Draft bill 98.

Summary.

The draft bill proposes to amend Article 66 of the Judicial Code of the Republic of Panama (Código Judicial de la República de Panamá). The proposed wording divides the territory into four judicial districts and lists the provinces and comarcas that would make up each one. The First Judicial District would comprise the provinces of Panama, Panamá Oeste, Colón and Darién, together with the comarcas of Gunayala, Emberá Wounnan, Guna de Madugandí and Guna de Wargandí. The proposal places those comarcas expressly within the district’s territorial definition alongside the provinces listed in the same article.

The Second Judicial District would consist of the provinces of Coclé and Veraguas. The Third Judicial District would comprise the provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as the comarcas of Ngabé Buglé and Nasso Tjerdi. The Fourth Judicial District would consist of the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos. The proposed article thus identifies the territories assigned to each district separately, proceeding from the First through the Fourth. This territorial allocation is the substance of the amendment to Article 66: each named province and comarca is associated with the judicial district in which it appears in the proposed wording.

The same article addresses the creation of other territorial subdivisions subject to special regimes. If such subdivisions are created, they would form part of the corresponding Judicial District. This provision connects future subdivisions to their respective district within the judicial territorial structure without listing them in advance. The article then sets the seats of the Superior Courts of Judicial District (Tribunales Superiores de Distrito Judicial) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office agencies appearing before them (Agencias del Ministerio Público). Their seats would be in the cities of Panama, Penonomé, David and Las Tablas, respectively, following the order in which the four judicial districts appear in the text. The seat provision is part of the same proposed wording of Article 66 and accompanies the allocation of provinces and comarcas among the districts.

Article 2 provides that the proposed law would enter into force upon its promulgation. The text closes with a direction to communicate and publish it. Its provisions concern the Superior Courts of Judicial District and the Public Prosecutor’s Office agencies appearing before them, as well as the organization of justice in the Republic of Panama. The territorial allocation could also be of interest to people who turn to those institutions from the listed provinces and comarcas, including communities in the named Indigenous comarcas, and to legal professionals involved in matters before the relevant judicial bodies.