Icaza, Gonzalez-Ruiz & Aleman

A New Panama Canal Administrator is Appointed - The Panama Canal Authority contributed to the Panamanian Government, during the last fiscal year that ended September 30th, 2011, the sum of 1,043 million dollars. This amount breaks down to $366.9 million for fees for net ton, $1.9 million public service duty and $674.2 million for surplus.

In the Official Gazette N°26,757-B of April 5th, 2011 was published the Law N°32 of the same date whereby a special, comprehensive and simplified system for the establishment and operation of free zones is established and provides other provisions. For your convenience, we have prepared the following summary of this law.

On the 30th day of November of 2010, the governments of the Republic of Panama and of the United States of America (“USA”) signed an “Agreement for Tax Cooperation and the Exchange of Information relating to Taxes” (“the Agreement”).

It has been entrusted to ICAZA, GONZALEZ-RUIZ & ALEMAN the rendering of legal consultancy and assistance to the “Containers Control Program (CCP)”, under the supervision and the coordination of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

To whom does the property of an invention, whose creation is a direct consequence of a labor relationship, belong to? During 2009, multiple inquiries and queries related to the feasibility to limit or to restrict the property right on the ideas, the technical innovations or invents developed and obtained by the workers were received.

Law 81 of December 31st, 2009, published in Official Gazette No. 26438-B of the same date, is aimed to regulate the business of credit cards and other financing cards, as well as its use, in order to guarantee and protect the rights of the cardholders and regulate the relationships among the latter and the issuers of cards and the affiliated commerce.

In the Official Gazette N°26438-B was published the Law N°80 of December 31st, 2009, that recognizes the possessory rights and regulates titling in the coastal zones and the insular territory in order to ensure its optimum use and also enacts other provisions.