judicial

Reforms finally on track

In March 2005, alleged acts of malfeasance by members of Panama's Supreme Court prompted President Martín Torrijos to create a state commission to clean up the justice system’s image.

Three years have passed since the committee completed its work and handed the president its recommendations that were to be implemented between 2005 and 2009.

According to the Alianza Ciudadana Pro Justicia, however, the vast majority of these recommendations have not been acted upon.

“The fault has been the failure to establish a mechanism for monitoring and following up on the agreements made by the state,” said the group’s director, Magaly Castillo.

Another problem has been finding the funds to pay for the proposed changes, which focused on adding more public defenders and overhauling the way lower-level judges are appointed.

Last year, the Inter-American Development Bank approved a $21.6 million loan to improve the country's administration of justice, while the government pledged $8.4 million.

Now that the money has been approved, judicial officials have pledged to start implementing the proposals.

There is a disagreement, however, on how much work needs to be done. Some judicial officials claim that 40 percent of the recommendations have been implemented already, a figure that the Alianza Ciudadana Pro Justicia calls vastly inflated.