Mónica Castillo Arjona has a degree in Law and Political Sciences, a specialization in procedural law, is a candidate for a doctorate in Law and Social Sciences, and has 21 years of professional practice. She is a mediator and conciliator duly registered with the Ministry of Government.

She is qualified to practice both national and international arbitration. She has extensive experience and knowledge in administrative law, public procurement, litigation, arbitration and labor mediation. Her deep knowledge of the public sector has allowed her to serve for many years as an advisor to the State in highly complex issues related to the health, construction, transportation and energy industries. She has represented the Republic of Panama in the negotiation of Free Trade Agreements as an authority on public procurement. During the last 6 years she served as Secretary General of the Office of the Attorney General of the Administration, and as Alternate Attorney General of the Administration, during the period from January 2020 to September 2021. Regarding her previous experience in the private sector, she has had the opportunity to render services for important law firms and transnational companies in the Republic of Panama.

In the academic area, she has worked as a lecturer for the Universidad Latina de Panamá since 2003, and currently, she is the coordinator of the Diploma in Public Contracting. Mónica Castillo has acted as a lecturer both nationally and internationally on topics related to administrative contracting and labor law. She also works as a researcher, for which she is developing her doctoral thesis in relation to public-private collaboration. She has published several academic articles on topics related to administrative contracting.

• Candidate in Law and Social Sciences at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), Madrid, Spain. Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain. Course 2016-2024.
• Member of the Spanish Arbitration Club (CEA) since August 2021.
• Master’s Degree in Procedural Law, Universidad Latina de Panamá. 2003.
• Bachelor of Laws and Political Science, University of Panama, 1999.
• Diploma in Alternative Methods for Conflict Resolution.
• Universidad Latina de Panama, July 2009.
• Conciliator and Mediator, duly accredited through Registration No. 196, issued by the Ministry of Government and Justice, on June 24, 2004.
• Advanced Arbitration Course, organized by the International Center for Arbitration, Mediation and Negotiation (CIAMEN) of the Real Instituto Universitario de Estudios Europeos, Madrid, Spain with the collaboration of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) under the Recognised Course Provider (RCP) Program, February 2021.
• Course on Public-Private Partnerships: Implementing Solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, dictated by the Inter-American Development Bank. June 26, 2017. Duration 1 month.
• Professional suitability: year 2000.

Member

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArbs), since July 2021.
• Collaborator of the Obervatorio de Contratación Pública, since 2016, founded by the Government of Spain, the University of Zaragoza and Everis.
• Member of the Spanish Arbitration Club since 2021.
• Member of the Ibero-American Network of Public Procurement, since 2017. Organization coordinated by Dr. Jaime Rodríguez-Arana Muñoz, founded by Derecho Público Global, Grupo de Investigación; by Programa de Doctorado de Derecho Administrativo Iberoamericano; and Milema Proxecto.
• Member of the Ibero-American Institute of Constitutional Law, Panama Section.

Language

• Spanish
• English