Panama to host 104th regular session of the Inter-American Juridical Committee

USA / PANAMA – Panama City will host the 104th regular session of the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI) between March 11 and 15, 2024, according to the agreement signed today at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC.

The agreement was signed by the Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS, María del Carmen Roquebert León, and the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro. The CJI is the OAS advisory body on legal matters in charge of promoting the progressive development and codification of international law, and of studying the possibility of standardizing the legislation of the countries of the Hemisphere. The Department of International Law of the OAS serves as the Technical Secretariat of the Committee.

Ambassador Roquebert described it as “an honor” to sign the agreement on behalf of her country, and assured that “the CJI and the Department of International Law are two of the most valuable bodies in the Inter-American System.” “They are two pillars that serve the Member States and that can contribute very importantly to the institutionality of our foreign ministries.”

For his part, Secretary General Almagro recalled that “the OAS itself, being the first political forum in the Hemisphere, is based in law. The CJI is undoubtedly of high value to all of us, and it should have been used much more to resolve doubts, clarify paths, and be a tool to carry out the work of the Organization.

“Bringing the sessions to Panama, bringing the law of the Americas to all countries makes us proud to the extent that the countries use it; that is why what Panama is doing is a very important step that I hope will be replicated by others,” he added.

The CJI is a body of the OAS. More information is available here.