Bill 103.

Summary.

The bill proposes adding Article 9-A to the Organic Law creating the Institute for the Training and Development of Human Resources (Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos Humanos). The proposed article would set out the requirements for appointment as Director General or Deputy Director General of the Institute. It addresses both positions and establishes conditions to be met at the time of appointment or demonstrated through an applicant’s education and record of experience.

First, an appointee would have to be a Panamanian national and have reached twenty-five years of age at the time of appointment. The proposed article expressly links the age requirement to that point in time. It also makes nationality a requirement for holding either of the two executive positions covered by the proposed addition.

As to education, the appointee would need a recognized university degree at a minimum Licenciatura level, related to Law, Education, Business Administration or Compliance. The provision lists these fields for both positions addressed by Article 9-A. This requirement combines recognition of the degree, a minimum academic level and a connection to one of the specified fields.

The provision would also require professional experience and qualifications of no less than five years. It further refers to having held administrative positions involving responsibility, administration and compliance, with a record of five years in the public or private sector. These elements of professional and administrative experience form part of the appointment requirements for both the Director General and the Deputy Director General. The proposal identifies the public and private sectors as settings in which the stated experience may have been acquired.

A further requirement is to demonstrate vocation and aptitude for performing the duties of the position. This condition accompanies the requirements concerning nationality and age, university education, and professional and administrative experience. The supplied article also begins a requirement concerning the absence of a conviction. The proposed amendment is confined to adding Article 9-A to the named Organic Law, within the rules governing qualifications for the Institute’s two executive positions.

The public body concerned is the Institute for the Training and Development of Human Resources. The proposal could be of interest to applicants for its Director General and Deputy Director General positions, as well as professionals in Law, Education, Business Administration and Compliance who have experience in the public or private sector. It also concerns institutional administration and the education and human resources training sectors associated with the Institute’s work.