PANAMA NAMES TWO NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PANAMA 002490

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND INR/B
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM POLITICS FOREIGN POLICY
SUBJECT: PANAMA NAMES TWO NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICES


Summary
--------------

1. (SBU) On December 28, President Torrijos submitted the
names of Harley James Mitchell and Victor Leonel Benavides
Pinilla to the National Assembly for ratification as Supreme
Court magistrates. In a fast legislative session that
evening, the National Assembly ratified both magistrates
along with three nominated supplentes, or substitute Court
magistrates. Mitchell and Benavides will fill the positions
of justices Jorge Lee and Arturo Hoyos, respectively, whose
terms expire December 31. Two supplentes will back the
in-coming magistrates and one is appointed as supplente to
sitting justice Jose Troyano. None of the appointees have
spent much time in the public eye, and Mitchell and Benavides
have reputations among legal professionals and the GOP for
being competent. Mitchell and Benavides have not been the
subjects of corruption allegations. It remains to be seen
whether their appointment and the departure of Hoyos from the
Court marks the beginning of a turn-around in questionable
Court rulings. End Summary.

The Justices
--------------

2. (SBU) Harley James Mitchell, DOB: July 22, 1947, was born
in Panama's western Bocas del Toro province and has worked
for 27 years in the Judicial Branch. He is designated as the
magistrate presiding over civil issues. Mitchell is a member
of Torrijos' majority Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD),
and as a one-term legislator, represented Bocas del Toro in
the National Assembly from 1978-1982. He has also held a
number of senior staff positions in the Assembly including
Secretary General of the National Assembly from March

SIPDIS
1998-August 1999, and was appointed Director of Legal Affairs
in September 1999, when the Panamenista party held the
Presidency and a legislative majority. He graduated from the
University of Panama Law School in 1976 and has a
post-graduate degree in Public Law from National University
of Colombia and Commercial Law from Javier Pontific
University in Colombia. He is a member of Panama's National
Bar Association and has taught legal courses in local
universities for 14 years and has been a primary education
teacher. He has held some diplomatic positions, including
Political and Judicial Counselor in Bogota, and has published
writing on legal issues. Mitchell is Afro-Panamanian and has
been married for 34 years to Margarita Moran. The couple has
one son and one daughter. Some local observers question
whether Mitchell's links to the National Assembly might taint
his impartiality in a system that already lacks checks and
balances between the Court, the Assembly and the Presidency.
Embassy contacts in legal circles had no reservations about
his nomination.


3. (SBU) Victor Leonel Benavides Pinilla was born in
Santiago, Veraguas on May 22, 1951. He has worked almost 40
years in the public sector, 31 of which he spent working in
the Office of the Solicitor General, and has held a number of
faculty positions at the University of Panama. He is
designated to preside over administrative issues, in which he
is considered to be an expert. He holds an undergraduate
degree in Law and Political Science and a post-graduate
degree in Mediation and Arbitration from the University of
Panama and a Master's in Public Management from Carlos III
University in Madrid. He is a member of a number of national
and regional legal associations, including Panama's National
Bar Association and has published works on legal issues.
Benavides' portfolio as a Court magistrate would include
labor law, an area in which he lacks expertise. Despite his
reputation for being "very academic," he is generally
well-regarded in legal circles.

The Supplentes
--------------

4. (SBU) Delia Carrizo Arauz de Martinez, Mitchell's
supplente, was born in Penonome, Cocle on August 10, 1955.
She graduated from the University of Panama Law School and
holds a doctorate in Procedural Law. She worked briefly in
the Public Ministry. She has worked for 26 years in the
Judicial Branch during which time she held several positions
as judge and is currently serving as Superior Magistrate in
the Second Judicial District, covering Cocle and Veraguas.
Carrizo Arauz de Martinez is a member of both the National
Bar Association and the Judges and Magistrates Association of
Panama. She is married with two children, one in high school
and one in college.


5. (SBU) Janina M. Small A., Benavides' supplente, was born
in Panama City on January 15, 1945. She is a specialist in
Procedural Law and Labor Administration Law. She has worked
in the Judicial Branch for 36 years and has experience
working in public ministries including the Attorney General's
office. She was supplente to the Attorney General from
1990-1994. She graduated from the University of Panama Law
School and has worked on various National Bar Association
commissions. She has a "no-nonsense" reputation and is
respected among her peers.


6. (SBU) Juan Francisco Castillo, Troyano's supplente, was
born in Panama City on February 19, 1962. He has worked in
the Judicial Branch for 23 years. He first served as first
judge of Panama City municipality and is currently serving as
Superior Magistrate. Castillo studied law in Spain on a
scholarship, and has been teaching legal courses for ten
years at the University of Panama, Latin University and
Panama Technical University. He is also a member of the
Judges and Magistrates Association of Panama.

Comment
--------------

7. (SBU) Torrijos has chosen non-controversial nominees that
were all easily approved by the National Assembly. Reactions
by civil society and opposition legislators to the
appointments have been mixed. Some civil society leaders
worry that Torrijos' choice of PRD loyalists represents a
missed opportunity to depart from business as usual.
Mitchell's appointment has been the only mildly contested one
with some civil society groups expressing disappointment in
the appointment of a nominee with such close PRD and National
Assembly ties. Opposition legislators, however, praised his
appointment. The five nominees bring with them extensive
experience in the Judicial Branch and good reputations among
their peers. Upon their appointment, Mitchell and Benavides
promised to restore public confidence in the Court. Time
will tell whether Torrijos, with his appointments, has
changed the face of the Court and its track record of
questionable rulings.

ARREAGA