OPINION: Panama’s judicial Minefield

The Judicial Branch of Panama is a minefield. Wherever you walk or look, there are nothing but problems, because, unlike the Legislative or Executive bodies, the Judiciary does not arouse the least priority. And it is a vicious circle: the image of justice in Panama is on the ground, but to raise it up, resources are needed that it surely does not obtain due to its terrible image, fanned by a political system that prefers to see it prostrated than empowered. While in Panama, for example, there are almost 12 judges for every 100,000 inhabitants, The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calculates that the minimum is 65 for every 100,000 inhabitants. In other words, Panama has a deficit that probably exceeds 2,500 judges. The irony is that this country is full of lawyers, but politicians are not interested in professionalizing the body, but in maintaining the status quo, because, undoubtedly, we are governed by people who, given their private and public activities, should face justice. But, in the event that this happens, they prefer a weakened and genuflected Judiciary. The picture does not look good now or in the future. What there is is all we will have for a long time… until honesty is once again a value in public service. LA PRENSA. Oct. 2.