Constitution of Panama

Panama is governed under the Constitution of Panama of 1972 as amended in 1978, 1983, 1993, 1994, and 2004. This is Panama's fourth constitution, previous constitutions having been adopted in 1904, 1941, and 1946. The differences among these constitutions have been matters of emphasis and have reflected the political circumstances existing at the time of their formulation.

Panama's successive constitutions have been respected to varying degrees by the republic's governments. Since the 1968 coup, opponents of various governments have accused them of violating the spirit and, at times, the letter of the constitution and of invoking the state of emergency provisions for purely political purposes. The creation of public confidence in the rule of law established by the constitution posed one of the major challenges to the government in the late 1980s.

The 1904 constitution, in Article 136, gave the United States the right to "intervene in any part of Panama, to reestablish public peace and constitutional order." Reflecting provisions of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, this confirmed Panama's status as a de facto protectorate of the United States. Article 136, along with other provisions of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, such as that giving the United States the right to add additional territory to the Canal Zone whenever it believed this was necessary for defensive purposes, rankled Panamanian nationalists for more than three decades.

In 1939 the United States abrogated its right of intervention in internal Panamanian affairs with the ratification of the Hull-Alfaro Treaty. The 1941 constitution, enacted during Arnulfo Arias's first, brief presidential term, not only ended Panama's constitutionally mandated protectorate status but also reflected the president's political views. Power was concentrated in the hands of the president, whose term, along with that of members of the legislature, was extended from four to six years. Citizenship requirements were added that discriminated against the nation's English-speaking black community and other non-Hispanic minorities.

In October 1941, President Arias was deposed by the National Police (the predecessor of the National Guard and the Panamanian Defense Forces), and the presidency was assumed by Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango. In 1946, President de la Guardia promulgated a new constitution, which was basically a return to the 1904 document without the offensive Article 136.

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