The Supreme Court formalizes the resumption of court deadlines after the earthquake
Agreements 620 and 630 kept deadlines suspended in Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos and set their resumption as of October 19; their publication in the Official Gazette came on October 27.
Official Gazette No. 30643-A of October 27, 2026 published two agreements of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Justice that set the procedural calendar after the October 9 earthquake in the provinces of Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. Both had already been adopted: Agreement 620 on October 12 and Agreement 630 on October 16.
Agreement 620 maintained the suspension of deadlines and work in all judicial and administrative offices of the Judicial Branch in those four provinces, following the nationwide suspension ordered on the day of the earthquake through Agreement 619. It exempted the judicial offices of the Accusatory Criminal System, due to the nature of their functions, and the Children and Adolescents and Family jurisdictions for urgent measures. It also ordered the Technical Secretariat of Human Resources to prepare a report on affected staff and a contingency plan. Its recitals cite serious damage in some buildings, moderate or minimal damage in others and aftershocks of moderate to high intensity.
Agreement 630 ordered the resumption of court deadlines and work in all those offices as of Monday, October 19, 2026. Its recitals acknowledge that some buildings became unsafe to occupy and that the Court found alternatives to house those offices: those that pass technical inspection will operate in their premises and the rest in the facilities designated for that purpose. The text also invokes access to justice as a fundamental guarantee, especially for people in vulnerable conditions.
For lawyers, companies with litigation and individuals with pending cases, the relevant point is the calculation of deadlines: in those provinces the suspension applied from October 9 and deadlines resumed on October 19. Publication in the Official Gazette makes it possible to prove this formally in any dispute over expirations. In practice, those litigating in the region will need to check where each court is operating, because the agreements do not specify the alternate addresses. The rescheduling of hearings is not part of these texts either and will depend on each court.
Nexo Capital will follow the Judicial Branch's measures regarding the buildings affected by the earthquake.
Research assisted by Sentinel, with editorial verification of official sources. Discover Legislat.ai