The Attorney General of the Nation, Luis Carlos Gómez Rudy, requested the Supreme Court of Justice to consolidate into a single file the two lawsuits of unconstitutionality filed against Agreement No. 162 of June 17, 2025, which created the Municipal Police of the district of Panama. These are the lawsuits filed by lawyer and congressman Ernesto Cedeño and by René Isaac Barberena. Magistrate Carlos Villalobos is serving as the presiding judge in both cases. The prosecutor’s request is based on the fact that both lawsuits should be resolved in a single process, since they have similar content, challenge the same municipal agreement, and contain coinciding arguments.
Gómez Rudy pictured above has already spoken in favor of declaring several provisions of the agreement unconstitutional, considering that some of the powers attributed to the Municipal Police correspond to functions proper to police services. Among them he mentioned recruitment, body searches, vehicle registration, the use of non-lethal and lethal force, apprehension and preventive detention. In his opinion submitted to the Court, the prosecutor warned that these powers “include rules that could mean the implementation of a police force parallel to the police service established by law.”
Gómez Rudy based his position, among other arguments, on Article 311 of the Constitution, which establishes that Panama will not have an army and that all police services will be subordinate to civil power, under the leadership of the President of the Republic. Agreement No. 162 was approved by the Municipal Council of Panama at the request of Mayor Mayer Mizrachi pictured above and transformed the then Municipal Surveillance Department into the Municipal Police, providing it with a new structure and expanding its powers. Last Wednesday, the Court opened the period for the presentation of arguments in both lawsuits, so that those interested can express their arguments on the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the agreement. This period will last for 10 business days. Afterward, the presiding judge must prepare a draft ruling, which will be circulated among the offices of the other eight judges who make up the Court’s Plenary for their consideration.
The Attorney General of the Nation, Luis Carlos Gómez,
Another Process Seeks to Annul the Agreement.
At the same time, the Third Chamber of the Administrative Court is processing a lawsuit for annulment filed by the Ministry of Security against the same Agreement No. 162. The appeal, already admitted by the Third Chamber, seeks to annul the agreement approved by the Municipal Council that created the Municipal Police. The lawsuit argues that the regulation transformed the then Municipal Surveillance Department into a Municipal Police, giving it new functions and a more professional and hierarchical structure. This process must also include a period for the presentation of evidence and arguments by the parties.
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