REVISTA APADEMAR 40° ANIVERSARIO Revista Apademar-Web (1) | Page 8

A S O C I A C I Ó N PA N A M E Ñ A D E D E R E C H O M A R Í T I M O APADEMAR 8 Asociación Panameña de Derecho Marítimo El registro de embarcaciones bajo la bandera panameña existía desde el año 1917 con la Ley 63, pero, es la Ley 14 de 1980 la que, al crear la figura de la inscripción preliminar de títulos e hipotecas navales a través de Consulados, le da el impulso definitivo para colocar a la Marina Mercante de Panamá en el sitial que aún hoy ocupa: el país con mayor número de naves en el mundo. sado en sus funciones por mandato del tratado entre Panamá y Estados Unidos. Hasta ese momento, sólo algunos pocos abogados panameños pudieron ingresar y litigar en la Zona del Canal. Para reemplazar este sistema, se crearon los Tribunales Marítimos de Panamá por la Ley 8 de 1982 con competencia privativa en actos rela- tivos al comercio, transporte y tráfico marítimos ocurridos en Panamá, in- cluidos los puertos y aguas del Ca- nal. Los procedimientos, en realidad, fueron casi los mismos que aquellos seguidos por el Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos: ejercer juris- dicción sobre los buques y su carga en tránsito por el Canal de Panamá y otros puertos en todo el país. El registro de embarcaciones bajo la bandera panameña existía desde el año 1917 con la Ley 63, pero, es la Ley 14 de 1980 la que, al crear la figura de la inscripción preliminar de títulos e hipotecas na- vales a través de Consulados, le da el impulso definitivo para colocar a la Marina Mercante de Panamá en el sitial que aún hoy ocupa: el país con mayor número de naves en el mundo. Panamá beneficia desde entonces a la comunidad marítima internacional ofreciendo una admi- nistración marítima eficaz y profe- sional, respaldada por abogados pa- nameños como Agentes Residentes de naves, y la hipoteca naval como una robusta garantía disponible desde el momento exacto en que es requerida por los usuarios de la Marina Mercante. Con el apoyo de la APADEMAR, se elaboró un régimen de incentivos legales para entidades de financia- miento y proyectos marítimos que fue aprobado mediante la Ley 50 del 28 de junio de 2017 Con la creación de la Autoridad Marítima de Panamá el 10 de febre- ro de 1998, se unifican las distintas competencias marítimas de la admi- nistración pública en este organismo y, producto de una iniciativa de revi- sión de toda la legislación relativa al sector marítimo en el año 2006, na- cen, con el apoyo de la APADEMAR y otras asociaciones relacionadas al sector, la Ley General de Puertos, la Ley General de Marina Mercante, la Ley de Comercio Marítimo y la re- forma al Código de Procedimiento Marítimo, que, unidas a la Estrate- gia Marítima Nacional, sustentan la visión del país marítimo del que somos parte. Hoy, la Asociación Panameña de Derecho Marítimo responde con energía a los nuevos retos que la in- dustria propone y a los cambios sus- tanciales que la dinámica mundial exige. Desde la paridad, la transpa- rencia y la búsqueda del bien común. (Por: María Eugenia Talavera). ❱❱ APADEMAR 9 Asociación Panameña de Derecho Marítimo Dámaso Díaz as Deputy Treasurer, Rodrigo Vives, Secretary and Diego de la Guardia as Deputy Treasurer. This Board Of Directors would hold until 1981 under the same presidency but with some new members, including Woodrow de Castro in the vice-presidency, Eric Sierra González in the Secretariat, Eduardo de Alba as Deputy Treasurer, Dámaso Díaz as Treasurer and Berta Ramona Thayer as Deputy Treasurer, becoming the first female lawyer to be a members of the board of directors of the organization. On February 13, 1981, after two years of exercise and becoming more consolidated they decide to change the name to Panamanian Maritime Law Association, thus giving an expeditious pass to the new Boards of Directors of APADEMAR, each of which contributed at its time for the maritime laws to be consistent and in line with the structural framework of the new maritime and logistical reality that envisioned the country. The first challenges for maritime lawyers gathered at APADEMAR were those related to the return to Panama of ports and railways and the District Courts of the Atlantic sector of the Canal Zone. Let us remember that up until 31 March 1982 when they were closed pursuant to the Panama Canal