PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Molina Mendoza and Alberto de Urriola Rubio, FABREGA MOLINO
5.4 Alternatives to Discovery Mechanisms The Panamanian legal system provides for discovery. However, until the new legislation came into force, a mechanism for securing evidence was used, which allowed for the disclosure of documents, pre-trial tes- timony, reports, party statements, etc. This was done by submitting a request to the judge, demonstrating the existence of a possible lawsuit and a justified con- cern that the evidence could eventually disappear or become difficult to obtain later. 5.5 Legal Privilege Panama recognises the concept of legal privilege. The law states that all lawyers are under the obligation to keep the secrets and confidences of their clients. This duty does not expire and extends to the lawyer’s employees; it may only be lifted with the client’s con- sent or if the client brings a claim against the lawyer and the lawyer needs to disclose certain information to protect themselves. There is no distinction between external and in-house counsel. 5.6 Rules Disallowing Disclosure of a Document There are no other rules that allow a party to not dis- close a document. 6. Injunctive Relief 6.1 Circumstances of Injunctive Relief Precautionary measures may be requested whenever there is a well-founded fear that the claim may prove illusory or unenforceable. In order to obtain such measures, it is necessary to prove a legitimate inter- est and the existence of a threat or violation of that interest. The judge must take into account the appearance of good law and the risk that a delay in the final decision could cause irreparable damage to the applicant. The typical precautionary measures in the new civil procedure are: • seizure of assets; • provisional suspension of activities; • preventive annotation of the claim; and
ing with an application/motion; ie, some courts take longer than others. A party cannot request that the application/motion be dealt with on an urgent basis. However, the new civil procedure law establishes time limits with legal consequences for non-compliance by the judge hearing the case. For example, civil proceedings are limited to one year from the date of notification of the admission of the claim. For the second instance, a maximum period of six months is established, counted from the date the file is assigned to the presiding judge. With the new civil procedure legislation, discovery is permitted, which does not require the intervention of a judge in its practice. However, it does require the existence of ongoing legal proceedings. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties National legislation only allows discovery between the litigating parties. It is not regulated for third parties outside the dispute. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction The new procedural legislation allows the disclosure of information and the provision of documents, data, or items in the possession of the opposing party to be requested by the following means: • sworn statements; • written interrogatories; • provision and exhibition of documents or other objects; • permission to enter properties for the purpose of conducting inspections; • physical and mental examinations; and • requests for admission of facts and recognition of items or documents related to the subject matter of the proceedings. 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
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