Panama President Mulino Approves Law 496 to Allow Victim Forgiveness in Certain Crimes
It is clarified that the pardon will not be applicable in crimes related to sexual freedom and integrity, which are expressly excluded.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , sanctioned Law 496, a new regulation that introduces an article 115-A to the Penal Code, allowing the forgiveness of the victim to be a cause to extinguish the sentence in a delimited list of crimes. This reform aims to offer an alternative way to resolve criminal conflicts considered to be of lesser severity. According to article 115-A, the victim’s pardon may be applied in the following crimes:
* Simple manslaughter
* Simple personal injuries and minor negligent injuries
* Simple theft
* Misappropriation
* Fraud and other scams
* Usurpation
* Damage
* Crimes committed with a collision, provided that the economic damage does not seriously affect the victim’s assets
* Crimes against intellectual property that do not represent a danger to public health
* Slander and libel
* Inviolability of the home and inviolability of secrecy
* Forgery of documents to the detriment of individuals
