Panama shield law gets another thumbs down.

PANAMA’s shield law  which  makes it difficult and under some circumstances near impossible to prosecute the deputies who created it, has got a thumbs down  from Administrative Prosecutor Rigoberto González.

He has has asked the Supreme Court to void four articles of the law which sets deadlines for criminal investigations involving deputies, magistrates and the president.

González sent his opinion to the court last week. He was requested to analyze the law by President Juan Carlos Varela, whose veto was overridden by the National Assembly.

González said the two-month deadline to investigate cases and the two-month deadline to prosecute them are insufficient and creates an unfair protection for those covered by the law. He also said the law offers unfair immunity protections reports La Prensa.

Finally, he argued that the requirement for a prosecutor to submit evidence that a crime has been committed prior to the trial phase of the procedure violates the presumption of innocence for defendants.