Summary.
The bill sets conditions for minors to enter rooms or apartments in lodging establishments to protect their safety and prevent situations of risk. Entry would be permitted when a minor is accompanied by one or both parents, a guardian, or a person who bears legal responsibility and is duly registered by the competent authority. At check-in, the accompanying adult would have to provide documents establishing the legal relationship with the minor.
Minors older than 12 years would have to present a youth identity card. For minors under 12 years, the specified document is a Birth Certificate accompanied by any other document bearing the minor’s photograph. A guardian would have to present the judgment establishing the legal relationship. For foreign minors without permanent residence, the establishment would request a passport and a birth certificate or another document from their country of origin to verify kinship or another legal relationship.
When a minor stays with a third party, a notarized authorization would have to expressly record the parents’, guardians’, or legally responsible person’s consent for that adult to stay with the minor. It would have to identify both the adult and the minor and specify the exact dates of the stay; authorizations for an indefinite period would not be accepted. The lodging establishment would have to attach all documents supporting the minor’s admission to its check-in records. If the documents are missing or raise doubts, it would have to notify the Children and Adolescents Police (Policía de Niñez y Adolescencia), which would act within its functions.
The Tourism Authority of Panama (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá) would penalize a breach of those conditions by suspending permits or licenses for tourism activities and, upon a repeated breach, canceling them, in accordance with the legislation on tourism and commerce in the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias) and the Tourism Authority of Panama would have to notify the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público) of breaches by sanctioned establishments. The referral would allow the authorities to investigate possible practices involving the corruption of minors, commercial sexual exploitation, or other conduct defined as criminal offenses in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Panama.
The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), through the relevant entities, would have to establish a supervision program for lodging service providers and issue regulations within a period of no more than 90 calendar days. The bill provides that the proposed law would take effect upon promulgation. Its provisions concern lodging establishments and the tourism sector, as well as minors and their families. The public bodies involved in its application are the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, the Children and Adolescents Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Executive Branch.
What it proposes.
- Admission of minors to rooms or apartments in lodging establishments.
- Proof of the accompanying adult’s legal relationship or notarized authorization.
- Document records, notices, penalties, and supervision of lodging services.
Who it would affect.
- Lodging establishments and service providers.
- Minors entering those establishments.
- Parents, guardians, legally responsible persons, and accompanying third parties.
Key points.
- Sets conditions for minors to enter lodging establishments to protect their safety and prevent situations of risk.Art. 1
- Requires a minor to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or legally responsible person and requires the relationship to be established with the documents specified for each case.Art. 2
- Requires notarized authorization for a stay with a third party, identifying the adult and minor and specifying the exact dates; indefinite authorizations would not be accepted.Art. 2
- Requires the establishment to retain admission documents and notify the Children and Adolescents Police if they are missing or raise doubts.Art. 2
- Provides for suspension of tourism permits or licenses for a breach and cancellation upon a repeated breach, and requires sanctioned cases to be referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.Art. 3
- Directs the Executive Branch to arrange supervision of lodging providers and issue regulations within a period of no more than 90 calendar days.Arts. 4-5
- Provides that the proposed law would take effect upon promulgation.Art. 6