PANAMA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jorge Molina Mendoza and Alberto de Urriola Rubio, FABREGA MOLINO
The main reason for resorting to these means is the efficiency gained by the parties not exhausting them- selves in a long judicial process, which brings advan- tages both for the parties and for the justice system itself. Means of challenging judicial decisions Although the means of challenging decisions under the previous legislation remain in place, ie, reconsider- ation, appeal, appeal on points of law, cassation, and review, changes have been made to the substance of these. Of all the means of challenge, cassation has undergone the most significant changes. Reconsideration This procedure allows the judge who issued the deci- sion to review their ruling, by either revoking, modify- ing, or supplementing it. It only applies to decisions that are not subject to appeal. Unlike the previous regulation, the request for consideration is announced orally at the hearing itself and is substantiated in the same manner. The court must notify the other party and then decide on the request orally at the hearing. If the contested decision was made outside of a hear- ing, the request for reconsideration must be submitted and substantiated in writing within five days. The other party is then given five days to respond, after which a decision is made on the merits of the request, even if the other party has not submitted a written response. Appeal An appeal allows a higher authority to review the deci- sion of the first-instance judge. The aim of the appeal is to correct any errors of fact or law in the original decision. Law 402 sets out in great detail the grounds for appeal, which were not clearly defined in the previ- ous legislation. This reform also introduces the possibility of filing an oral appeal, provided that the decision being chal- lenged was issued during a hearing. After the appeal is filed, there is a five-day period to substantiate it. If necessary, there is a possibility of holding a hear- ing to examine the evidence presented in the sec- ond instance. Otherwise, the appeal remains primar- ily written and is subject to the deadlines previously
outlined, ie, it must be resolved within a maximum of six months. Motion against the denial of an appeal This motion is filed with a higher court when a lower court judge has refused to grant an appeal, in order to compel the court to process it. It is also applicable when a party has been denied access to a cassation appeal without sufficient legal grounds. Appeal in cassation This is an extraordinary appeal as it is filed against specific decisions, with specific amounts or sums, and on grounds expressly provided in the law. The new legislation increases the monetary amount required to access the appeal. Under the previous law, the amount in dispute had to be greater than USD25,000. Under the current legislation, this has been increased to USD50,000. Strikingly, the formal requirements for filing an appeal in cassation, which the previous legislation limited to four very specific criteria, have now been increased to more than ten under the new legislation. This increase seems to run counter to the principle of procedural instrumentalism. It appears that the new legislation has incorporated some of the formal criteria previously established by the Supreme Court of Justice and made them man- datory. However, two types of cassation appeals remain: pro- cedural and substantive. The former seeks to amend significant procedural errors, while substantive cas- sation is based on the violation of a substantive rule. Extraordinary motion for review The new legislation continues to treat review as an appeal and provides that it is applicable to decisions that have become res judicata. However, to invoke this remedy, certain fraudulent acts that are set out in a specific list must have been committed, from which those using this appeal mechanism cannot deviate.
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