Draft bill 13.

Summary.

Article 1 proposes to repeal, upon promulgation of the new law, Law 462 of March 18, 2025, which amended, added to or repealed provisions of Law 51 of December 27, 2005, concerning the organic law of the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social). The repeal would apply to that reform as a whole.

Article 2 provides for the restoration of Law 51 of December 27, 2005, and of the legal and regulatory provisions repealed or amended by Article 243 of Law 462 of March 18, 2025. It lists provisions and section headings of Law 51 whose force would be restored, repeals provisions added to that law, and restores other provisions and the numbering and headings of two sections. The same article restores Articles 25 and 31, Article 32(a), and Article 60 of Cabinet Decree 68 of May 31, 1970; Article 6 of Law 41 of June 30, 2009; and the third paragraph of Article 1 and Articles 46, 47, 237, 261, 262, 263 and 264 of Law 419 of February 1, 2024. It also repeals Article 99-A, which was added to Law 135 of April 30, 1943, and several provisions of Law 419 of February 1, 2024.

To implement Article 37 of the Civil Code, Article 3 requires the legal and regulatory provisions restored under the preceding article to be promulgated alongside the new law in the Digital Official Gazette. Article 4 establishes a High-Level Decision Commission to develop a new organic law for the Social Security Fund. Its members would include the Minister of Health, the Director of the Social Security Fund and the Minister of Economy and Finance as representative of the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), or their designees, with decision-making authority. Full and alternate representatives would also come from administrative, technical and health-professional associations; teachers’ and professors’ associations; the labor sector; construction workers; and Indigenous groups or other groups convened for that purpose. The commission would operate until the new law is completed and approved.

Article 5 declares the proposed law a matter of public order and social interest and gives it retroactive effect. Article 6 provides that it would take effect upon promulgation. The draft bill concerns the Social Security Fund, the Executive Branch and health administration in Panama; its provisions could interest workers, educators, health personnel, construction workers and Indigenous groups.