Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 10, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 10, 2019 Quote Panama needs judges brave in the face of corruption – Transparency International A tainted Supreme Court Posted 09/08/2019 The Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom , the Panama chapter of Transparency International (TI) , said Friday that the administration of justice, both in the investigation and prosecution function of the Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as the resolution function of the Judicial Branch " throws a negative balance "in the multiple cases of corruption in the country. The negative balance includes "unexplained dismissals, annulment of evidence, interim judges with nefarious records and others." And now it is "crowned" with the decision of the Second Court of Justice to close the investigation time of the "greatest corruption scheme in the history of the country: the criminal activity of the Odebrecht company in Panama," said a statement from the foundation. "It is a decision that we question and denounce from procedural law, as it is a cause that exceeds the complexity criteria," says the statement "Corruption counterattacks and impunity is its quintessential weapon," It also sends a message to the Public Ministry and the Executive requesting be more "proactive, brave and independent" to take all appropriate actions to "exhaust the last instance in the Supreme Court of Justice." It reminds them of President Laurentino Cortizo's promise to appoint magistrates and attorneys "without political, business or family ties." "If we want to end impunity, we need the best justice operators: probos, independents, with judicial experience and brave in the face of corruption," the Foundation adds. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama-needs-judges-brave-in-the-face-of-corruption-transparency-international Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 11, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 11, 2019 Quote OPINION: Wiretap ruling- cancer of impunity Posted 10/08/2019 Martinelli adopted some of the favorite words of President Trump and told reporters the trial was a “hoax” and blamed former President Juan Carlos Varela - who was his vice president in the 2009-2014 period https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-wiretap-ruling-cancer-of-impunity-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 12, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2019 Quote Martinelli acquittal highlights justice in crisis - Tranaparency International artinelli yodels :"The iKing" Posted 11/08/2019 The acquittal of former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli, accused of political espionage and embezzlement of public funds has sent a message to the world that Panama’s judicial system is in crisis says Transparency International (TI) which lists the ex-ruler still facing multiple investigations as one of the most corrupt people in the world. It comes at a time when the country is seeking to clean its image after numerous cases of corruption. Martinelli was extradited from the United States, where he fled in 2015 to avoid Panamanian justice and faced a prosecution call for a 21-year jail sentence for spying on about 150 opponents during his administration (2009 -2014). However, the Court, headed by a former governor appointed by Martinelli, dismissed the evidence and considered that "fundamental principles of due process were violated." With this ruling "what was evidenced is the deep crisis of the administration of justice," Olga De Obaldía, executive director of the Panamanian chapter of Transparency International, told the international news agency AFP. "These decisions highlight the rot and corruption that exists in the judicial body," complained the inRead created by Teads In the last four years, about 30 corruption cases have been opened in Panama, but convictions against senior officials are almost non existent. According to De Obaldía, they end up in dismissal or in "extrajudicial arrangements" between the prosecution. Martinelli himself, included by Transparency International in a list of the "most corrupt people in the world", has multiple cases detained in the Supreme Court. Former presidents Ernesto Pérez Balladares (1994-1999) and Martín Torrijos (2004-2009) avoided being tried for different reasons. The " Panama Papers " scandal, of a Panamanian law firm that created opaque companies to evade taxes worldwide, or the bribes of the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht have remained in impunity, despite the confessions of the company. "What is certain is that the administration of justice has not engaged in the fight against impunity and corruption," said Carlos Lee. president of the Citizen Alliance for Justice. According to experts, the absence of a judicial career based on merit; The appointment of judges by magistrates of the Supreme Court, based on non-professional criteria and the absence of an independent court to monitor their actions facilitates impunity. If you also realize that the magistrates themselves are chosen by the presidents on duty, according to their ideological or personal closeness, and that many judges work on an interim basis, which limits their independence by not having their position secured, the crisis is served, they warn. "The king" Panama President, Laurentino Cortizo, has promised to reform justice and launder the international image of the country to attract investments. "We must give back to our people confidence in justice," Cortizo said after Martinelli's release. He will not have it easy says AFP. A month ago, a report from the US State Department said that "corruption is rampant" in Panama. The country also occupies position 93 (of 180 countries) in the index of corruption perception of Transparency International. "The best message is not being launched to create international investor confidence and to be recognized as a country led by a political class committed to transparency and the fight against corruption," said Lee. After being released, Martinelli went to a party accompanied by a Mariachi and. sang, according to images shown on social networks: "With money or without money, I always do what I want", from the famous Mexican song "El Rey"(The king). While the former president celebrated his freedom, messages of disgust and dismay toward Panamanian justice multiplied, reports TVN. "History has taught us that when we think we hit bottom, an even deeper background can come," De Obaldio said. