Part 2 National and Regional Reports, Part 2.5 Latin America: Coordinated by Lauro Gama and José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, 62 Panama: Panamanian Perspectives on the Hague Principles

Abstract

This chapter studies Panamanian perspectives on the Hague Principles. In relation to obligations and contracts, the Panamanian Civil Code reproduces Book IV, ‘Of Obligations and Contracts’, of the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, but contains a number of important differences in other sections. In terms of sources of law, statutes occupy the most prominent position among sources of law. Consequently, neither interpretations given by Panamanian courts, nor decisions on previous cases, are binding for courts that must then decide on similar cases, even when the same provisions apply. Nevertheless, judicial decisions may, and in fact usually do, serve as an illustration on the correct application or interpretation of a legal rule. It is in this limited context that the Panamanian courts may refer to the Hague Principles and other principles of private international law and/or international contracts. The latter will not have an automatic or binding effect, but they may provide legal authority upon which the court may depend to properly interpret similar provisions of Panamanian private international law, or otherwise develop and complete legal gaps in Panamanian private international law.