At the point the PAN is declared the aircraft is now in an emergency. The Commander would have been well within his rights to land at MME below minima...wouldn't he?
No... IMHO
Firstly, you are "never within your rights" to land below minima. It might be the only option possible... but you have still broken the law. The circumstances under which it occurred would see whether it was reported / followed up or even prosecuted
In most cases for professional aircrew, one would hope no follow up was required, other than discussing the lessons to prevent recurrance.
Secondly, I would suggest something as drastic as busting minima is like landing below Reserves, and would probably be a Mayday type context... Read Pan as "I need some help / priority handling" to keep in the ruleset. Mayday is the next step when you need top priority to minimise the extent of busting the ruleset
Just my 2ps worth...
NoD