Draft bill 60.

Summary.

The draft bill aims to amend the Community Peace Justice Law of the Republic of Panama (Ley de Justicia Comunitaria de Paz de la República de Panamá). Article 1 proposes to make the administration of justice more accessible and efficient, eliminate improper practices by peace judges, and strengthen the independence, impartiality, and transparency of community justice. Article 2 defines community justice as an alternative dispute resolution system based on community participation and directed toward conciliation and agreement between the parties.

Article 3 sets out principles for community justice in Panama (Panamá). Peace judges would perform their duties free from external influence and treat the parties equally, without discrimination or bias. Community justice services would provide requested information unless it was restricted or confidential. The text proposes prompt attention and expedited resolution of disputes, simple written requirements and procedures, consideration of local circumstances and human rights, equal opportunities to present cases, and free access to services.

The text that follows proposes a system for recording hearings, with access for the parties and, exceptionally, other persons with a legitimate interest. It would also permit cameras with audio in peace court hearing rooms, subject to prior judicial authorization and safeguards for personal data. Under the proposed amendments to Law 16 of 2016 (Ley 16 de 2016), the special jurisdiction would operate through peace judges and community mediators. Its structure would include the mayor, the District Technical Commission (Comisión Técnica Distrital), the Interinstitutional Commission (Comisión Interinstitucional), and the Directorate for Alternative Dispute Resolution (Dirección de Resolución Alterna de Conflictos).

Each municipality would maintain statistics on matters handled by peace justice centers, including matters handled by community mediators, with data on cases, types of disputes, hearing outcomes, and sanctions. The District Technical Commission would review those statistics; the mayor would publish them periodically and send a quarterly report to the Directorate for Alternative Dispute Resolution within the week following the end of the period. Each center would have at least one peace judge, one secretary, and one office clerk/process server. Additional staff could be appointed according to the level of conflict and the municipal budget.

The proposed amendments would also require applicants for peace judge to be over twenty-five years old and to have satisfactorily completed three years of a degree in Law and Political Science. The District Technical Commission would assess documents and interview eligible applicants referred by the mayor, who would select and appoint the judge for five years. In districts comprising five corregimientos (districts) or more, the mayor could delegate by decree the processing of certain sanction proceedings, with at least one compliance officer for every five corregimientos. The proposal concerns municipalities, community mediation services, people using peace justice services, and the public bodies named above.