Panama: Authority of Consumer Protection and Competition Defence

In summary

During 2019, ACODECO held the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Network of National Authorities in Charge of Competition Issues (RECAC) and, in 2020, occupied the pro tempore Secretariat of RECAC. During 2019–2020, ACODECO has: supported an Inter-American Development Bank-financed project on competition in air transport in Central America; updated and given more disclosure to the corporate programme in accordance with competition law in Panama; and continued to promote the programme of inter-institutional agreements, which allows joint efforts to facilitate the detection of possible restrictions on free competition and free market participation in public purchases made by state entities.

Discussion points

• ACODECO compliance programmes
• Competition in air transport in the region
• Competition guidelines
• Confidentiality requests

Referenced in this article

• Central American Network of National Authorities in Charge of Competition Issues
• Inter-American Development Bank
• Inter-institutional agreements
• Compliance programmes
• Public policy

During 2019, ACODECO held the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Network of National Authorities in Charge of Competition Issues (RECAC) and, in 2020, it occupied the pro tempore Secretariat of RECAC. As a member of the network, we actively collaborate to strengthen the protection of competition in Central American markets. During this period, we have supported the ‘Diagnosis of conditions of competition in air transport of passengers of the Central American region and proposed public policy national application derived from the diagnosis’ project, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, as this is a topic of interest shared by the competition authorities of Central America, including the Dominican Republic.

One of ACODECO’s free competition functions is to establish compliance programmes to prevent restrictive competition practices. To fulfil this function, the corporate programme was approved in 2018 in accordance with the Competition Law in Panama. During 2020, we have updated the programme and have made it more widely known, so that economic agents interested in complying with the Competition Law are aware of the benefits of self-regulation in creating an organisational culture of compliance with free competition rules that prevent anticompetitive practices when the guidelines established by the programme are followed.

Also in the area of promoting competition, during this period we continue to promote the programme of inter-institutional agreements, which allows joint efforts to facilitate the detection of possible restrictions on free competition and free market participation in public purchases made by state entities.

Convinced of the importance of generating greater transparency in ACODECO’s decisions on free competition and to help increase legal certainty, in this period we will evaluate the generation of new guidelines for economic agents on different aspects related to free competition; for example, in areas related to hiring or remuneration policies or in aspects related to confidentiality requests.