PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Molina Mendoza and Alberto de Urriola Rubio, FABREGA MOLINO
that the arbitral tribunal or any of the parties, with its approval, may request the assistance of a judicial court in Panama or any other State for the practice of evidence.
cess – generally, if not otherwise agreed, each party assumes the costs of the lawyers. Finally, the tribunal can also order the payment of costs and damages by the party that requested a precautionary or preliminary measure that was later determined by the tribunal to be unnecessary.
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
Cecap regulations establish that, unless otherwise agreed, the parties have a duty of confidentiality towards third parties regarding the documents in the arbitration file or any related information. Included in the parties are the arbitrators, the tribunal secre - tary, administrative staff, and the board of directors of Cecap.
In Panama, an award cannot be appealed. In such a case, the only recourse against the award is an annulment appeal before the Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, which may resolve to declare the award’s validity or nullity subject to the following grounds: • the incapacity of the parties to sign the arbitration agreement; • that said agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it, or nothing has been indicated in this regard under Panamanian law; • that one of the parties of the arbitration agreement has not been duly notified of the appointment of an arbitrator or the arbitration proceedings; • that the award refers to a dispute not provided for in the arbitration agreement, or contains decisions that exceed the terms of the arbitration agreement; • that the appointment of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitration procedure itself have not been in accordance with the agreement between the par - ties; • that the arbitrators have decided on matters not subject to arbitration; or • that the international award is contrary to inter - national public order, or in the case of a national award, that the award is contrary to Panamanian public order. 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal It is not possible to exclude/expand the scope of appeal or challenge under national law. Award annul - ment rules are not subject to party autonomy and free negotiation.
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
The award must be written and signed by the arbitrator(s). It must be reasoned and dated, and indi - cate the place where it was issued. In international arbitrations, the period to issue and notify the award is as established by the parties or the applicable regula - tion, or otherwise by the arbitral tribunal. In national arbitrations, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the award must be issued within a period not exceed - ing two months from the presentation of the closing arguments. This period can be extended by the arbi - tral tribunal for an additional term of up to two months when the complexity of the matter requires it. 10.2 Types of Remedies Remedies are limited by what the parties request in their lawsuits and by the law that the parties have free - ly chosen as the applicable law to resolve the dispute. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The costs of administering the arbitration, unless otherwise agreed, must be covered equally by both parties. If one of the parties does not deposit the cor - responding fee, it can be ordered to pay it. Interest is granted in the award if it is part of the claims of the parties in the agreed amount, or based on the legal rate of interest if there is no agreement on the amount of interest. Regarding the costs generated by the pro -
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