Constitution of Panama

Panama's current constitution was promulgated in 1972 under General Omar Torrijos following the 1968 military coup, the country's fourth constitution after those of 1904, 1941 and 1946, and it was substantially amended in 1978, 1983, 1993, 1994 and 2004. As originally enacted its article 277 granted Torrijos the title Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution with near-absolute powers for six years; the 1983 amendments that followed eliminated the military's formal political role, reduced the presidential term to five years and strengthened judicial independence. The amended document runs to 328 articles across a preamble and 15 titles, including provisions on the Panama Canal.