The introduction of the adversarial system to Panama’s courts in September will  speed up  the country’s lumbering court system with its huge backlog of cases.

It will be implemented first in Veraguas and Cocle says Judge Gustavo De Gracia during a presentation to the board of advisers  to the Parliamentary Studies Centre (PSC) of the National Assembly.

De Gracia said that by implementing this new system, preventive detention may not exceed one year as prosecutors and the judiciary will be required to advance the process and issuing the first ruling to be met before this period.

In addition said De Gracia  another aspect that will favor  defendants held in custody,  will  be their ability to appear before a judge who can  revise the arrest  and change criteria  at any time during the investigation. The judge, during a hearing  may order freedom or a less burdensome conditions and . ensure that through the adversarial system, criminal proceedings may streamlined to reduce the judicial backlog,