Translation Summaries

ARTICLE I — Purposes

The purposes of the Bank are: To assist in the reconstruction and development of territories of members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purposes, including the restoration of economies destroyed or disrupted by war, the reconversion of productive facilities to peacetime needs and the encouragement of the development of productive facilities and resources in less developed countries.

ARTICLE II — Membership in and Capital of the Bank

The original members of the Bank shall be those members of the International Monetary Fund which accept membership in the Bank before the date specified in Article XI, Section 2 (e). Membership shall be open to other members of the Fund, at such times and in accordance with such terms as may be prescribed by the Bank.

ARTICLE III — General Provisions Relating to Loans and Guarantees

The Bank may guarantee, participate in, or make loans to any member or any political sub-division thereof and any business, industrial, and agricultural enterprise in the territories of a member, with such conditions as the Bank considers prudent.

Artículo I — Propósitos

Los propósitos del Banco son: Contribuir a la obra de reconstrucción y fomento en los territorios de sus miembros facilitando la inversión de capital con fines productivos, incluida la restauración de las economías destruidas o desorganizadas por la guerra, la reconversión de los medios de producción a necesidades de tiempos de paz y el fomento del desarrollo de los medios de producción y recursos en los países menos desarrollados.

Artículo II — Membresía y Capital del Banco

Serán miembros originarios del Banco los miembros del Fondo Monetario Internacional que acepten ser miembros del Banco antes de la fecha estipulada en el Artículo XI, Sección 2 (e). La membresía estará abierta a otros miembros del Fondo, en las fechas y de conformidad con las condiciones que el Banco establezca.

Artículo III — Disposiciones Generales sobre Préstamos y Garantías

El Banco podrá garantizar, participar en o conceder préstamos a cualquier miembro o subdivisión política del mismo y a cualquier empresa comercial, industrial o agrícola en los territorios de un miembro, con las condiciones que el Banco considere prudentes.

Modulation:

"To assist in the reconstruction and development of territories" is rendered as "Contribuir a la obra de reconstrucción y fomento." The English infinitive "To assist" takes a direct role; the Spanish equivalent shifts the perspective by adding the noun "obra" (the work/undertaking), making the contribution more concrete and institutionally weighted. This is a modulation — a change in point of view that preserves legal intent while adapting to the conceptual frame natural in Spanish legal drafting.

Calque / Loan Translation:

 "Membership shall be open to other members of the Fund" is translated as "La membresía estará abierta a otros miembros del Fondo." The word "membership" has been borrowed directly into Spanish as "membresía," a calque from the English. While the traditional Spanish equivalent would be "afiliación" or "condición de miembro," international legal usage has standardized "membresía" across WBG documents — a clear example of loan translation driven by institutional terminology needs.

Equivalence:

"with such conditions as the Bank considers prudent" becomes "con las condiciones que el Banco considere prudentes." This is a formal equivalence — the clause structure, the subjunctive mood, and the legal meaning are all preserved. The translator uses the Spanish present subjunctive ("considere") to match the English modal nuance of "considers," since in Spanish legal registers the subjunctive is mandatory in dependent conditional clauses of this kind.

ARTÍCULO 1 — Objetivo

Esta Ley establece el régimen jurídico para regular la tenencia, porte, actividades de importación, exportación, comercialización, almacenaje, intermediación, transporte y tráfico de armas, municiones y materiales relacionados, por particulares, en desarrollo del artículo 312 de la Constitución Política.

ARTÍCULO 2 — Ámbito de Aplicación

La presente Ley regula la comercialización, tenencia y porte de armas de fuego, municiones y materiales relacionados dentro del territorio de la República de Panamá, que no sean armas y elementos de guerra cuya posesión es exclusiva del Gobierno Nacional, así como las actividades de transferencia, intermediación o transporte de armas de fuego, municiones y materiales relacionados realizadas desde o a través del territorio nacional.

ARTÍCULO 8 — Armas de Propiedad del Estado

Las armas registradas y municiones que sean propiedad del Estado solo podrán ser utilizadas por los miembros de los estamentos de seguridad cuando se encuentren en servicio. El porte y tenencia de las armas de fuego y municiones personales de los miembros de los estamentos de seguridad, cuando no estén en servicio, estarán sujetos a las disposiciones de esta Ley y su reglamento.

ARTÍCULO 15 — Clasificación de las Armas

Para los efectos de esta Ley, las armas se clasifican de la siguiente manera: Armas de destrucción masiva: cualesquiera tipos de armas defensivas u ofensivas cuya fabricación, tráfico y/o uso haya sido prohibido, incluso para los Estados, mediante tratados internacionales ratificados por la República de Panamá. Son armas de destrucción masiva las armas nucleares, las químicas, las biológicas y las toxínicas.

Article 1 — Objective

This Law establishes the legal framework to regulate the ownership, carrying, and activities of import, export, sale, storage, brokering, transportation, and trafficking of weapons, ammunition, and related materials by private citizens, pursuant to Article 312 of the Constitution.

Article 2 — Scope of Application

This Law governs the sale, ownership, and carrying of firearms, ammunition, and related materials within the territory of Panama, excluding weapons and military equipment whose possession is reserved exclusively for the National Government, as well as transfer, brokering, or transportation activities involving firearms, ammunition, and related materials conducted from or through national territory.

Article 8 — State-Owned Weapons

Registered weapons and ammunition belonging to the State may only be used by members of the security forces while on duty. The carrying and possession of personally-owned firearms and ammunition by members of the security forces while off duty shall be subject to the provisions of this Law and its regulations.

Article 15 — Classification of Weapons

For the purposes of this Law, weapons are classified as follows: Weapons of mass destruction: any defensive or offensive weapon whose manufacture, trafficking, and/or use has been prohibited — including for States — under international treaties ratified by Panama. Weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, chemical, biological, and toxin-based weapons.

Adaptation (Article 1):

The Spanish term "particulares" is rendered as "private citizens" rather than the more literal "private individuals" or "private parties." In Panamanian legal culture, "particulares" refers specifically to civilians as opposed to government or military actors — a distinction that is culturally embedded. The translator adapts this to "private citizens," a term that carries exactly the same socio-legal distinction in English-speaking jurisdictions, where it is used to contrast civilians from state agents. This is adaptation: replacing a source-culture concept with a culturally equivalent target-language one.

Generalization (Article 2):

The Spanish phrase "armas y elementos de guerra" (literally "weapons and elements/components of war") is translated as "weapons and military equipment." The term "elementos" is broad in Spanish, encompassing parts, components, accessories, and systems. Rather than attempting to list every possible category, the translator generalizes to "military equipment" — a wider, all-encompassing English term that covers the same legal ground without the need for further enumeration. Generalization is used here to produce a natural, legally inclusive target text.

Addition (Article 8): 

The Spanish text states that personal weapons of off-duty security personnel "estarán sujetos a las disposiciones de esta Ley." The translation renders this as "shall be subject to the provisions of this Law and its regulations" — adding "and its regulations" to reflect that the original article's next clause in the full legal text references the reglamento. This addition is technically justified because the Spanish legal system treats the ley and its reglamento as an inseparable normative unit. The translator adds this element to provide complete legal context for the English reader.