Revista Ratio Legis

The Protection of Deputies Against Criminal Proceedings and Personal Freedom Limitations from the Perspectives of Decisionism and Neoconstitutionalism in Panama

Cecilio Cedalise Riquelme — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The present reflection offers a critical analysis of the parliamentary immunity control system currently in force in Panama, which is clearly inappropriate as it distorts the adjudicative function of the Supreme Court of Justice by assigning it investigative functions that are inherently the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor's Office. This replicates an inquisitorial system—long surpassed in criminal matters—and opens the door to undue political interference in judicial affairs. This situation, a result of a Decisionist legal rationality, calls for a necessary review from a Neo-constitutional perspective, one that fully guarantees the rights associated with the exercise of the legislative function without undermining democratic institutional integrity.

Physiognomy of the State According to Article One of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama

Yamileth Bellido — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The purpose of this research essay is to comment on the inaugural norm of the constitutional text of the Republic, which projects the State and its form of government, taking into account the concepts that emanate from said article, extensively studied in political science, such as nation, State, government, republic, sovereignty, independence and democracy.

This attempt to analyze the Panamanian State based on its essential attributes, contextualized within a historical framework, will assess how these guiding principles have been materialized within the institutionality and political life of the country.

It is possible that at the end of this essay, by virtue of the relevance of these concepts to identify the Panamanian State, we will be in a position to suggest that they be preserved, updated, or added, depending on the relevance they have for political institutions. in a favorable context to propose comprehensive constitutional reforms, based on article one of the current Political Constitution.

Women's rights and public policies with a gender perspective

Tamara Martinez Paredes — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The present research work addresses, from the methodology of evaluation of constitutional performance developed by International IDEA and the Electoral Court, the scope of constitutional norms on fundamental rights, duties and guarantees of people and their expression through related public policies aimed at reduce inequality gaps between men and women in Panama.

Evaluation of unconstitutionality actions in the Republic of Panama

Julio Cesar Perez-Martinez — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The first paragraph of article 206.1 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama is the rule that designates the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of Justice as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution, by establishing that any person can file an action of unconstitutionality against a legal norm of infra-constitutional rank because it is considered to violate the fundamental norm. But this provision deserves an analysis not only from a legal perspective but also a study on its performance and operation in practice. Only in this way can we evaluate the effectiveness of the system of objective control of constitutionality that the country has. Panama's objective constitutional justice has not endured a comprehensive reform at a constitutional and legal level for decades, since attempts to achieve its reform have been unsuccessful. Likewise, low citizen confidence in the decisions and judicial actions of the Supreme Court of Justice represents an urgent challenge that must be solved through active accountability mechanisms. Consequently, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the sentences issued by the Supreme Court of Justice in constitutional matters must be considered in light of their applicability and compliance, as well as the analysis of the current legal regulations that regulate the procedure of actions of unconstitutionality.

The Attorney General and their replacement are established in the Political Constitution of Panama in Article 224

Miriam Del Carmen Zelaya Pinilla — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This research originates from a project in conjunction with International IDEA and the Electoral Tribunal, with the objective of promoting the Constitutional evaluation of Panama, through an appropriate methodology for this purpose.

The National Attorney is the highest representative of the Public Ministry, it is an autonomous entity that does not belong to any of the three State Bodies, Executive, Legislative or Judicial, and that participates in the Administrative Justice process of our country. Its impartiality and transparency in the appointment of the Prosecutor and his substitute at discretion within the mandate of the law is important.

Constitutional precept 224, the reason for analysis in this investigation, indicates the parameters for appointing the Nation Attorney and the Administration Attorney and their substitutes, which has led us to learn about other rules that collide and have been applied accordingly. which we mention article 200 of the Constitution.

We expose the historical background of the administration of justice and the formation of the figure of the Attorney General, in our country as well as a comparison of legislation such as that of Costa Rica and Colombia.

Parallel Constituent Assembly

Salvador Sánchez — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This research is part of the project on Evaluation of the 1972 Constitution that has been carried out by the Electoral Tribunal and International IDEA since January 2021. The purpose of this chapter, in relation to article 314 of the Constitution, is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current constitutional regulation with respect to constitutional reform, and in particular with respect to the Parallel Constituent Assembly.

Palabras del Director

Alfredo Juncá Wendehake — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Con un contenido de mucha actualidad y de interés no solo para los estudiosos y profesionales del derecho constitucional, sino para los interesados en la realidad nacional, aun cuando ajenos a la materia, se presenta la edición número 8 de la revista Ratio Legis, con la cual esperamos contribuir positivamente al debate de temas que inciden en el acontecer del país.

El desempeño de una Constitución es un asunto importante, pero se le ha dedicado poca atención. Uno de los autores que ha estado a la vanguardia en la atención a este problema ha sido el Dr. Tom Ginsburg, quien en los últimos años acompañó a los investigadores del Instituto de Estudios Democráticos (INED) del Tribunal Electoral a preguntarse sobre el rendimiento de la Constitución de Panamá, de 1972.

Sus orientaciones, en el marco del proyecto Evaluación Constitucional, que reunió al INED del y al Instituto Internacional para la Democracia y la Promoción Electoral (IDEA Internacional), se desarrolló entre 2020 y 2023, con las múltiples dificultades que produjo la pandemia de COVID-19, y en un período de especial conflictividad política y social.

Esta edición de la revista Ratio Legis presenta varios de los trabajos de investigación que son fruto de esa evaluación de la Constitución de 1972.