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Atlas v0.1 · Right to information · Right to service

Panama

Republic of Panama · ISO PAN

Panama has a rated national right-to-information law (adopted 2002, scored 93/150 by the RTI Rating, checked 2026-07-05), and no general right-to-service law has been found for it yet. Subdivision entries below marked “to confirm” are tasks, not facts.

Your first move, anywhere

Request legal route, responsible officer, fees, timeline, appeal route, and one high-value record: budget, contract, land, hospital stock, service standard, audit, court delay, police complaint, or procurement payment.

Convert the legal right into a citizen test: receipt, tracking number, statutory deadline, written reasons, actual record release, appeal, and proactive publication.

Capture flags to watch: Delay; discretion; opacity; fragmentation; fear; patron dependency; counterfeit transparency

Right to information

Sourced

National lawTransparency in Public Administration Law (2002) Official text still to confirm before you rely on it.
RTI Rating score93/150 · rank 55 · Moderate legal framework
Where the law is strong and weakRight of access 5/6 · Scope 29/30 · Requesting procedures 15/30 · Exceptions and refusals 16/30 · Appeals 16/30 · Sanctions and protections 2/8 · Promotional measures 10/16

Source: RTI Rating country data · last checked 2026-07-05

Right to service

Not found yet

StatusNo general RTS found yet; verification queue
Legal familyGeneral administrative law / ombudsman / digital service / sectoral service standards search route
Candidate route (to confirm)Search local-law terms for administrative procedure, good administration, public service user rights, citizen charter, service charter, anti-red-tape, one-stop shop, grievance redress, ombudsman and sectoral deadlines.
The usability test to runReceipt + tracking + deadline + written reason + appeal + remedy + claimant protection
NoteDo not count a Public Service Commission as RTS unless it creates enforceable service standards for citizens.

Sources: OECD Administrative Simplification

Help confirm this

Search the official gazette and government sites for: "Panama" "right to service" OR "public service guarantee" OR "citizen charter" OR "service charter" OR "administrative procedure" OR "ombudsman". Found the law? Send it through the route below.

Inside Panama: 14 subdivisions

Where a subdivision shows a cited law, the citation comes from the named source and the official text still needs confirming. Where it shows nothing, the national law may apply and the local rules are unconfirmed.

What to confirm at your local office, whichever subdivision you are in

Records that should already be published: Budget; procurement; contract awards; payment status; public land; service standards; audit reports; subsidies; court/police/hospital/school records.

CodeSubdivisionTypeAccess-law statusSource · checked
PA-1Bocas del ToroProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-10Panamá OesteProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-2CocléProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-3ColónProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-4ChiriquíProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-5DariénProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-6HerreraProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-7Los SantosProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-8PanamáProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-9VeraguasProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-EMEmberáIndigenous regionNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-KYGuna YalaIndigenous regionNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-NBNgäbe-BugléIndigenous regionNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
PA-NTNaso Tjër DiIndigenous regionNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Transparency in Public Administration Law (2002) To confirmsource · 2026-07-05

Right to service, all 14 subdivisions: No general RTS found yet; verification queue (inherited from the national status above).

Improve this page

If you can confirm any entry for Panama against the official text, send the law's title, the official link or scan, the office you dealt with, and the date. Every submission is reviewed before anything changes on this site; nothing publishes automatically. Route: the contact on the About page.

This atlas and the Capture Index never mix

The atlas is the open reference layer: every jurisdiction, graded, with unverified entries shown as tasks. The Capture Index is a separate scored product: verified sources only, with right of reply before publication.