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-acquittal-highlights-justice-in-crisis-tranaparency-international Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 13, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 13, 2019 Quote Judges who absolved ex-president got administration plums Paúl Vergara (left), Roberto Tejeira (center next to Mayín Correa) and Arlene Caballero (right) were chosen as judges of the trial of Ricardo Martinelli - TVN News Posted 12/08/2019 The three judges who on Friday, August 9 unanimously declared former president Ricardo Martinelli not guilty of illegal wiretapping and embezzlement sending shock waves through civil society had all been appointed to well-paid positions by the ex-ruler during his time in office and had close links to the CD party he founded and funded. The judges who have since been castigated by political and legal observers including Transparency International were highlighted by TVN Noticias on Monday, August 14. The judges were Roberto Tejeira, Arlene Caballero and Raúl Vergara, who one legal critic prophesied will go down in Panama’s history of a corrupt judicial system. The presiding judge Roberto Tejeira was appointed by Martinelli in 2009 as an advisor to the Ministry of Government and Justice. Subsequently, he was Secretary-General and Deputy Governor of Panama, a position that reports directly to the Executive. The Governor he served with was MayínCorrea, who aimed to run for substitute deputy to Martinelli had he been allowed to run in the May 5 election. Instead, she was elected deputy. On August 8 and 9, and was in the courtroom as a faithful friend and co-partner of Martinelli. Arlene Caballero was the reporting judge. Previously, she was the coordinator of the Office for the Implementation of the Criminal System of the Judicial Branch (OISPA) and then was secretary of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) during the presidency of José Ayú Prado who also has close ties to Martinelli who appointed him as Attorney General and later as Supreme Court judge . Ayú Prado declared himself disabled in the wiretapping case. The third judge was Raúl Vergara, who previously served as the Eighth Criminal Circuit Judge of Panamawho handed down the conviction to the Colombian José Nelson Urrego, for money laundering. As a substitute magistrate of the Second Court, he signed the decision that condemned journalist Rubén Polanco for slander and insult in 2012. The sentence was annulled the following year when it was determined that Vergara did not properly support the conviction. Vergara was the one who read the decision on August 9, in which Martinelli pleaded not guilty. The journalist Rubén Polanco, victim and complainant in the wiretapping case filed a challenge asking for the three judges to be separated from the case since their impartiality was questioned. The Superior Court of Appeals denied the challenge. Martinelli was charged with the inviolability of secrecy and the right to privacy, peculation, abuse of authority and against computer security. The prosecution requested 21 years in prison. On Monday, August 26, the sentence will be read. Subsequently, the prosecution and the complainants may challenge that decision through an appeal for annulment in the Superior Court of Appeals or an appeal to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/judges-who-absolved-ex-president-got-administration-plums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 14, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 14, 2019 Quote Battling downpour to protest impunity and court ruling Posted 13/08/2019 Undeterred by torrential rain that flooded many of the capital’s streets, scores of members of the National Front for the Defense of Economic and Social Rights (Frenadeso) protested yesterday in front of the Supreme Court on Monday. August 12 Waving red flags they shouted slogans against impunity, and against the verdict of the trial court that declared former president Ricardo Martinelli "not guilty" of the accusation of political and peculated espionage. "Prison for the corrupt and to return the stolen ...", read one of the banners Frenadeso and related organizations held a press conference on Saturday, August 10, to repudiate the court's decision and, said that the ruling “is a mockery”, since they consider that the Martinelli administration (2009-2014) has been “one of the most repressive”, due to the events that occurred in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, with the so-called "Chorizo Law"; and in Colón, with the attempt to sell the lands of the Colon Free Zone. