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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The National Environmental Authority will coordinate, together with the Authority of the Interoceanic Region, during the period that the latter is in force, all activities related to the integral management and sustainable development of the natural resources of the reverted areas and / or of the interoceanic region.
        
        The Administrator or the General Administrator of the Environment will be the legal representative of the National Environmental Authority, and will have the following functions:
        
        Direct and administer the National Environmental Authority .
        
        Prepare budget proposals and the annual plan of activities for the National Environmental Authority.
        
        Execute the policies, plans, strategies, programs and projects of competence of the National Environmental Authority.
  - - - Formulate the national policy for the environment and the use of natural resources, consistent with the development plans of the State.
      - Direct, supervise and implement the execution of environmental policies, strategies and programs of the government, together with the Interinstitutional System of the Environment and private organizations.
      - To dictate environmental standards for emission, absorption, procedures and products, with the participation of the corresponding competent authority in each case.
      - Formulate bills for the due consideration of the corresponding instances.
  - - - The National Environmental Authority is under the direction of a General Administrator or Administrator and a General Deputy Administrator or Deputy Administrator, appointed by the President of the Republic, who must meet the following requirements:
        
        Be of Panamanian nationality and of legal age.
        
        Not having been convicted of common crimes or against public affairs.
        
        Possess a university degree and suitability in a specialty, in environmental matters and natural resources, with proven experience of no less than five years.
        
        Be ratified by the Legislative Assembly. The National Environmental Authority in the scope of its functions, will be represented, before the Executive Branch, through the Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy (now converted into the Ministry of Economy and Finance).
- - - - The legal actions proposed by the State, municipalities, non-governmental organizations and individuals whose objective is to defend the right to a healthy environment , will be processed according to the summary procedure and will not cause legal costs, except in cases of reckless lawsuits.
  - - - Citizens, individually or legally associated, who report a crime or environmental infraction, will receive the same incentives contemplated in the tax legislation for cases of smuggling and others determined by the regulations of this Law.
  - - - Agents of the Public Ministry The Superior Environmental Prosecutor's Office is created based in the province of Panama, a Circuit Prosecutor's Office for the province of Colón and the San Blas Region, based in the city of Colón; a Circuit Prosecutor's Office based in the province of Panama, a Circuit Prosecutor's Office for the central provinces, based in the city of Penonomé; a Circuit Prosecutor's Office for the provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro,
        
        Circuit Judges In the First Judicial Circuit of Panama there will be a Criminal Circuit Judge, who will hear all environmental cases ordered by the Public Ministry; and a Civil Circuit Judge, who will know of environmental responsibility, in addition to the functions that, for these positions, the Judicial Code establishes. To be a Circuit Judge, established in the previous article, the same requirements established for this position in the Judicial Code are required, in addition to a minimum of five years of experience in environmental management.
  - - - Any natural or legal person that emits, dumps, disposes or discharges substances or wastes that affect or may affect human health, endanger or cause damage to the environment, affect or may affect essential ecological processes or the quality of life of the population , will have objective responsibility for the damages that may cause serious damages, in accordance with the provisions of the special laws related to the environment.
        
        Administrative liability is independent of civil liability for damage to the environment, as well as criminal liability that may arise from punishable or prosecutable acts.
- - - - The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic may carry out environmental audits in those activities, works or projects that are executed with public funds and State property.
        
        In this case, while the audit is being carried out and during the validity of the Environmental Management and Adaptation Program, other environmental standards and parameters than those contained in said Program will not be applicable.
  - - - The National Environmental Authority shall prepare, at the end of each government period, a report on the state of the environment, in accordance with the format and content established by the regulations for that purpose.
  - - - The environmental quality standards are mandatory throughout the national territory, and the competent authorities, the regions, the municipalities and the community will participate in their execution.
        
        The Executive Branch shall issue transitory environmental quality standards, aimed at recovering environmentally critical areas or overcoming contingency situations in cases of disaster.
  - - - The National Environmental Authority will coordinate with the Ministry of Education, and will support it, in the application of Law 10 of 1992, specifically in the incorporation of the Transversal Axis of Environmental Education in the communities.
  - - - The evaluation process of the environmental impact study includes the following stages:
        
        The evaluation of the environmental impact study and the approval, where appropriate, by the National Environmental Authority, of the study presented.
        
        The follow-up, control, inspection and evaluation of the execution of the Environmental Management and Adaptation Program (PAMA) and of the approval resolution.
        
        The presentation, before the National Environmental Authority, of an environmental impact study, depending on whether they are activities, works or projects, contained in the exhaustive list of the regulations of this Law.