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Panama
>> Regional Overview >> Panama Overview Activity Data Sheet
PROGRAM: Panama
SPECIAL OBJECTIVE: Momentum Towards Fairer and Faster Justice Established, 525-005
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $996,000 (ESF)
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $4,000,000 (ESF)
STATUS: Continuing
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2000 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2006Summary: All stakeholders in the Panamanian system of justice have identified the need for change. The current system satisfies neither the Government of Panama (GOP) professionals who are part of the system, the outside stakeholders in civil society, nor most users. The justice system is not sufficiently transparent, and the rules of the system are often poorly understood by the public. Like many countries in the region, the capacity of judicial sector personnel, personnel management practices, corruption, needed code reform and insufficient resources all hinder the fairness and effectiveness of the system and impede the swift delivery of justice.
Justice in Panama is too slow; case backlogs in the courts are significant and growing; pretrial detention is excessive and is too often imposed on the innocent; and even the guilty often serve their entire sentence in Panama's overcrowded prisons before the case is heard. In the commercial courts, delays and backlogs of cases often exhaust the resources and the will of local and foreign investors (including U.S. firms) to continue operating before any remedy is granted. Until recently, out-of-court settlements, even under arbitration agreements, were later challenged in court.
The new program refocuses resources in an intensive effort to develop momentum for reform in the Panamanian Justice sector by the end of FY 2002. While USAID/Panama's thirty-month, pilot effort will not tackle all the challenges noted, it funds discrete activities that contribute to improvements in the justice system by providing technical assistance and training for prosecutors and judges aimed at increasing the efficiency of the criminal and commercial court systems. The program will also help civil society and GOP actors to strengthen a civil advocacy base that will push for reform and provide sustained momentum for long-term change. This Special Objective is designed to establish momentum toward a fairer and faster justice system by testing pilot reform efforts already identified by both the justice system itself and by civil society to promote institutional strengthening, and by supporting civil society and other reformers to organize and advocate for continued reform.
Key Results: USAID has identified four key intermediate results required to achieve this special objective: (1) Criminal court systems functioning more effectively by implementing targeted institutional reforms, (2) Commercial court systems functioning more effectively by demonstrating the effectiveness of alternative dispute resolutions (ADR), (3) Increased public pressure for judicial sector reform, and (4) Improved collaboration between investigators and prosecutors.
Performance and Prospects: Prospects for making an impact have improved with the entry into the justice sector of substantial donor assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Spain. USAID will complement IDB and Spanish efforts. USAID will focus in particular on non-government organization (NGO) development, ethics, and well-defined areas in which our support can complement other donors' programs, such as training of judges, prosecutors, defenders, court personnel and others (e.g., alternative dispute resolution and alternative sentencing). Training of police and investigators in cooperation with the Department of Justice completes this strategy.
At the end of two years, by working with stakeholders inside and outside the justice system, USAID/Panama intends to have helped build broad-based support for and confidence in continued justice sector reform by accomplishing a series of changes in the system and developing an agenda for future reforms. During the second year of implementation (FY2002), USAID/Panama will evaluate the overall impact of the program and identify those elements of the program, which have been the most successful. If evaluation results warrant, the program will be continued, and USAID/Panama will design a refined performance framework and set of activities for future implementation.
USAID will use $996,000 in FY 2001 funds as follows: $600,000 to help enhance the professionalism of judges and prosecutors, increase the availability of alternative sentencing mechanisms for minor criminal offenses and modernization of the Judicial Registry; $200,000 to strengthen professional skills for the development and implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms; and $196,000 to promote civil society participation in justice issues.
USAID will use $4,000,000 in FY 2002 funds as follows: $600,000 to continue and complete professionalization of judges and prosecutors, increase the availability of alternative sentencing mechanisms for minor criminal offenses and modernization of the Judicial Registry; $200,000 to continue and complete the strengthening of professional skills for the development and implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms; $200,000 to continue and complete the promotion of civil society participation in justice issues; and $3,000,000 to help strengthen the ability of local governments to govern and project an effective presence in the Darien Province, adjacent to the Colombia border, helping communities to better manage their own administrative and financial affairs, improve the provision of services, and administer justice at the local level.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: The objective is to enable the GOP and civil society organizations to formulate, institutionalize and implement activities designed to ensure fundamental, sustainable, systemic change in the justice systems. A top priority will be to motivate both the public and private sectors to maintain reform efforts. Results of analytical studies could produce changes to USAID's approach in the future. Further research will be undertaken to understand better the constraints to justice and the appropriate means to address them.
