PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Roy C Durling, Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega
and 1% of such amounts will be delivered to the Social Security Administration to become part of the funds belonging to pension and retirement plans managed by such governmental institu - tion. 2.4 Prior and Informed Consultation on Mining Projects Law No 6 of 2002 requires the government to engage in a process of consultation with the public in the case of administrative actions that may affect rights and interests of citizens. Pur - suant to this procedure, the government will provide general information on the terms of the concession to citizens and non-governmental organisations and request their “opinions, pro - posals or recommendations”. Law No 6 of 2002 applies to any administrative action and, hence, it should apply to the granting of mineral con - cessions. It is not clear whether the government is applying this provision and, if it is applying it, in what instances: exploration, extraction, trans - port or beneficiation concessions. In addition to the consultations provided for by Law No 6 of 2002, public consultations are part of the process for reviewing and approving envi - ronmental impact studies, and are carried out by the Ministry of the Environment. 2.5 Impact of Specially Protected Communities on Mining Projects There are indeed specially protected communi - ties made up of indigenous peoples, some of whom have their own autonomous regions with their own government bodies. The main autonomous regions are the Guna Yala and the Ngäbe-Buglé autonomous regions. In the Ngäbe-Buglé autonomous region, the law (Law No 11 of 2012) prohibits the granting of mining concessions within the region (except for
concessions relating to construction materials to be used in social projects for the benefit of the autonomous region). It is important to mention that the Cerro Colo - rado copper deposit is located within the area of the Ngäbe-Buglé autonomous region. There - fore, because of Law No 11 of 2012, no mining concession of any nature may be granted with respect to the Cerro Colorado copper deposit. In effect, by means of the enactment of Law No 11 of 2012, the Cerro Colorado concession (approved by means of Law 41 of 1975) was repealed. Indigenous communities have the right and obli - gation to assist the Ministry of the Environment in the conservation and protection of their ter - ritories, seeking sustainable use, management and exploitation of natural resources. 2.6 Community Development Agreement for Mining Projects Law 262 of 2021 requires companies that have been awarded governmental concessions to adopt and execute CSRs. Law 262 of 2021 promotes the establishment of CSR programmes by companies that have been granted governmental concessions (which includes mineral concessions). Concession con - tracts must stipulate the obligation on the part of the concessionaire to present to the government what its social responsibility programme will be. Concessionaires will have to present their plans within the 30 working days after they start opera - tions. Such plans must include the amount that will be invested and the works/activities that will benefit the communities where the conces - sions are located. Concessionaires are required to submit each December an annual report on
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