Draft bill 167.

Summary.

The draft bill sets principles of free access, due process, procedural equality, expedition, digitization and nationwide access for administrative litigation claims and labor cassation appeals. Although the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (Sala Tercera de la Corte Suprema de Justicia) sits in Panama City, the Judicial Branch (Órgano Judicial) would enable physical and electronic filing in provinces and comarcas through the Single Filing Registry (Registro Único de Entrada) and the Automated Judicial Management System. It creates the National Access Desk for Administrative and Labor Justice (Ventanilla Nacional de Acceso a la Justicia Contencioso-Administrativa y Laboral) to receive, digitize, register and forward filings, without granting it judicial powers. Filing at an authorized office would have the same legal effect as filing before the competent court when statutory requirements are met.

Electronic filing would produce a receipt stating the date, time, filer’s identity, documents and destination of the submission. People who do not use electronic means could file at an authorized office, whose staff would digitize and forward the documents. The local receipt date would preserve procedural time limits. For a claim sent through the system, the text also requires physical submission of the documents at the nearest judicial office within the term of three (3) following the electronic submission. It prohibits rejecting filings because of the Chamber’s location, provides for warning and correction of errors in identifying the competent court, and requires technological assistance.

For administrative litigation claims, the receiving office would register, digitize and forward the documents and inform the filer. The Third Chamber would identify curable formal defects and communicate the required correction by email. Public institutions would electronically transmit requested responses and administrative records when legally appropriate. Proceedings before the Chamber would use electronic case files. A labor cassation appeal could be filed at any authorized office; effective notice of the second instance decision by email or electronic mailbox would start the appeal period. The grounds and requirements in the Labor Code (Código de Trabajo) would remain applicable. The Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral) would provide legal assistance through public defenders to a worker appealing without professional representation.

Offices would prioritize registration and forwarding: electronic submissions would be forwarded during the same working day, while physical submissions would be digitized and forwarded by the next working day. Alternative filing methods would apply during technological failures. The bill provides for electronic case tracking and safeguards for notices. Receipt, digitization, registration and forwarding would be free of charge. The Judicial Branch would adopt access measures for people in vulnerable circumstances and could not create administrative requirements that impose economic barriers.

The amendments to Law 135 of April 30, 1943 revise the effects of decisions in annulment and full jurisdiction actions, acts excluded from administrative judicial review, exhaustion of administrative remedies and time limits for bringing actions. They update claim requirements, third party participation, procurement and authentication of acts and copies, procedural representation and correction of defects. They remove the deposit requirement for certain claims involving taxes or credits owed to the Public Treasury (Tesoro Público). They also address the binding force and enforcement of judgments, prohibit reissuing revoked acts, and allow nationwide receipt of filings. On evidence, communications, compulsory collection proceedings and supplementary rules, the text refers to the Judicial Code (Código Judicial) and the Civil Procedure Code (Código Procesal Civil), depending on the proceeding’s nature or commencement. It repeals the costs chapter, including articles 68 and 69 of that law.

The text also changes rules on dismissal for inactivity, provisional suspension of acts, objections to municipal agreements, disqualification and recusal, defenses and procedural nullities. It provides for a salary deduction where a judge fails to disclose a ground for disqualification and sets rules for communicating and complying with judgments. It calls for updated statutory references and adoption of the resulting text as the consolidated text of Law 135 of April 30, 1943. The Full Court of the Supreme Court of Justice (Pleno de la Corte Suprema de Justicia) would regulate administrative and technological procedures within ninety days after promulgation. Electronic implementation would be gradual and retain physical filing; pending cases would generally follow the rules applicable when filed, and physical case files could be converted to electronic form.

The draft bill concerns the Judicial Branch, the Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), its Third Chamber, the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development, administrative agencies and municipal authorities. Its filing mechanisms would affect workers and employers pursuing labor cassation appeals, individuals and businesses challenging administrative action, legal practitioners and users of judicial offices across Panama.