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/battling-downpour-to-protest-impunity-and-court-ruling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 16, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2019 Quote Panama sending corruption impunity message worldwide José Ugaz Posted 15/08/2019 The absence of punishment in high profile corruption cases in Panama sends a message of impunity, to the world says the former president of Transparency International José Ugaz. On the verdict that declared former President Ricardo Martinelli not guilty in the wiretapping trial he said that "it is a case that has passed through the sieve of American justice and that comes with an accumulation of evidence, through a series of subterfuges and arguments that have been rehearsed for a long time it ends in impunity. I think it is something that must be solved because when these cases of great corruption occur and go unpunished, the tendency is to repeat. " The lawyer participated on Thursday, August 15, on the second day of the XXXIII Hemispheric Congress on Prevention of Money Laundering. In addition to the case of Martinelli, he mentioned the scandals of Odebrecht and Mossack Fonseca, which have had greater criminal and political consequences outside, than within Panama. The lawyer described the message sent by justice to citizens as much as to the world as "bad" when, for formal terms or for legal contraptions, "it is not evident what is evident." Ugaz also said that Panama and has been put back on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force, which identifies countries with deficiencies in the fight against money laundering. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama-sending-corruption-impunity-message-worldwide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 20, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 20, 2019 Quote OPINION: Judicial corruption moving Panama to failed state The Supreme Court Posted 19/08/2019 There are many problems facing the country, but some of them require urgent solutions. Every day that passes we dangerously approach a state of failed justice. It is clear that without impartial judges - that is, not responding to political criteria or corruption - the country is playing something much more important than releasing a criminal. Their rigged sentences can harm the economy, the image of the country, reduce the attraction of foreign investments, encourage entry into sanctioning lists, alter social peace and governance. Even national security can be affected. It is not small or a side issue. The only thing that organized crime, government corruption, drug trafficking, and even a common criminal need is for judges to sell or do favors of any kind. That is enough to put the country on its knees. And the Government must understand that its responsibility is that justice does not collapse. And it has responsibility for it because it appoints magistrates, because its politicians put their hands and feet in justice, because in their ranks drug trafficking moves at ease, even under political and legal protection. Looking the other way is just allowing the expansion of the borders of crime to levels still unsuspected. If now the Government does not do something, we will end up with a failed State. Just see what happens in Venezuela. because in its ranks the drug traffic moves at ease, even under political and legal protection. Looking the other way is just allowing the expansion of the borders of crime to levels still unsuspected.- LA PRENSA, Aug 19. https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-judicial-corruption-moving-panama-to-failed-state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 20, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 20, 2019 Quote Change of faces needed in Supreme Court says anti-corruption guru structural Posted 19/08/2019 Panama needs a deep reform of justice and a change of faces in the Supreme Court says José Ugaz, former president of Transparency International who has devoted much of his life to fighting corruption. He made the comment in an interview with Telemetro Reports when referring to the corruption index in Latin America and Panama. According to the latest report of the Perception Index of the Transparency Corruption International, in 2018 Panama made no progress in the fight against corruption and obtained a rating of 37 (0 is very corrupt and 100 very transparent). And was ranked 97 on a list of 180 countries. Ugaz said that the current president, Laurentino Cortizo, has an immense challenge and the great possibility of making a historical change in the country. “For that, it is necessary to break with the past and initiate the deep structural reforms that Latin America needs and, in particular in the case of Panama is in the public consciousness for a permanent claim is the change of justice, ”he said. "A deep reform is needed that changes the rules of the game and, of course, the faces of those who are now sitting in the Supreme Court or making decisions in a system that has clearly shown their inability to resolve Panama's conflicts," Ugaz concluded. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/change-of-faces-needed-in-supreme-court-says-anti-corruption-guru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted August 30, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted August 30, 2019 Quote Panama competes for Latin America corruption trophy Posted 29/08/2019 Panama not Puerto Rico, the latest victim of President Trump’s bullying tweets is in the running for the title of the most corrupt country in Latin America. The country has the highest per-capita income in the region according to scales heavily weighted in favor a minority of robber barons who continue to plunder with impunity the assets of the state while leaving the payment of taxes to the less well-endowed subservient majority. Meanwhile another set of scales wielded by a compliant judiciary blind to anomalies and under a perpetual “for sale” sign ensures that the balance of power remains where it has been since the Spaniards first landed on the Isthmus while the descendants of the flock of lawyers they brought with them continue to benefit from maintaining the status quo. Recently the Concolón group of journalists organized, within the framework of the FIL Panama, the presentation of the book Lost: Who wins the corruption cup in Latin America? , edited by Argentine journalists Diego Fonseca and Martín Caparrós. The book, composed