Bill 166.

Summary.

The bill amends Law 42 of 2012, the General Child and Family Support Law, to define support as a financial obligation linked to the payer’s means and the recipient’s needs. It covers food, health care, housing, basic services, education, transportation, recreation, festivities and extracurricular school expenses. For minors, it includes what is needed for their full development from conception; for people with disabilities, illnesses, or mental or neurodevelopmental conditions, it includes therapeutic assistance required by their condition. In setting support, the competent authority would consider income, expenses, standard of living, family circumstances, health, education and socioeconomic conditions. It could conduct a socioeconomic assessment and would request financial evidence by official letter when it considers this appropriate.

A person receiving and administering support would have to account for its use at an interested party’s request, without a hearing, within thirty business days. The accounting would cover the preceding three months and could be submitted through the Electronic Judicial File or to the court; failure to provide the documentation would constitute contempt. Extraordinary expenses arising from illness, surgery, mental or neurodevelopmental conditions, completion of studies and other substantiated needs would be determined proportionately. The support order would state the payment date and method, treating direct payroll deduction as the first option and allowing payment into an account at the National Bank of Panama (Banco Nacional de Panamá) or another bank. Partial payment in kind would depend on the claimant’s agreement and informed consent or the circumstances proved in the proceedings. Employers would have to make direct deductions where applicable; refusal could lead to arrest or a fine.

In cases of nonpayment, the authority could, upon a party’s request, order coercive detention, community service, passport and driving licence restrictions, suspension of a municipal clearance certificate, disqualification from contracting with the State or a municipality, publication of arrears, and restrictions on state programs or subsidies. The bill assigns related actions to the National Police (Policía Nacional), the Ministry of Social Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social) and the National Passport Authority (Autoridad Nacional de Pasaportes). It also requires referral of the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público) for investigation of failure to fulfil family duties or financial abuse. After three consecutive defaults, the debt would be reported to credit information agencies. They would create a dedicated entry for support debts; official communications would use digital and physical channels, with deadlines for sending notices and removing the measure after full payment.

The text recognizes access to court-appointed counsel provided by the Judicial Branch (Órgano Judicial). It requires employers, banks, financial institutions and companies to provide employment and financial information within specified periods, establishes sanctions for failure to comply, and prohibits dismissal because a worker faces support proceedings. It addresses evidence ordered by the authority on its own initiative, requests to increase or reduce support, and hearings for minors over ten years of age with a social worker’s assistance. It also regulates contempt, appeals against contempt orders and the duties of support enforcement courts. It amends Article 1933 of the Judicial Code (Código Judicial) concerning coercive detention and monetary sanctions for disobeying judicial orders. The National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) would prepare a consolidated text of Law 42 of 2012 and arrange its publication in the Official Gazette. The provisions concern families, employers, banks and credit information agencies, alongside the public bodies named above.