Introduction: all research proposa/s in human beings must be put under one or more evaluation committees lo examine their scientific merit and ethical acceptability. The general objective of this research is lo describe the characleristics, structures and operation of the Research Ethics Committees in Panama

Materials and methods: cross -sectional descriptive research that included institutions dedicated to health research in Panama to June 2006. A questionnaire was sent to the one in charge of each Ethics Committees that included questions on its structure, information of its members and operation. The information was processed in software Epi Info 3.3.2 and calculated descriptive statistics were

Results: 80,0 % (4/5) ofthe institutions responded the questionnaire: of these, 100,0 % have a Research Ethics Committee. 75,0 % are institutional type and assigned to a hospital. The average number of members is 11,25 by committee, 75,5 % are internal members of their institutions, 55,5 % are female, 97,4 % received qualification in bioethics in 2005 . 50,0 % of the committees meet biweekly, 25.0 % ask for information and follow-up to the approved researches. 75.0% have administrati ve office, 50,0% count on exclusive personnel. 75.0 % review any type of investigation and have disapproved researches.

Conclusions: despite the tect that all institutions have a Research Ethics Committees, there were deficiencies in the request of periodic reports of advances and inspection of the approved researches. It is necessary to fortify tbese committees for the protection of the research subjects.