Other Donor Programs: The IDB is the major donor in the sector with an $18,900,000 loan to the GOP. Other donors include the United Nations Development Program, the Organization of American States and the European Union with very modest programs, and several small bilateral programs (the British, Germans, French and Spanish).
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Management Science for Development.
Panama 525-005
Performance Measures:
Indicator FY97
(Actual)FY98
(Actual)FY99
(Actual)FY00
(Actual)FY00
(Plan)FY01
(Plan)FY02
(Plan)Indicator 1: Number of NGOs actively involved in justice issues NA NA NA 8 9 12 15 Indicator 2: Number of judges and prosecutors trained in aspects of commercial and penal codes 0 0 0 0 0 50 200 Indicator 3: Forum of NGOs established to advocate for justice reforms No No No No Yes Yes Yes Indicator 4: A coalition of NGOs is actively advocating improvement in administration of justice NA NA NA NA NA 6 10 Indicator 5: Pilot project for increasing the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in the Panamanian courts fully implemented. NA NA NA NA NA No Yes Indicator 6: Pilot project for increasing the use of alternatives to imprinsoment as a sentence for administrative misdemeanors fully implemented NA NA NA NA NA No Yes Indicator Information:
Indicator Level (S)or(IR) Unit of Measure Source Indicator Description Indicator 1: IR Number of NGOs Contractor's reports "This indicator measures the number of local NGOs, legally established that publicly adopts a position relevant to existing justice issues. Involvement may be through the media or organized meetings or other public fora, the preparation of position papers, speeches and the sponsoring of training and T.A. activities." Indicator 2: IR Number of Judges Contractor's Reports "Training programs and T.A. will focus on alternative sentencing, ethics and alternative dispute resolutions. Training for prosecutors will provide a basic overview of investigative and prosecutorial processes and other themes such as asset forfeiture as first steps toward institutionalization of the process." Indicator 3: S Yes/No Contractor's Reports; USAID files, reports "A forum of active NGOs in the justice sector is created by the end of the first year. Within this period at least one formal meeting of the participants will have been held. During the second year the forum will be meeting regularly, and will identify major issues and problems within the sector. Following definition and analyses of the issues/problems, the forum initiate a dialogue with GOP towards achieving consensus for reforms or other corrective actions." Indicator 4: IR Number of criteria met (cumulative) Contractor's reports; and Media information The following are the ten criteria that make up the indicator: (a) Coalition of NGOs established; (b) Coalition members meet at least monthly and produce minutes; © Strategic plan approved, (d) Web page in place, (e) An annual conference on justice reform is organized and conducted by the Coalition, (f) At least three position papers are published annually, (g) A newsletter is published quarterly, (h) Coalition submits at least two proposals for policy making in the justice sector, (i) Media uses at least three (3) presentations prepared by the Coalition per year, (j) Coalition participants in one (1) relevant international event per year in justice reform or modernization. Indicator 5: IR Yes/No Contractor's reports and Counterpart reports The pilot project consists in the adoption of basic policies and procedures, training of core staff in a selected civil (commercial) court on ADR, development of a methodology for replication of the model in other courts, and recommended actions and measures to ensure sustainability. Indicator 6: IR Yes/No Contractor reports and counterpart reports The pilot project is considered implemented when the basic policies and streamlined procedures are adopted, the core staff in the selected "corregidurķa" and night court is trained in alternative sentencing, a public awareness activity has been initiated, and core agreements with central government and judiciary are signed. U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 0 DA 0 DA 0 DA 0 CDS 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 0 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 1,000 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 0 DA 0 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 1,000 ESF 0 ESF 1,000 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 0 DA 0 CSD 996 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 0 DA 0 CSD 996 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 0 DA 0 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 4,000 ESF 4,000 ESF 9,996 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
