In the light of recent revelations during the installation ceremony of the new Judge Gerben Drenth, it is apparent that the legal system in St. Maarten is in dire need of a comprehensive review and overhaul. With a backlog of cases, a lack of child rights protection, and a questionable legal position for bailiffs, the current state of affairs is not just alarming but also raises questions about the functionality and efficacy of our legal and judicial system. Firstly, the fact that there is no legal basis for the protection of children’s rights in St. Maarten is an outright scandal.…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — It is worrisome that after five years there still is no new Code of Criminal Procedure, Chief Prosecutor Hieke Buist said during the installation of Judge Gerben Drenth. She also addressed domestic violence and school-related violence. “Only Aruba signed the Code and will have it implemented in 2024. On St. Maarten it is still at the parliament to be reviewed and handled.” Buist pointed out that the new Code “will give civilians more strength against the governmental body responsible for investigation and prosecution. “It is not implemented and no one knows when it will be.” The Chief Prosecutor…
PHILIPSBURG — Using the English language more prominently in the courtroom will promote equitable access to justice, attorney Caroline van Hees, the Dean of the Bar Association, pointed out in a speech during the installation of Judge Gerben Drenth. “I support the use of the English language in the courtroom, because language should not be a barrier that prevents individuals from understanding and participating in legal proceedings,” Van Hees said. Making court proceedings easier to understand is “crucial for the public trust and accountability in the judiciary,” she added. “Being able to understand what is said during a court hearing…
PHILIPSBURG — Judge Mauritsz de Kort has urged St. Maarten to update its legislation during the installation of St. Maarten’s new judge Gerben Drenth. De Kort mentioned in particular the Bailiff’s Ordinance, the Code of Criminal Procedures and international treaties about children’s rights. When St. Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010, the legal basis expired for the previously valid rules of order for bailiffs. “This means that there has not been a proper legal position for bailiffs in St. Maarten for thirteen years,” De Kort said, adding that it is in…
By Hilbert Haar I am completely stunned by the way government-owned entities handle their personnel affairs. When you read the verdicts in the two GEBE-cases (against Sharine Daniel and against Clifford Sasso) there is only one conclusion. Hiring is weak and firing is even weaker. I can understand that organizations, be it in the private or the public sector, blooper at times with hiring new staff. Sometimes, you simply get screwed. I remember vividly an anecdotal story about the transfer of a Dutch journalist from a regional to a national newspaper. The regional newspaper was stuck with the guy and…
PHILIPSBURG — Utilities company GEBE has to admit Sharine Daniel to her work as Head Internal Auditor before September 6, the Court in First Instance ruled on Wednesday, August 30. The company had gone to court for permission to dissolve the labor contract with Daniel, but the court denied it and also denied Daniel’s financial counterclaim totaling 760,892 guilders ($425,079) as compensation for the dissolution of her contract, missing out on the appointment as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and for legal costs. GEBE hired Daniel on June 16, 2013, on a permanent contract as its head internal auditor for…
PHILIPSBURG — Utilities company GEBE is paying a hefty price for the dissolution of its labor contract with human resource manager Clifford Sasso. The Court in First Instance allowed the termination of the relationship, but GEBE has to pay Sasso 264,801 guilders gross ($147,934) in compensation. The troubled relationship between GEBE and Sasso has a long history. Sasso started working as the company’s human resources manager more than twenty years ago, on November 1, 2000. For seventeen years in a row everything appeared to be peachy, but then, on April 12, 2018, GEBE gave Sasso a written warning saying he…
PHILIPSBURG — Party for Progress (PFP)-MP Raeyhon Peterson is not amused by the attack on his integrity by UP-leader MP Rolando Brison and by Brison’s suggestion that the overdevelopment of Mullet Bay is due to rental agreements Peterson (allegedly) issued while he was acting head of Domain Affairs. Peterson dismantled these allegations in great detail in a PFP press release. The Nature Foundation submitted a petition to the Parliament’s Petitions Committee expressing concern about the overdevelopment of Mullet Bay but, according to Peterson, the reactions from Ministers Arthur Lambriex (TEATT) and Egbert Doran (VROMI) were “nonchalant.” Adding insult to injury,…
PHILIPSBURG — Former Minister of Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and infrastructure (VROMI) Angel Meyers is not the only one to get criticized after the recent court ruling about rights of long lease in the Over the Bank area. MPs Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson (Party for Progress, PFP) and independent Mp Ludmila de Weever also point their fingers at the current VROMI Minister Egbert Doran. The court ruled on August 22 that the country is not bound by promises of rights of long lease to parcels of land in Over the Bank former Minster Angel Meyers made to six…
WILLEMSTAD — The Fair Trade Authority Curacao (FTAC) fined accountancy Ernst&Young 400,000 guilders (close to $ 223,500) for failing to report a so-called concentration. The company appealed the decision, but the court in Willemstad ruled that the fine is justified. The term concentration refers to obtaining control over one or more companies, in this case, Ernst&Young’s competitor KPMG. In 2018 local media reported about a merger between Ernst&Young Dutch Caribbean and KPMG Dutch Caribbean. On December 31 of that year KPMG International revoked KPMG Dutch Caribbean’s license. The FTAC started an investigation based on the media reports. Ernst&Young denied to…
