Panama, Institutional Strengthening and Modernisation of the Judicial Organ of the Republic of Panama

Donor: EU
Budget: € 10,123,560

Project Description:

The Projects’ general aim is contributing to the strengthening of the Rule of Law by improving Justice Administration and its daily relations with the citizens. Specific project objectives included supporting the modernisation and institutional strengthening of Judicial System in the Republic of Panama, and improving the quality, efficiency and transparency in the delivery of its services in benefit of the citizens.

Final beneficiaries of the Programme were approx. 2.9 million population of the Republic of Panama. Direct beneficiary of the Programme was the Judicial Organ (JO) that, through the Supreme Court of judges (SCJ), manages and coordinates Justice Administration in the Republic of Panama.

The Programme foreseen four specific results:

• The achievement of a transparent and efficient administrative structure of the JO through a system that can speed the real terms of process workflow, and that increases the amount of resolved cases and the judicial resolution rate, reducing also the average time required for judicial resolution;
• An improved Judicial Bureau, customized according to the needs of the citizens, which allows the improvement in the management of judicial processes;
• A transparent and independent judicial career established by the drafting of a Regulation that includes new processes and a suitable selection system for the appointment of judicial staff and for the access to the judicial career;
• To have improved mechanisms for the population access to the Justice Administration through the strengthening of the Public Defender Service and the Citizen Assistance Service among other institutions.