JUDICIAL REFORMS IN PANAMA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Amid Challenges, INL Helps Judicial Reform in Panama Take Hold

In 2011, with assistance from INL and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s “Culture of Lawfulness” program, Panama began a phased transition to a U.S.-style accusatory justice system, to accelerate case processing and enhance transparency. Prior to the transition, Panama operated an inquisitorial criminal justice system based on a Napoleonic procedural code. To date, Panama has implemented the new system in four of its nine provinces.

Panamanian police, prosecutors, and judges are generally united in their support for the new accusatory system, with some calling the transition an unqualified success in improving speed and transparency in the criminal justice system. According to prosecutors, the changeover to public oral hearings has resulted in a substantially faster turnover of cases. Moreover, judges are saying that “the only way anyone can oppose the system is because they don’t know anything about it.” Meanwhile, police officers are calling the new system the “future of the country.”
In addition to being popular among justice sector professionals and civil society activists, the transition has sped up the cumbersome process to access justice. Pre-trial detention rates are dropping, and case processing times have been reduced by 85 percent, with 95 percent of new cases being resolved before trial through mediation, alternative sentencing, and plea bargaining. Judges are granting pre-trial release on bond for approximately two thirds of new defendants. Under the prior system, virtually all defendants were held in preventive detention for the duration of their case processing, often up to two years.

The reform process still has significant challenges to overcome. Nearly 70 percent of prisoners in Panamanian jails are in pre-trial detention. Panamanian justice sector institutions suffer from underfunding, resulting in personnel shortages, uncompetitive pay, and inadequate facilities. Some judicial institutions have less than half of the funding they need to run effectively. Due to funding and other concerns, the reform effort’s expansion to Panama’s remaining provinces – originally planned to be completed by spring 2014 – has been pushed back to 2016. Implementation of the new legal system in these high-population, high-crime provinces will be challenging and costly, but the reforms will yield concrete improvements to the Panamanian criminal justice system providing more rapid access to justice for Panamanians.