Calls for audit and cap on judges travel jaunts

AS THE INFIGHTING in Panama’s Supreme Court continues, Judge Harry Díaz has turned the spotlight on  his colleagues  travel trips, largely foreign, that cost $234,815.

They were made while Chief Justice José Ayú Prado  was soliciting more funds for the court to operate efficiently  and the backlog of cases mounted.

Diaz has sent a written request  to Ayú Prado  to put limits on foreign trips by judges to ensure that members can  attend plenary meetings.

The suggestion, wrote Diaz was:  “in response to strong criticism by the public about the amount and excessive cost of trips made by judges.”

Díaz suggested that travel should be authorized by the plenary of the court, and not by the chief justice or the fourth chamber, which is the current method.

Judges made 92 foreign trips from 2012 to June 2015 that cost $234,815.

Judges also made 74 trips within Panama during this period that cost $9,769.

The judges that made the most trips were Ayú Prado (23), Luis Ramón Fábrega (17) and Hernan De Leon and Abel Zamorano, with 16 each.

Harley Mitchell, whose term expired Dec. 31, was the only judge not to have made a trip during that period.

The Citizens Alliance for Justice has requested an audit of the trips.

On Wednesday, Jan. 20. The National Assembly  Credentials Committee Chairman Jorge Arrocha told the group that the application must name the court’s nine judges to be accepted.

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