollo Indígena says that Costa Rica is bound by a 1992 international labor convention to consult Indian tribes about the measure.

In Costa Rica international treaties and conventions trump the Constitution and other laws.

The Indian group, based in Buenos Aires de Puntarenas said that the Departamento de Servicios Técnicos of the Asamblea Legislativa has confirmed that such consultation is obligatory. The legislative experts were asked about the matter by Janina Del Vecchio Ugalde, president of the Comisión de Relaciones Internacionales y Comercio Exterior, which is studying the treaty, said the center.

The treaty contains matters that directly affect the Indian groups, the center said.

It is not clear how such consultation needs to be done. The commission is holding hearings for a broad cross section of Costa Rican society. The center is associated with the Boruca Indians of southwest Costa Rica. There are other tribes.