Assembly decision: Panama crisis

THE DECISION of a National Assembly committee to dismiss a criminal complaint against three Supreme Court judges, on Thursday, Oct.12 is a symbol of the pact of non-aggression that the deputies have with the magistrates of the Court. Said Magaly Castillo of the Citizens Alliance For Justice.

“We know the consequences that this pact is bringing to the country,” she said.

A similar opinion was expressed by Maribel Jaén, leader of the Justice and Peace Commission, who reiterated that there is a “serious institutional crisis in the country”.

“The laws have to be enforced and the first to enforce them are the authorities, but when there is a distance between the execution of laws and authority, we are facing an institutional crisis

Citizens For  Justice had initiated a criminal action against José Ayú Prado, Hernán De León and Luis Ramón Fábrega, president and vice-presidents of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ).

The complaint alleged that the three judges ignored their legal duty and imposed their will on Law 53 of 2015, which regulates the judicial career when  calling, interviewing, selecting and appointing “about 600 officials” in an illegal and unconstitutional manner for the courts and tribunals of the First Judicial District for the entry of the criminal accusation system

According to the president of the all-party Credentials Committee, Panamanista deputy Luis Eduardo Quirós, his colleagues and legal advisers concluded that the judges took the timely decision, “since in the provinces of Panama, Colon and Darien it was necessary take this decision [appointments] since it had been delayed. “

Magaly Castillo said that “it is incredible” how you can appoint judges of the Republic to marginalize the  law and the Constitution.”

“The judicial career law was passed in 2015, two years have passed and still isnot being implemented in the country […] the magistrates flagrantly violate the law and Constitution and nothing happens and it is assumed that they are the ones who dictate the integrity of the population, ” she said.

This is institutionality and has to do with the way in which we arbitrarily appoint judges, ” she said.