New top court judges subject to civil scrutiny

A NEW APPROACH to the selection of judges for Panama’s Supreme Court  is underway  including scrutiny by organized  civil groups.

A commission responsible for selecting 10 finalists for the two Supreme Court vacancies that will come open in December will consist  of Minister of the Presidency Álvaro Alemán, Minister of the Presidency Milton Henríquez and Deputy Minister Francisco Sierra, together with the Department of Legal Affairs of the Presidency.

The finalists will be submitted to the scrutiny of organized civil societies before being handed to President Juan Carlos Varela, who, along with his Cabinet, will identify the two nominees,

Alemán said that the new judges will be subject to consideration by the National Assembly in an extraordinary session.

While Varela has the authority to appoint the judges, Annette Planells, of the Independent Movement (Movin), believes that civic groups should be consulted and allowed to issue observations.

“This is a significant step forward for the pursuit of independence and credibility that the new judges must have,” Planells said.

Carlos Lee, of the Citizen’s Alliance for Justice, said that it is good step to allow public scrutiny of the candidates reports La Prensa