Panamá América Reports Constitutional Court Decision on E-Cigarettes

Regulations by 2FIRSTS.ai
May.16.2024
Panamá América Reports Constitutional Court Decision on E-Cigarettes
Panama's Supreme Court declares law banning e-cigarettes and vaping devices unconstitutional, sparking debate over legislative process.

According to the Panamá América news website, the Supreme Court (CSJ) ruled on May 15 that Law 315 of June 30, 2022, which prohibits the use, import, and marketing of e-cigarettes, tobacco vaporizers, and other similar devices containing or not containing nicotine, is unconstitutional.

 

According to the ruling, the above-mentioned law violated Article 170 of the Constitution, which states that if the executive branch as a whole opposes a bill, the bill will be sent back to the National Assembly for a third debate. If only part of the executive branch opposes it, it will go back to the second position, with the sole purpose of presenting the opposing views.

 

This provision also stipulates that if the National Assembly reviews any opposing opinions and the project receives approval from two-thirds of the representatives, the executive department will approve and enact it without the possibility of new opposing opinions. If the project does not receive approval from the required number of representatives, it will be rejected.

 

When initiating a legal lawsuit, the Association for the Reduction of Tobacco Hazards in Panama (ARDTP) stated that the legislation did not receive the required number of votes from representatives as mandated by the political constitution of the Republic of Panama.

 

He also criticized the addition of provisions beyond what President Laurentino Cortizo proposed in the aforementioned bill, which had a significant impact and changed the meaning of the CEO's proposed content.

 

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