of 19 stories of journalists from all over Latin America, includes a profile of Ramón Fonseca Mora written by the journalist Sol Lauría, which portrays the lawyer within a context and a cultural construction marked by "exclusion." "In Panama, the elite manages to build a State that is confused with a law firm or a law firm that ends up being the State," says Diego Fonseca, columnist for The New York Times . In that sense, Fonseca continues, "Panama ceases to be a nation to become a huge offshore bank ." "And that opens up the possibilities (...) that Panama's corruption could be endemic, caused by Panamanians themselves, or indirect corruption, which makes it easier for other corrupt people to be able to hide their money in a paradise," he comments, referring to the profile of the lawyer of the controversial firm Mossack-Fonseca, which closed operations in 2018 after the Panama Papers scandal now the subject of a Netflix movie. https://www.newsroompanama.com/world/panama-competes-for-latin-america-corruption-trophy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 3, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 3, 2019 Quote OPINION: Panama’s sick justice system Posted 02/09/2019 The series of reports that we publish today is based on the findings of a citizen who, feeling violated by local justice, contacted an Israeli intelligence agency to help him document the vices of the system. Once hired, undercover agents were given the task of attracting and speaking to a Panamanian lawyer who, in order to sell his services to an alleged Russian client, showed off the tricks he knows how to use to manage, from permits to judicial decisions. The material - recordings and videos - was obtained in Spanish territory and first disclosed in that country. Once this newspaper had access to the recordings, since they were private, the question was: Do we publish? If today our readers have access to this story and the audios that support it, it is because we conclude that freedom of expression has a dimension that entails the obligation to disseminate information of public interest and that our duty is to guarantee the community that right. That said, it only remains to be noted that these publications expose in a stark manner a wound that is still open and that threatens an entire country. Our justice system is sick – LA PRENSA -Sep. 2 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-panamas-sick-justice-system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 3, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 3, 2019 Quote Sting operation lifts lid on judicial mafia Janio Lescure - left,next to Ana Belfon - his lawyer - hile escorting a mutual client: Mayer Mizrachi. Posted 02/09/2019 A Panama businessman frustrated by constant judicial decisions which he believed were bought, hired an Israeli detective team to investigate the judges he suspected, and their probe led to the unveiling of a corruption network that spread government entities and fingered prominent justice and administrative figures. The revelations were published in La Prensa on Monday, September 2 in spite of threats of legal action from some of the characters named. The report kicks off with a reminder that when ex-president Ricardo Martinelli was in El Renacer Prison awaiting trial for illegal wiretapping he offered to pay each complainant $75,000 to each to drop their case against him. Instead, lawyers asked for $1 million each, Martinelli refused and boasted he would rather give $1 million to each Supreme Court judge. A draft decision by then judge Oyden Ortega, agreeing to a Martinelli defense request to move his case to an ordinary court was leaked to the media. The businessman in explaining his reasons for using an Israeli team -Black Cube- pointed out that to probe communications of people approaching judges would require judicial authorization -asking permission to probe their colleagues. The investigation uncovered a corruption network that went far beyond the businessman’s own case including the Migration Directorate, the Ministry of Labor, the Panama Mayor’s office and bribes to magistrates of the Supreme Court. “The reports of his case were barely the tip of a gigantic iceberg, “ said La Prensa. At the center of the investigation was local lawyer Janio Lescure, who had previous links to James Shackleford an American night club operator in Panama, arrested in Colombia for white trafficking With his “credentials” established Lescure became the target of an elaborate sting operation as Black Cube operatives posed as wealthy Russians planning to open brothels and nightclubs, staffed by Russian women in Panama. They recorded multiple meetings in Panama, Madrid and Barcelona in which Lescure gave details of what he described as Panama’s “judicial Mafia. Lescure spoke of the payment of bribes at the request of the Executive, as well as the payment for judgments to magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, tailored to his clients, who, however, deny having paid a penny. Janio Lescure achieved his goal: he left them impressed, but not in the way he expected. The Panamanian lawyer - invited by some potential clients to Spain - confessed that the Panamanian justice is a "mafia", but a mafia from which he can take advantage, especially, of magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice from whom he can obtain custom judgments. Janio Lescure is not one of those high-profile lawyers on television. But his clientele is not exactly unknown. He has acted - for example - as part of the defense team of Mayer Mizrachi, accused of crimes against public administration to the detriment of the Government Innovation Authority. But Lescure's notoriety is not just for that case. About ten years ago, Lescure was sanctioned by the Supreme Court for violating the Lawyer's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which forced him to suspend the practice of law for three months. At the end of January, Lescure was the subject of a report in Crónica, a publication of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo . Its title: “ The Spanish trap of the Panama lawyer who 'pays the judges'” La Prensa had access to audio excerpts from the meetings that led to the report in Spain and can now be heard on prensa.com. