Copyright (c) 2026 Manuel Oberto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Panamanian civil justice system has historically struggled with structural flaws that compromise the efficiency of the process, such as excessively long litigation, backlog of case files, and insufficient mechanisms to ensure effective procedural transparency during the evidentiary stage. In response to these deficiencies, the new Civil Procedural Code was enacted with the aim of catalyzing comprehensive judicial modernization and speeding up case management in Panama.
One of the innovations in this jurisdiction is the adoption of the Discovery mechanism. Its implementation marks a new evidentiary paradigm and actively seeks to prevent litigation from relying on the strategic withholding of information. The fundamental objective of Discovery is to establish an equitable framework between the parties, promoting proper procedure and, consequently, accelerating the resolution of disputes. However, Despite the benefits of this early disclosure system, its implementation poses challenges. These include the need for comprehensive training for courts and lawyers, the structural adaptation of the judicial system to this new evidentiary dynamic, the proper management of associated costs, and, critically, the implementation of strict measures to prevent any potential abuse of this powerful tool.
