Partial Veto of Bill 61 on Cybercrimes in Panama

Analysis of the reasons for the presidential veto and observations on the regulation of cybercrime offenses

The President of the Republic of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, partially vetoed the Proyecto de Ley 61, ‘Por el cual se adoptan medidas contra la ciberdelincuencia y se dictan otras disposiciones’ . 

Bill No. 61, which was approved in third reading by the full National Assembly of Deputies of Panama in October 2024, seeks to fill a gap in Panamanian criminal legislation by establishing new criminal offenses for unlawful conduct that, until now, was not regulated and is known as Cybercrimes.

The Bill also aims to align Panama's criminal legislation with the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, a Council of Europe treaty.

Main Objections Raised by the Executive Branch

The main aspects on which the President of the Republic based the non-enactment of the Bill were:

• Non-consensual dissemination of intimate content
• Identity theft
• Malicious software
• Data preservation and disclosure