The president of the Corte Suprema de Justicia told lawmakers Thursday that terrorism requires a reform of the country’s laws but that the changes should be made with the guaranteed rights of defendants in mind.

The court president, Luis Paulino Mora, said that he has a certain reticence to special legislation addressing terrorism, narcotrafficking, money laundering, human trafficking and domestic violence.

He said Costa Rica should learn from the experiences of other countries.

In a clear reference to the United States and its terrorism prisoners in Guantanamo, Cuba, Mora said that he did not want the high court to have to point out to a sitting president of the country that a certain group of prisoners did not have the advantage of all their rights in a judicial process.

Mora said that in the 1980s the penal code was changed to give law enforcement better ways to attack the problem. But such laws are a double-edged sword, he said. The new methods can overshadow the rights of the accused. He was appearing before the Comisión de Narcotráfico.