The plenary of  Panama’s  Supreme Court which is discussing its competence  to judge the wire-tapping case  against ex-president Ricardo Martinelli  was declared in permanent session after  meeting from 9 a.m. to  3.35 p.m.  on  Thursday,  December 6

It will meet again on  Friday, at 9:00 am, to discuss the draft decision that declines the competence of the process followed by Martinelli, for presumed embezzlement and crimes against the inviolability of secrecy and the right to privacy.

The magistrates were summoned to discuss the draft decision prepared by the rapporteur Oydén Ortega, who granted an appeal for guarantees presented by Luis Eduardo Camacho González  one of Martinelli’s battery of lawyers,

Martinelli's lawyer, in which he claims the loss of the Court's jurisdiction to prosecute his client, since he lost his deputy status when he resigned from the Central American Parliament ( Parlacen ), at the end of l July.

It was the second time that they met to discuss Ortega's project. The first was on November 29, when it was agreed to introduce modifications proposed by four magistrates.

Civil groups and legal observers are concerned that if the Supreme Court does not hear the case and it is handled by a lower court, the judge will be overwhelmed by delaying tactics and legal maneuvers introduced by a phalanx of high profile lawyers.

Prosecutor Harry Diaz is calling for a 21-year jail term for Martinelli.