Vice President Juan Carlos Varela accepts OEA petition

Panama will accept recommendations from the Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) of the Organization of American States, following a regional forum in which The Panamanian Justice System was brought up and at the request of the Citizen’s Alliance for Justice.

The statement comes from Juan Carlos Varela Vice President and Foreign Minister, currently in Washington, Varela said that there is commitment to adopt a new law on judicial studies, now in second reading in the National Assembly. He also referred to the enactment of the new accusatory system of criminal procedure, which should have been put effective in September last year. President Ricardo Martinelli postponed its enactment until September 2011, but afterwardssaid it would be launched later this year.

The Government’s commitment to the CIDH includes the next meeting of the Commission of State for Justice, but not the controversial issue of choosing the judges of the Supreme Court. For this issue, the Citizens’ Alliance for Justice had requested "a transparent mechanism" in the special hearing last March 23.