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/sting-operation-lifts-lid-on-judicial-mafia-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 5, 2019 Moderator comment: Normally this kind of posting would be placed in the "corruption forum", however, given the subject matter we are posting it as part of this topic. Quote Ex-judge's son facing "rulings for sale" charges Posted 04/09/2019 Lawyer Oydén Ortega Collado, son of the former Supreme Court judge, Oydén Ortega Durán and Claudia Purcait, assistant to the former magistrate were charged by a judge of guarantees on Monday, September 2 with trafficking in influence, for the alleged sale of judicial rulings The Chilean businessman César Alvarado Taylor was the one who filed the complaint against the son of the former magistrate who has not been placed in preventive detention. The case comes at a time when the ex-judge is named in revelations by undercover operatives of recordings of another Panama lawyer who claims he had paid major bribes to the judge, which the j.udge has denied https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/ex-judges-son-facing-rulings-for-sale-charges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 5, 2019 Quote OPINION: Safeguarding corrupt politicians Posted 04/09/2019 The National Assembly approved in the first debate the bill No. 50 that would eliminate the power of the Public Prosecutor's Office to order preventive detentions in cases that still continue with the mixed inquisitive system. The proposal was presented by the deputy Hernán Delgado, of the Democratic Change party, who was also the manager of the summary test requirement to prosecute the deputies, contained in Law 55 of 2012. At first glance, it seems harmless, but it must be vigilantes of any legislative add-on, which frees detainees in high profile cases or even spoils the extradition of those investigated who fled abroad to avoid the action of justice. It is clear that the project sticks another stake in the body of the Public Ministry, an entity that has become a nuisance for corrupt politicians and their henchmen. The ominous precedent of Law 55 of 2012, which protected the deputies, should be enough to avoid another goal that completely defeats the fight against great corruption.- LA PRENSA, Sep.4 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-safeguarding-corrupt-politicians Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 7, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 7, 2019 Quote OPINION: Panama justice for sale La Prensa cartoonist Low illustrates the sale of fallow (rulings) to those with cash Posted 06/09/2019 The scandalous statements of Panamanian lawyer Janio Lescure, which were recorded by an Israeli private intelligence agency, and that this newspaper has recorded all this week, should cause more than the morbidity in citizens and justice institutions. All actors in the judicial system must be clear and transparent when responding to the complaints and questions disclosed. Panama cannot keep a questioned justice, which is unable to justify its actions and validate the integrity of its members. President Laurentino Cortizo has in his hands the task of completing the justice reform initiated in 2005. The judgments and other proceedings of our courts cannot be prisoners of the doubt that they were obtained in exchange for 30 coins, or as a result of the most abject and disgusting influence peddling. The imputation last Monday of the son and the assistant of a former magistrate of the Court require that Panamanians take these efforts seriously. Never before, in democratic times, has the dimension of suspicion weighing on our justice been so evident. – LA PRENSA Sep. 6 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-panama-justice-for-sale-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 7, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 7, 2019 Quote Judge calls for investigation of revelations of bribed colleagues Olmedo Arrocha Posted 06/09/2019 Panama Supreme Court Judge , Olmedo Arrocha has called for, an investigation process of the statements made by local lawyer Janio Lescure in Spain on the sale of judicial sentences in Panama. The Panamanian lawyer in recorded statements made to undercover Israeli investigators has said that there were four magistrates with whom he could make "deals". Two of them have been named in La Prensa, and have denied knowing Lescure, but the son of one of them. Oyden Ortega is facing trial along with a former assistant of the judge, for influence-peddling in obtaining favorable judicial decisions. Civil rights activists believe that this is the time for President Laurentino Cortizo to step forward and fulfill his promise of "no corruption." https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/judge-calls-for-investigation-of-revelations-of-bribed-colleagues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 7, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 7, 2019 Quote Investigation opened into “judges for sale” revelations The Supreme Court rocked by bribery reports Posted 06/09/2019 The Office of the Prosecutor against Organized Crime has initiated an investigation into the publications of La Prensa about the alleged "purchase and sale" of judgments in the Supreme Court (CSJ), as detailed by lawyer Janio Lescure while being recorded by undercover investigators. The decision was reported by the Public Ministry (MP) on Friday, September 6, 2019, through its Twitter account. On the same day, President Cortizo, during meetings to discuss the appointment of new judges expressed his concern about the revelations. The MP warns that it is up to the National Assembly to initiate investigations of the judges of the CSJ, given that Lescure - according to La Prensa - refers to magistrates Hernán De León and Abel Zamorano . The notes also refer to Oydén Ortega , magistrate of the CSJ until last February. La Prensa's investigation emphasizes the statements made by lawyer Janio Lescure last year in Spain, about the sale of judicial sentences in Panama. The information was extracted by an Israeli private intelligence agency, hired by a Panamanian businessman, who had several meetings in which Lescure described a scheme to buy and sell rulings . Lescure introduced himself as an intermediary to pay the bribes. