Opinion not a crime: – former justice

A former  Supreme Court  judge and member of the committee of eminent citizens studying constitutional reform, said Thursday: "There can be no crime of opinion." 

Edgardo Molino Mola  was commenting on a proposed  move by president, Ricardo Martinelli, to set limits to the media. According to Molino Mola, there are already regulations on the media with definitions of the crimes of libel and slander.
 He indicated that constitutional committee might come to consider the reforms, with a new regulation on the right to reply.
In terms of reducing the powers of the next chief executive in 2014, said there was a landmark proposal to eliminate  extraordinary powers for the President to issue decrees during recesses of the National Assembly.
He added  that  the process of selecting judges to the Court should be removed from the President.
It is also proposed that the appointment of a Comptroller be ratified by two-thirds of the National Assembly.
Until yesterday the constitutional committee had reviewed  19 articles of the Constitution, he said.