PANAMA: SUPREME COURT PRESIDENT GREENLIGHTS

UNCLAS PANAMA 000461 SIPDIS SENSITIVE JUSTICE FOR OPDAT (VAKY) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KCRM KJUS PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: SUPREME COURT PRESIDENT GREENLIGHTS ANTI-CORRUPTION PLAN -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Panamanian Supreme Court President Harley Mitchell secured unanimous approval for three of eleven elements of a long-pending USG-GOP anti-corruption program funded by USAID, Mitchell informed USAID Director on April 25, 2008. -------------- -------------- Mitchell Breaks 3 Anti-Corruption Initiatives Free -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Mitchell broke free and secured approval in three key areas of a USAID-sponsored plan to prevent, investigate, and sanction corruption in the judicial branch. He secured approval in the following areas: 1) the establishment of an oversight commission to formulate policies to prevent, detect, and punish corruption and monitor that these activities were carried out; 2) strengthen the internal auditing of the judicial system to better prevent and detect corruption; and 3) publish and put into operation a code of ethics for the judicial branch. The Supreme Court officially requested USAID's assistance on April 30 in the implementation of these three initiatives during a meeting with USAID Director, Chief Justice Mitchell, and two other justices. The partial adoption and implementation of this plan would place Panama at the top of the list of Latin American Supreme Courts undertaking measurements to fight corruption based on the standards set forth by the UN Convention Against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. -------------- -- 8 Anti-Corruption Initiatives Remain Unapproved -------------- -- ¶3. (SBU) Discrepancies among Supreme Court magistrates on some of the eight remaining initiatives accounted for the continuing stalemate in other areas. These eight components included: public procurement; access to judicial information; citizen participation; simplification of processes; witness protection; judicial performance evaluation; civil service for the judiciary; and asset disclosure. The last component was particularly controversial among the Supreme Court magistrates, according to various read-outs. Objections had been voiced by several of the magistrates regarding the asset disclosure component's requirement to publicize their asset disclosures and those of their closest relatives. Leading the opposition to the proposal for asset disclosure was Justice Jacobo Salas, who refused to sign off on this component. In addition to the controversy surrounding the asset disclosure, magistrates debated whether to establish a civil service for the judiciary. Nevertheless, the recently appointed President of the Supreme Court, Harley Mitchell, wholeheartedly embraced the entire anti-corruption plan and continued to advance the gradual approval of each of the Plan's components. -------------- USAID Will Assist In Implementation -------------- ¶4. (SBU) USAID will hire three consultants to assist with the design and implementation of the three approved anti-corruption initiatives. To assist with the code of ethics, a former magistrate from Argentina has been hired who is an expert in this area. The internal auditing of the judicial system will be re-designed and made more transparent by a local consultant who has worked with the GOP before. Finally, the third consultant will be brought in to conduct three working sessions focused on establishing the agreed upon oversight commission to formulate policies against corruption. The workshops will begin in July and conclude by the end of September. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Mitchell is in the cat-bird seat right now. This seasoned politician is now emerging as a justice sector reform leader. Only twelve months from Panama,s general elections, the timing of Mitchell,s announcement could not be better. There is a palpable desire for reform of Panama,s debilitated judicial sector. Never before has Panama had a more auspicious political environment for justice reform. The Embassy, working through USAID, will work to implement the already approved initiatives while simultaneously continuing to push for approval of the remaining eight initiatives. Meanwhile, other major reforms to the criminal procedure code are being considered and in fact have passed first debate in congress. While the Embassy has shared USG expert concerns over the new code with legal sector leaders, we have not received much in the way of a response. ARREAGA