Bill 570.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 29 of Law 46 of 2013, which governs the procedure for declaring a child eligible for adoption. Directors of public or private child protection organizations, including providers of temporary care, health and hospital services, and any other natural or legal person would have to report children or adolescents suspected of being deprived of the right to a family to SENNIAF. They must report within a maximum of twenty-four hours after learning of the circumstances. The National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Secretaría Nacional de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia) would take the measures needed for protection and care. The provision gives priority to a thorough investigation to locate biological or extended family members; family reunification when possible and feasible, without infringing the child’s rights during the search; and temporary protection measures that ensure comprehensive care.

The bill replaces Article 30 of Law 46 of 2013 to govern cases involving children whose parents are unknown. The National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (SENNIAF) would have a maximum of sixty calendar days to open the case file, conduct the administrative investigation, prepare a request to declare the child’s status as having unknown parents, and submit it to the competent judge. Once the request is admitted, the judge would order registration of the child under that status and a declaration that the child is eligible for adoption. The judge would also order copies forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público) so it can follow up on the investigation into the circumstances that gave rise to the child’s status. Investigations at every stage must respect the child’s fundamental rights and the principle of the child’s best interests.

Article 44 of Law 61 of 2015 would be amended concerning the effects of full adoption and the recognition of foreign adoptions. Full adoption is defined as irrevocable. It dissolves the relationship with the biological family even where legal impediments persist, and fully integrates the adopted person into the adoptive family without reservation. As a consequence of that integration, the adopted person acquires the adopter’s nationality. Adoption proceedings and a foreign judgment declaring an adoption would be subject to exequatur before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Panama (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la República de Panamá). The adoption could be registered with the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) only after the judgment is recognized through that procedure, preserving the confidentiality provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño).

The bill expressly identifies the amendments to Articles 29 and 30 of Law 46 of 2013 and Article 44 of Law 61 of October 7, 2015. It provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation. Its provisions concern the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Panama and the Civil Registry. They also concern child protection organizations, temporary care providers, health and hospital services, and children, adolescents and families involved in proceedings on eligibility for adoption and adoption.