巴拿马共和国和巴拿马运河，在国际航运界赫赫有名。在巴拿马登记注册的船舶无论是数量还是吨位都是全球最大的。同时，巴拿马也是航运的热点区域，每年有21000多艘船舶挂靠巴拿马港口，14000多艘船舶通过巴拿马水域。
1982年3月，位于巴拿马运河区的一美国联邦地方法院处理了该区域的一个海事索赔案件。之后，巴拿马运河Torrijos-Carter条约签订，据此条约巴拿马共和国取得该区域海事管辖权。巴拿马海事法院于1982年依8号法令建立，法院的诉讼程序参照美国民事诉讼程序的模式。从1982年起，巴拿马海事法院作为一个专门法庭开始运作，法律规定其审判要参照海商法专家的意见。由于海事诉讼领域的实践不断增多，目前已经设立了两个专门的海事法院。
详细信息请参阅附件。
Ship Arrest in Panama
The Republic of Panama and the Panama Canal are brand names in international shipping. The Panamanian Ship Registry is the largest in the world in number of vessels as well as tonnage. The Panama Canal is a focal point since there are over 21,000 ships calling Panamanian Ports every year and over 14,000 of them transit the waterway.
Until March, 1982, a United States Federal District Court for the Canal Zone handled maritime claims at the Panama Canal. Since then, as a result of the Panama Canal Treaty Torrijos-Carter, Panama took over its maritime jurisdiction and the Maritime Court of Panama was created by Law 8 of 1982, which also adopted procedural rules closely patterned following the U.S. Rules of Civil Procedure. Since 1982 Maritime Court of Panama functioned as a specialized tribunal where the Judge is required by law to bear maritime law expertise; today there are two specialized maritime courts, being a direct consequence of a growing practice in the maritime litigation field.
See attached file: ALCO20130027 Ship Arrest in Panama.pdf
