Elías Soley

Elías Soley is a Partner at ECIJA and one of Costa Rica's most renowned lawyers in regulatory law, telecommunications, technology and public policy. With more than 35 years of professional experience, he has led high-level teams in the areas of Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT), sectorial regulation, public procurement, free trade zones and corporate practice. He holds a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Centroamérica and has specialised studies at Georgetown University Law Center, INCAE and the International Bar Association.

Chambers & Partners has recognized him as one of the leading legal and regulatory advisors in Costa Rica, ranking him in Band 1 in TMT for more than a decade.

Between 2022 and 2026, he served as Costa Rica's Ambassador to the OECD, where he displayed unique leadership in the main governance bodies of the Organisation. He chaired the Executive Committee for two consecutive terms (2024-2025), positioning Costa Rica as a major player in the institutional leadership of the OECD. He was Vice-Chair of the Ministerial Council in 2023 and its Chair in 2025, leading the highest political level meeting of the Organisation. Under his leadership, Costa Rica assumed in 2025 the Co-Chair of the OECD Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, together with Uruguay, promoting an agenda of co-operation, implementation of international standards and regional articulation with direct impact on the region's development agenda.

Experience

- Costa Rica's leadership in the Executive Committee, the MCM (Ministerial Council) and the OECD Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean.

- Leadership in the productive sector participating in public policy formation processes, including the coordination of the public-private dialogue during the process of Costa Rica's accession to the OECD.

- Legal and regulatory advice on strategic projects in telecommunications, technology and free trade zones, with a leading role in the opening of the telecommunications market as well as in the incursion of cellular telephony in Costa Rica, the landing of the first private submarine cable on the Pacific coast and the establishment of several relevant companies in the medical devices sector in free trade zones.

Other activities

-He was President of the Board of Directors of AMCHAM Costa Rica and CICOMEX.

- He was Vice-President of UCCAEP and representative of the productive sector before Business at OECD (BIAC).

- He was Vice-President of the Governing Board of AACCLA (Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean).

- He was a member of the BEST Network of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank).

Acknowledgements 

Leading Lawyer, Band 1, in TMT, Chambers Latin America (2013-2022).

 Affiliations

Lawyer and Notary Public in Costa Rica.

Academic background

- Law Degree, Universidad Autónoma de Centroamérica.

- Specialized studies in telecommunications law, foreign trade and international transactions at Georgetown University Law Center, INCAE and International Bar Association (IBA).

Languages

Spanish, English and French.