Panama to Criminalize Paternity Fraud

The deputy from the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), Jairo Salazar, proponent of the initiative, clarified that classifying paternity fraud as a crime is not an act of persecution against anyone, and much less against women, but an act of balance. He stated that paternity fraud is not a private matter or a couple's disagreement, but a matter involving identity, dignity, and the most basic human right, which is the right to truth. The Crime of Paternity Fraud is also added to the Penal Code, which will be punished with two to five years in prison and a fine of between 100 to 500 day-fines. The legislative proposal proposes the criminal classification of paternity fraud, not as a mechanism for indiscriminate persecution, but as a deterrent tool against particularly serious behaviors of deception, concealment, or conscious manipulation of biological truth that injure fundamental legal assets such as the family, public faith, the administration of justice, and patrimony. 'Paternity is worthy but paternity must be sacred,' said Salazar, adding that paternal love should not be used as an instrument of fraud. The Government, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Commission of the National Assembly unanimously adopted the draft bill No. 333 that punishes paternity fraud in the country. If fraud is proven, the filiation will be ordered to be canceled in the Civil Registry, all future legal obligations of the affected party will cease, and the right of the minor to claim their true filiation will be safeguarded. The draft bill also establishes explicit safeguards for the protection of the rights of the minor, guaranteeing that no judicial decision derived from the declaration of fraud implies abandonment, lack of protection, or violation of their fundamental rights, which will continue to be protected by the State in accordance with the Constitution and the law. 'When that truth collapses, not only do legal documents fall, trust is broken, family identity is fractured, legal security is eroded, because no child should grow up on a lie because every person deserves to know their true origin. Identity should not be an object of manipulation,' said the deputy. He said that this is not just a norm, but rather they are sending a message that the truth is not negotiable.