Treaties, the former United States District Court of the Canal Zone operated in Panama. Until that time, only a few Panamanian lawyers were able to enter and litigate in the Canal Zone. To replace this system, Panama´s Maritime Courts were created pursuant to Law 8 of 1982, with exclusive jurisdiction on acts relating to trade, transport and maritime traffic within Panama including its ports and the Canal waters. The procedures were almost the same as those of the U.S. District Court: Exercising jurisdiction over A S O C I A C I Ó N PA N A M E Ñ A D E D E R E C H O M A R Í T I M O ships and their cargo transiting in the Panama Canal and other ports throughout the country. Registration of vessels under Panama flag existed since 1917 with Law 63, but, Law 14 of 1980 thrusted the Panama Merchant Marine to the number one position it holds by creating the service of preliminary registration of title and ship mortgages through Panama Consulates. Panama offers the international maritime community since then a professional and effective administration, supported by Panamanian lawyers as Resident Agent of vessels, and the ship mortgage as a strong guarantee available as of the exact time it is required by users of the Panama Registry. With the support of APADEMAR a new incentives regime for maritime financing entities was passed by means of Law 50 of 28 June 2017. With the creation of the Panama Maritime Authority on 10 February 1998, the various maritime competences of the public administration were unified in this body and, as a result of a 2006 initiative to review all the maritime related legislation and the support of APADEMAR and other associations, the Ports General Law, the Merchant Marine General Law, the Maritime Trade Law and the reform to the Maritime Code of Procedure were enacted, which together with the National Maritime Strategy, support the vision of the maritime country of which we are part. Today, the Panamanian Maritime Law Association responds vigorously to the new challenges that the industry proposes and to the substantial changes that global dynamics demand. From parity, transparency and the search for the common good. (B y M aría E ugenia T alavera ). APADEMAR Writing our history Certainly the fundamental driving force behind the creation of the Panamanian Maritime Law Association was the historic fact that, two years earlier, in Washington City, on September 7, the Head of State of Panama, Omar Torrijos, and US President Jimmy Carter signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, ending the American jurisdiction in the Panama Canal and opening the Canal gates to Panamanian hands. Thus, on October 1, 1979, the Canal Zone ceased to exist as a geopolitical entity. Written on indelible ink where the clauses recognizing the sovereignty of Panama over its Canal and 31 December1999 as the date when it would be under full management of Panama. The administration of the Canal, its defense and protection, the economic benefits and lands returned to Panama, among which were infrastructure such as the Railroad, the Ports of Balboa and Cristóbal and Fort Gulick, and the Treaty on Neutrality, demanded a legal framework to give context and boost the development of the new sociopolitical reality that Panama has accomplished. This is the historical context in which, during the government of Demetrio Lakas, the Panamanian Maritime Law Association was established on July 26, 1979, initially as the Panamanian Institute of Maritime Law. It is of justice to mention its founders: José Angel Noriega, Eduardo de Alba, Rodrigo A. Vives, Eloy Benedetti, Eloy Alfaro, Teodoro Franco, Alfonso Arias, Jaime Mora, Luis A. Hincapié and Julio Quijano. An interim Board of Directors was established until August 2, consisting of José Angel Noriega, Eduardo de Alba and Rodrigo Vives, and then the first Board of Directors was elected giving birth to the organization with José Angel Noriega as president, Theodore Franco as Treasurer, 35 years Expertise in legal matters regarding Administrative, Commercial and Maritime Law in Panama. BANK ACCOUNTS IN PANAMA CORPORATIONS RESIDENCY PERMITS PRIVATE INTEREST FOUNDATIONS SHIP REGISTRATION AND FINANCING REAL ESTATE Suite 406-407, Tower B, Torre de las Américas, Punta Pacífica, Panama Tel. [phone] • E-mail [email protected] www.mata-kelly.com