In Panama, every person has the right to request information as long as it is of public access and is held by public institutions or private companies that provide a service of a “public” nature.

It is also possible to obtain personal information contained in files, registers or records kept by State institutions and to request the correction or elimination of information that is incorrect, irrelevant, incomplete, or outdated.

If the institution or private company providing public services refuses to deliver, correct, or eliminate such information, the user may file a Habeas Data action before the Judicial Branch.

This right of access to information on public management and administration is based on the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama. Article 43 of the Constitution establishes that every person has the right to request information of public access or of collective interest contained in databases or records in charge of public servants, provided that such access has not been limited by written provision and by mandate of the Law.

In this sense, Law No. 6 of 2002 “Which dictates rules for transparency in public management, establishes the Habeas Data action and dictates other provisions”, develops the aforementioned articles of the Political Constitution regarding requests for public access information and the Habeas Data action in case of refusal of the official to deliver the information.

What information can be considered of public access

Among the information of public access, Law No. 6 of 2002 includes the information related to the operation of public institutions, decisions adopted and information related to all projects handled by the institution, the budget structure and execution, statistics and any other information related to the institutional budget, programs developed by the institution and public acts related to public contracts developed by the institution, as well as information related to the hiring and appointment of officials, payroll, representation expenses, travel costs, emoluments or for the payment of per diem expenses and others, of officials at any level and/or other persons performing public functions.

Requirements to file a Habeas Data action:

a. That thirty (30) days have elapsed since the request for information was made to the respective authority WITHOUT having obtained an ANSWER thereof;

b. and Submit a copy of the request for information submitted to the respective authority, stating that thirty (30) days have elapsed without a response.

Steps to follow in its presentation.

1. Your request must be submitted together with the relevant documents to the Superior Court when the person responsible for the file or record of information has command and jurisdiction at the municipal or provincial level. On the other hand, when the person in charge or owner of the information registry or file has command and jurisdiction over the entire Republic, or over two or more provinces, the request will be submitted to the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice.
2. Upon receipt of the request, the court proceeds to distribute the same to a magistrate who will be known as “Reporting Judge”.
3. The Reporting Judge decides whether or not to admit the Habeas Data request depending on the information requested, whether it is of a public or personal nature.
4. If the Habeas Data action complies with all the requirements, then the court formally admits the request through a “Ruling on Admission”. On the other hand, if it does not comply with the requirements, it is filed.
5. Once the Habeas Data action is admitted, the court will proceed to notify the defendant authority.
6. The defendant authority has two (2) hours from the notification to submit a report to the authority about the situation in question and send it to the Secretariat of the competent Court.
7. When the secretariat of the court receives the report submitted by the authority sued, it is delivered to the Reporting Judge to resolve the action, prepare a draft resolution in draft, where he/she will decide on the Habeas Data action.
8. It is passed to the rest of the magistrates for reading, if they are all in agreement with the draft resolution, it is passed to the rest of the magistrates to collect the signatures.
9. Once the Habeas Data action is resolved and signed by the Magistrates and the Secretary General, the edict of notification is made, it will be posted on the mural for five (5) working days, it will be removed, and three (3) days of execution will be counted.
10. Once the three (3) days of execution are over, the official notice will be sent with an authenticated copy of the resolution issued by the court so that the authority is informed about the court’s decision.
11. If the authority does not respond to the plaintiff within the days ordered by the resolution, the plaintiff may file an Incident of Contempt before the court, as a result of non-compliance with the court order.
12. End of the Process.

Do not hesitate to contact our team of experts to obtain more information about this Habeas Data recourse in Panama for the situation in question.