The rights of victims are special guarantees granted to those who have suffered harm as a result of crime and serious human rights violations.
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, without distinction of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other condition, We all have the same human rights, without discrimination of any kind.
According to Panamanian criminal legislation, victims have the following rights:
- The right to receive medical, psychiatric or psychological, spiritual, material and social care when required in the cases provided by law.
- The right to intervene as a complainant in the process to demand the criminal responsibility of the defendant and to obtain civil compensation for the damages resulting from the crime.
- The right to receive protection when the judge and the competent court must decide or fix the amount of a release bond or grant a personal precautionary measure in substitution of preventive detention in favor of the defendant.
- The right to be informed about the course of the respective criminal proceedings and to receive explanations related to the development of the process.
- The right to be heard by the judge when he/she is present at the request for dismissal of charges presented by the Public Ministry or prosecutor’s office.
- The right to promptly receive the assets of their property or of their lawful possession seized as evidence during the criminal proceeding when they are not necessary for the purposes of the process.
- The right to receive free legal assistance from the state through a Panamanian lawyer to obtain reparation of the damage resulting from the crime and to cooperate with the prosecutor’s office in the exercise of the criminal action.
- Any other right that the laws indicate.
On the other hand, defendants have the following rights:
- The right to presumption of innocence
- The right to know the reasons for their detention
- The right to communicate with a family member and with their defense lawyer in Panama.
- The right not to be subjected to arbitrary detention or investigative techniques that violate their dignity or alter their free will.
- The right to an attorney
- The right to a certified translator or interpreter, if they do not understand the Spanish language.
- The right not to testify against themselves
- The right to appeal
- The right to be brought before a court or judge promptly
- The right not to be discriminated against
- The right to be treated well and to be fed
- The right to health in Panama
- The right to receive periodic information about their legal situation from their private attorney or public defender or from the Panamanian Penitentiary System.
If you need to speak with a criminal defense attorney or a legal translator in the Republic of Panama, please send us a message.