Draft bill 219.

Summary.

The draft bill proposes judicial archives for community peace justice houses in the provinces of Panama. It places the operation of those houses under the rules established by the Ministry of Government (Ministerio de Gobierno) and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directorate (Dirección Allema de Rcsolucíún de Confljcto~). It describes community peace justice as the handling of neighborhood disputes in a house led by a community judge, assisted by a community mediator and support staff, in accordance with the law identified in the text as Ley 467 de 25 de abril de 202. A judicial archive is defined both as the body of judicial documents and as the place where they are kept and classified. Its purpose is to preserve those documents and provide access to interested persons, subject to legal safeguards and limits.

The proposal covers procedural acts and documents submitted by parties or third persons, whether on paper or through electronic or telematic means. It also defines a case file and terms concerning the conduct or conclusion of disputes: ordinary and extraordinary lapse of proceedings, correction of a claim, withdrawal, settlement agreement, jurisdiction, declination of jurisdiction, judgment or final ruling, and a physical judicial archive. In explaining jurisdiction, it refers to the Judicial Code (Código Judicial). These definitions identify the proceedings and case files that would be preserved.

Each province would have an archive for case files removed from the peace justice houses’ system platform within its territorial area. Documents sent by community judges would be organized to enable prompt identification and retrieval and permanent custody. The Ministry of Government, acting through the provincial governor’s offices, would appoint staff and provide premises. The proposal calls for a chief officer and a judicial secretary. The secretary would organize, hold and preserve the archive and classify case files by proceeding, peace justice house and district. Interested persons would need prior authorization from the relevant peace justice house to access archived documents.

Documents would remain available to the peace justice house to which they belong. That house could request originals, copies, certifications or information without charge; any originals supplied would have to be returned when the reason for the request ended. The houses would transfer documents periodically, at least every semester, using a uniform mandatory form approved by the competent public administration. Each transfer would include a report stating the case number, type of proceeding, years of commencement and conclusion, parties and decision leading to archiving. The judicial secretary would keep a record of dispatch and receipt.

The archives would hold case files concluded by a final, enforceable judgment or settlement, as well as files affected by lapse of proceedings, lack of jurisdiction or failure to make required corrections. A person with a legitimate interest in recovering originals or obtaining transcripts or certifications would request their release in writing from the peace justice house, personally or through legal counsel, and state the purpose. The applicant would pay for the pages needed to leave a record in the file. Removal of case files would be restricted. The judicial secretary would mark released originals and retained copies; the proposal gives the copies the same evidentiary force. It also addresses reproduction of plans.

The final provisions restate the responsibilities of the Ministry of Government and the governor’s offices for premises, staffing and archive operations, authorize the Executive Branch to issue implementing regulations, and set commencement six months after promulgation. The subject matter concerns the Ministry of Government, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directorate, provincial governor’s offices, community judges, peace justice houses, their users and participants in community justice proceedings.