The loan agreement secured by mortgage is a legal and financial concept that has undoubtedly been a pillar of world economic progress. Hence, the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama in some of its judgments has given it its importance as part of the economic public order ...
The role of the Millennial lawyers and the recent incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in law firms are current trending topics. As a 27-year old associate of a law firm based in Guatemala City, every time I read about AI and that global law firms are incorporating AI to their practice, I ask myself, will I be replaced by it (or IT) ...
In the framework of a globalized world and social networks that are established as a measure of possible interest of economic, social and political groups, data protection regulations become more relevant ...
Morgan & Morgan opened its first offices in The Bahamas since 1991. We created MMG (Bahamas) Ltd. as a corporate service and later on, in 1996, founded MMG Bank & Trust Ltd., which started our financial unit´s successful path into the financial service industry ...
Law 40 has, among other, some provisions that affect the workplace, such as the following: Obligations and prohibitions for employers: Any discrimination and stigmatizing or segregating act is prohibited to the detriment of those affected, as well as against their relatives and friends. Every employer is obliged to implement practical ILO recommendations on STI and HIV, and must take all necessary measures to effectively protect the life and health of its affected workers ...
Last year Panama joined the list of countries that have established quotas as a mean for reducing the gender gap. Law 56 of 2017 creates a women quota of 30% on corporate boards of public entities and certain private entities. The Law was recently regulated through Executive Decree 241-A of 2018 ...
According to the bill, online purchases will also be taxed Recently, the government announced the submission of the latest tax reform to the Legislative Assembly, which is called the Public Finance Enhancement Plan. This new tax package is the merging of four projects that have been floating around the Legislative Assembly for a few months now ...
The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines sexual harassment as “any conduct of unwanted sexual nature that, according to the reasonable perception of the recipient, interferes with their work, is established as a condition of employment or creates an intimidating hostile or offensive work environment ...
“We simply cannot go on with this utterly outmoded way of working…Endlessly re-keying in the same information; repeatedly printing and photocopying the same documents; moving files about, losing all or parts of them in the process… It is a heavy handed, duplicative, inefficient and costly way of doing our work and it is all about to go. Considerably past time, we will finally catch up with the world.” Sir Brian Leveson ...
Guatemalan respected Judge Erika Aifan issues a historical ruling in a criminal case brought against construction companies. A plea bargain was reached under an abreviated process allowed under Guatemala´s Criminal Law where senior executives for the companies accepted making facilitation payments to the ex-Minister of Construction in order to accelerate backed payments owed for previous construction deals ...
Speaking of compliance with tax obligations comes to our mind the duty to pay taxes (noun) as the Tax on the Transfer of Goods and Provision of Services (VAT) or Income Tax (ISR), which undoubtedly It is true; but equally certain it is that with the payment obligation exists another set of obligations formal or adjective. In this dual context of formal and substantive tax obligations, is of great relevance filing tax returns ...
Neutrality is a basic concept in tax policy which establishes that a tax system should not interfere in the decision-making process, so that the decision should be taken based on its economic merits and not in its tax implications. Of course, this is not an absolute principle because it is understood that absolute neutrality is impossible to achieve ...
Diversity has been a trending topic for the last years. It shows that we, as a society, are acknowledging the past practices of our industries in which one small group of individuals have a platform to thrive and grow within our institution while other groups might have a harder time. There are exceptions to this rule, but it is undisputable that for certain people due to their sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. it’s harder to break the glass ceiling ...
Most of holidays and national mourning that are covered by Article 46 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Panama are in November, December and January. In fact, they are considered as such, November 3, 5, 10 and 28; December 8 and 25; and on January 1 and 9 ...
Central America is at an inflection point regarding acceptable compliance and conformity. Among all the anxiety and instability that change will bring, it is welcoming to see that separate disciplines are pushing towards similar objectives in Corporate Governance. A quick discussion on Director´s Responsibility provides a glimpse on how new Governance issues will reshape slanted interpretations of the law ...
Introduction. Panama has become a popular destination to immigrate in the region, due to its economic growth and socio-political stability which contrasts with other neighboring countries´ intricate conditions. Within the last decade, multiple infrastructure projects, as well as incentives favorable to establish and operate multinational companies have resulted in an increase of foreign nationals within the country, creating a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society ...
Act 27 was published in the Official Gazette No. 28285-B earlier this year, establishes the Paternity Leave, applicable both to employees of private sector, as well as to public servants, effective since May 25th, 2017.This Act, whose initiative was promoted by the Ministry of Labor, is based on the duty of the Panamanian state to protect the family, sacred in our Constitution ...
Today, we are at a time where two-generation professionals are actively developing and competing with each other within their own career. The well-known "millenials" or generation "Y", born according to some analysts between the years 1981 to 1999, and where the majors of this generation are already in the 36 years of life, and those of the generation X ...
Growth of the real estate industry in Panama in recent years is noticeable, not just locally but at a regional level as well. Iconic architectural works such as the Trump Tower, F&F Tower (popularly called the “Screw”) among others, attracts positive criticism from different actors in the business and associations in the construction, development and promotion of the real estate business. In part, real estate growth in Panama is due to the ease in the execution of real estate transactions ...
Guatemala is experiencing an unprecedented and well-deserved offensive against corruption. An Ex-President and Vice-President along with many ex-Cabinet members are currently being prosecuted for a growing array of crimes including passive graft, money laundering and tax fraud, among others. The indictments are being brought through the efforts of a UN-sponsored commission which, until recently, had limited success in dismantling “organized crime”, its principal mandate ...
Using the Infrastructure Development Partnership Law (Ley de Alianzas para el Desarrollo de Infraestructura Económica) enacted in 2010 and its specific Rules, the Guatemalan Government through the corresponding government agencies (Agencia Nacional de Alianzas para el Desarrollo de Infraestructura Económica – ANADIE and the Programa Nacional de la Competitividad – PRONACOM), is promoting a project portfolio under BOP scheme (built/operate/transfer) ...
<table border="0" width="780" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p>To date, under Panama law (and ever since 1917<a name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="wsg_admin14 ...
Although many of us still wonder at a drone cruising the sky, it has become relatively common to see these devices around. Drones are used for commercial, industrial, marketing and informational purposes, and also for pure fun and enjoyment. Drones, technically referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are now part of our lives. As many other aspects of day-to-day life, there is a regulation in Guatemala that applies to drones, though it is scarcely known by the general public ...
The possibility of buying real estate rests normally on the capacity of an individual or company to acquire debt, reason why credit entities play an essential role in the success of the real estate market. Lately, we have noticed that in addition to the traditional loan guaranteed by a mortgage, there is an offer for loans guaranteed by a security trust ...
Growth of the real estate industry in Panama is evident everywhere. Skyscrapers that could very well be found in large cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong or Miami, rise proud in former residential and colonial areas of Panama city. Panama’s architectural identity is driven by important local and international architects, and symbolic buildings such as the Biodiversity Museum and the F&F Tower, also known as ‘the Screw’ ...
