PHILIPSBURG — The Association of St. Maarten Penal Law Scholars has approached Minister of Justice Anna Richardson with questions about the deployment of Curacao-based prosecutors, judges, judges of instruction, registrars and police officers that are associate with the TBO (Team Bestrijding Ondermijning) – the anti-corruption task force. The association’s chairman Cor Merx, secretary Safira Ibrahim and treasurer A. Richardson wonder whether the minister and the parliament are aware of the organization and whether TBO-staff operates in St. Maarten with or without the minister’s permission. “It is every time a mystery which crimes fall under undermining criminality but you can be…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Close to 4,000 infections, 183 people hospitalized and 57 deaths. Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday thus summarized the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the community of St. Maarten during his speech at the opening of the new parliamentary year on Tuesday. Of the 57 citizens who passed away, 29 died since June of this year. The Governor’s address outlines the Government’s response to the crisis and its policy plans for the coming year. Combating the pandemic’s impact is obviously at the top of the list. Economic activity dropped by 24 percent in 2020, the Governor said. The result…
PHILIPSBURG — With recent media reports indicating that 25 persons have been granted long-lease land in the so-called Vineyard Heights area of Over The Bank, Party for Progress (PFP) Member of Parliament (MP) Raeyhon Peterson submitted questions to Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert J. Doran on Wednesday to seek clarity about the developments. According to the reports, approximately 50 persons were awarded parcels of long-lease land in the area in 2016, and received draft Ministerial Decrees from the VROMI Ministry that advised them to approach the Kadaster’s Office for certificates of admeasurement. Now this…
WILLEMSTAD — By maintaining that marriage is only possible between a man and a woman is unlawful and in doing so, the government of Curacao violates article 3 of the constitution (the equality-principle), the Court in First Instance ruled on Monday. Two women who live in Willemstad and who want to solidify their 10-year long relationship with marriage initiated the lawsuit against the country, supported by the Curacao-based Human Rights Caribbean Foundation. Article 1:30 of the civil code states that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. This is at odds with article 3 of the constitution:…
PHILIPSBURG — On Saturday, September 11th, 2021, a group of taxi drivers representing the Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association, Airport Taxi Association and Down Town Taxi Association came out to help clean up the Harold Jack lookout point that is frequented by the island’s visitors and used as a stop on tours. Amongst the rubbish many face masks, plastic bags, glass bottles, napkins, foam food containers, cardboard boxes and some hurricane debris from Irma were removed. It took two dumpster loads and three trucks to haul away the amount of rubbish that the taxi drivers were able to collect. Unfortunately,…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – NV GEBE and their two (2) remaining members of the Supervisory Board of Directors lost both of the cases they filed against Country Sint Maarten on Friday, September 10th, 2021, the Cabinet of the Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI), said on Friday. The Shareholder will continue to address the current situation within NV GEBE. The first injunction case was deemed inadmissible because the plaintiffs did not take the right entity to court which should have been NV GEBE and not Country Sint Maarten. The claims in the…
WILLEMSTAD — Eighteen months of imprisonment and a 5-year ban on functioning as a public notary. That is the punishment the Court in First Instance handed down on Friday to Johnny Kleinmoedig for stealing around 1.4 million guilders (a bit more than $782,000) from his clients over a ten-year period. The verdict is more severe than the demand from the public prosecutor. The court ordered the immediate imprisonment of the defendant, even though the prosecutor had not asked for this measure. The court also ignored the prosecution’s suggestion to make 6 months of the prison sentence conditional. The 59-year old…
DUTCH QUARTER — Representatives of the Qredits organization and several volunteers braved the 90-plus degree weather in an effort to help clean up the Dutch Quarter district. The Qredits organization focused on the emergency homes in the district which is known as the 911 homes. Public Relations Officer and Q Care Manager Tishauna Richardson said the main reason for the initiative was to ensure that the organization was visible to the general public and to give back to the community. During the clean-up effort, several persons who live in the area came out to help by bringing out their garbage…
PHILIPSBURG — In 2014 the government appointed fourteen confidential advisors for a period of two years. After their tenure ended, no new appointments were made. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs expressed her government’s commitment to implement an advice from the Integrity Chamber about the confidential advisors in a letter dated August 9. So far, there has been no official announcement about the appointment of new confidential advisors. The Integrity Chamber issued its advice to the government in May of this year. “The Integrity Chamber recognizes the role of confidential advisors as a required component within the government’s infrastructure,” this advice states.…
PHILIPSBURG — Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday has confirmed the reappointment of Justice Bob Wit as the president of the Constitutional Court in a national decree dated August 19. The decree lists Bob Vermeulen as the Court’s newly appointed vice-president. Justice Wit will step down per January 1, 2023. On December 24, 2022 Wit turns 70. The national ordinance that regulates the Constitutional Court stipulates that members step down on the first day of the month after they have reached the age of 70. Ben Vermeulen was born on March 9, 1957 in Willemstad. He will be able to remain on…
