Weekly Report - 29 May 2008 (ISSN 1741-7422)

A new penal code entered into effect in Panama on 22 May a year after initially being passed and with several amendments. The new legislation appears to take a tougher stance on crime, with the maximum prison sentence for murder and other serious crimes increased from 20 to 30 years. It also introduces 37 new crimes including theft of energy, water or telecommunications services; environmental crimes such as sale of land in a national park and felling more trees than a government permit allows; and withholding supplies with the effect of driving up market prices.

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