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/investigation-opened-into-judges-for-sale-revelations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 8, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2019 Quote OPINION: Judges turn their backs on justice Posted 07/09/2019 The Second Superior Court of Justice, through Judge José Hoo Justiniani, declared void the process of the corruption scandal of the Tonosí irrigation project, benefiting the 33 accused in this case. The cause invoked by the Court is inspired by that controversial ruling by Ángela Russo in the Finmeccanica case. Thus, again a court cancels a complex investigation followed in accordance with the rules of the mixed inquisitive system because the prosecution allegedly exceeded the term of the investigation. That cause does not exist in the Judicial CodePanamanian, as it was created by the Supreme Court in a high profile case. In addition, it is not taken into account for the assessment of the investigation term all the time lost by the prosecution, for dilatory resources or for medical excuses that have been presented by the defense. For whatever reasons, the judges and magistrates who participate in these hoaxes insist on ignoring that due process is a two-sided currency: that of the accused, and that of society and the victims of these acts of corruption. A sad era that Panama lives in which the judges turn their backs on justice. - LA PRENSA, Sep. 7 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-judges-turn-their-backs-on-justice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 “Whoever has the Gold makes the Rules” ..or pays to have someone ignore them. This case was about a scam project from the word Go during the Martinelli era, where nothing was accomplished but millions of dollars disappeared. Among others, a former VP was involved which led to Superintendent of Banking forcing the sale of Banco Universal. Maybe the decision will be appealed. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 24, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2019 Quote OPINION: Panama justice a bad joke Posted 23/09/2019 While in Panama justice is still being debated in continuing the investigations of the Odebrecht case, in the rest of Latin America the research is deepened, increasing the number of people and companies involved in the mega scandal. Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil keep the investigations open, while here the authorities seem more interested in burying the theft of our resources than taking the culprits to jail and getting the money back. We Panamanians deserve to know what happened, who participated, how much they stole, but some insist on keeping a veil of impunity that makes that unattainable. The purest betrayal of the country, its duties, its fellow citizens. And if your position is to appeal to oblivion, there will be no recourse, argument or proof that serves to open your eyes, because, they have decided to close them. They ignore the damage they will add to the country, where justice has become a bad joke, an offensive cartoon, defended only by those who prefer impunity. If Odebrecht runs the fate of so many other scandals, we will have failed as a society and as a democracy.- LA PRENSA. Sep.23. https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-panama-justice-a-bad-joke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted September 30, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted September 30, 2019 Quote Business leaders raise red flags on justice system and impunity Preident Laurentino Cortizo Posted 29/09/2019 Panama’s Chamber of Commerce has sent the country a strong warning about the fragility of the justice system and the continuing culture of impunity” "It is impossible to fight impunity that stimulates corruption in a country where the administration of justice seems to lack independence and the honesty of some officials is called into question, causing the lack of credibility among citizens," said the business association on Sunday, September 29 in its weekly commentary on A key step is the election of magistrates to the Supreme Court (CSJ) and President Laurentino Cortizo, has the opportunity to choose magistrates who are independent, capable, and qualified. "This is the great legacy that President Laurentino Cortizo can leave the country," said the Chamber And emphasized. that if justice is “enhanced”, the other national purposes of progress and well-being will be stimulated. https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/business-leaders-raise-red-flags-on-justice-system-and-impunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 5, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted October 5, 2019 Quote Justice system “a laughing stock“ following recent rulings Convicted of, money laundering avoids jail Posted 03/10/2019 Two controversial court rulings on Wednesday, October 2 highlight the collapse of Panama’s justice system which has become a laughing stock says prominent lawyer Ernesto Cedeño. He told TVN