Summary.
The draft bill proposes amending Article 349 of the Penal Code. The amended provision would penalize a public servant who, without just cause, accepts an appointment to public office or receives remuneration from the State without providing service. It also covers providing a service other than the one for which the person was appointed. These acts would carry a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years. The proposed wording ties the penalty to both acceptance of the appointment and receipt of remuneration, under the conditions described in the article.
The same proposed Article 349 establishes an increased prison sentence of 4 to 6 years when the financial loss suffered by the State exceeds 50,000 balboas. The threshold refers to the economic harm caused to the State by the acts covered by that article. The amendment thus distinguishes between the sentence for a public servant who accepts the appointment or receives pay without providing the corresponding service and the sentence applicable when the financial loss exceeds that amount.
Article 2 proposes adding Article 349-A to the Penal Code. This new provision would impose a 5-year prison sentence on a public servant who, without just cause, appoints someone to public office so that the appointee does not provide the service for which they were appointed or does not provide any service at all. The described conduct focuses on the purpose for which the public servant makes the appointment. The draft bill therefore adds a penalty for the person making the appointment, alongside the penalty in Article 349 for the person who accepts the appointment or receives remuneration under the stated circumstances.
Proposed Article 349-A sets a sentence of 6 to 10 years when the public servant makes the appointment in order to receive part of the appointee’s salary. It also provides for the sentence to be increased by half the maximum sentence when the financial loss suffered by the State exceeds 300,000 balboas. These provisions form part of the added article and concern the person making the appointment, while amended Article 349 governs the conduct of the person who accepts the position or receives remuneration in the circumstances described.
The relevant law is the Penal Code: Article 349 would be amended, and Article 349-A would be added. The content may be of interest to public entities that make appointments and pay remuneration, as well as to public servants appointed to state positions and those involved in those appointments.
What it proposes.
- Criminal liability for accepting an appointment or receiving state remuneration without providing the corresponding service.
- Criminal liability for making appointments intended to result in the appointee providing no service.
- Increased sentences for financial loss suffered by the State or for the purpose of receiving part of a salary.
Who it would affect.
- Public servants who accept appointments to public office.
- Public servants who receive remuneration from the State.
- Public servants who make appointments to public office.
Key points.
- Proposes a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years for a public servant who, without just cause, accepts an appointment or receives remuneration from the State without providing the corresponding service.Art. 1
- The conduct covered by proposed Article 349 includes providing no service or failing to provide the service for which the person was appointed.Art. 1
- Increases the prison sentence to 4 to 6 years if the financial loss suffered by the State exceeds 50,000 balboas.Art. 1
- Proposes a 5-year prison sentence for a public servant who, without just cause, appoints someone so that the person does not provide the assigned service or does not provide any service at all.Art. 2
- Sets a prison sentence of 6 to 10 years when the person making the appointment seeks to receive, or receives for that purpose, part of the appointee’s salary.Art. 2
- Provides for the sentence to be increased by half the maximum sentence if the financial loss suffered by the State exceeds 300,000 balboas.Art. 2