OPINION: A Declaration of Cowardice

In what should be an ordinary meeting of all the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice to decide the issues that are of their knowledge, we Panamanians will have a showcase for us to see how power conflicts are resolved in the “center of the world, heart of the universe “. With the absence of five main magistrates, the plenary of the Supreme Court will examine the arguments for and against the declinatory case of Ricardo Martinelli. Will the warning given months ago by the interim president of the Court to the Attorney General be finalized? The declinatory is not only an unlawful act, but is a declaration of cowardice and an acknowledgment that there can be no justice in Panama. It is a fiction to think that a lower court can assume, in good faith, the overwhelming burden of the dozens of defense lawyers, who will drown him with resources, while the defendant makes his multiple electoral campaigns. If the case has not been resolved, to win a deputation on May 5, 2019, on July 1 will return to the Court. Is that the uncertain future that Panama’s justice deserves? The full Court will decide today.-LA PRENSA, December 6