Noticias that in the Odebrecht case, there is no knowledge of any high-profile person serving any sentence and to that is added the result that was obtained in the case known as El Gallero in which 15 accused walked free after a three-year investigation and four months trial He says that the message is not plausible for the strengthening of justice, composed of both the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), and the Public Ministry (MP) and that there is no certainty of punishment for prominent suspects. In the case of De Saint-Malo, brother of the former Vice-president and foreign minister, he highlighted the fact that the corregimiento representative where he would do the community work was present at the hearing. According to Cedeño, all these results highlight the message of impunity. Regarding the El Gallero case, Cedeño said that it seems that the Public Prosecutor's Office did not show strength in his evidence or that the judge did not weigh the evidence that led to the process. All of the above demonstrates that a contest is required for the members of the courts to enter the system on merit, in addition to having to purify it. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/justice-system-a-laughing-stock-following-recent-rulings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 16, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted October 16, 2019 Quote OPINION: Supreme Court fosters impunity Posted 15/10/2019 Slowly, drop by drop, as if it were an old pipe, the Supreme Court of Justice is declining to the Public Ministry, the cases of some deputies from the past period who lost their seats. It seems an arbitrary exercise, in which some politicians continue to maintain a friendly guardianship of the Court, while others are referred with unusual speed, to ordinary justice. This judicial behavior suggests that the payroll case is dying on the magistrates' podiums, which neither can nor want to process the network of corrupt and powerful gentlemen and ladies who govern our policy. It remains in mystery, why our highest court retains the case files of a former president and former deputy of the Central American Parliament if almost a year ago they declined all their competence over this citizen. Thus, the days are transformed into weeks, these become months, and finally the years of proceedings pass, long hopes that finally only lead to the path of judicial default, and to the most disguised impunity. What kind of country does the Supreme Court want to make us? LA PRENSA, Oct. 15 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-supreme-court-fosters-impunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 3 hours ago, Moderator_02 said: What kind of country does the Supreme Court want to make us? It's currently one which promotes judicial corruption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 22, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted October 22, 2019 Quote OPINION: A constitutional nightmare to defend impunity Battling lawmakers seek to protect thier turf Posted 20/10/2019 The Constituent Assembly elected in 1945 established in article 4 of the 1946 Political Constitution that: “The Republic of Panama complies with the norms of International Law” . That principle was neither gratuitous nor craving. It was the result of awareness in the face of fascist dictatorships, the Holocaust and other atrocities that made the constituents understand that for the survival of a rule of law we needed to obey international norms. Now, in this premature stage of consideration of constitutional reforms, it seeks to modify article 4 with a nefarious epilogue: "... however, the supremacy of national law is recognized". The proponents of this beauty will have their particular reasons to aspire to Panama becoming a country of outlaws and overturn the pyramid of the jurist Hans Kelsen, who placed international law above the national and is the theoretical foundation of the study of law in Latin America and Western Europe. The conception of the deputies can only hide the dark poison of those who believe that there is a gender ideology that will be imposed by international agencies, or there is a national blood to defend and an inalienable right to impunity. Hopefully, we wake up and it's just a nightmare – LA PRENSA, Oct 20 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-a-constitutional-nightmare-to-defend-impunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted October 25, 2019 Quote OPINION: Panama’s Justice Black Market Posted 24/10/2019 The detailed plot in the pages of this medium [La Prensa] in the case of the Cooperative of Multiple Services "San Antonio", RL (Cacsa) reveals that there is a black market of rulings that can be easily purchased with the appropriate "contacts". There is no doubt that a scenario had been orchestrated to promote corruption among magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice. They can deny it, they can complain and they can disregard it but the evidence is in sight and only fools continue to claim that there is no trade-in sentences handed down by our top judges. And this is not the only case in which we talk about buying decisions. Magistrates have lost their visas to the United States since that country has withdrawn alleging corruption. In Spain, a lawyer spoke openly about how he has bought rulings in Panama or the complaint of a Chilean businessman who alleged the same accusations. It is not, therefore, a conspiracy against the Judicial Branch, its judges or magistrates. On the contrary, it is a conspiracy - perpetrated daily - against justice, in which many judges have turned their offices into an auction position.- LA PRENSA,Oct.24 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-panamas-justice-black-market Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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