Attorneys on strike, six court cases in jeopardy

GREAT BAY – The on-call attorneys go on strike starting today because the outstanding invoices dating back to December have not been paid in spite of earlier promises by Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman.

“Considering the pleasant talks we had with Minister Boasman at the end of March it is very disappointing that it has to come to this,” attorney Geert Hatzmann (see file photo) told this newspaper via email.

Hatzmann added in a follow up email that he had received a phone call from the spokesman of Minister Boasman who said that the minister had complied with all his obligations. “If we did not get paid we had to look for the cause at the Ministry of Finance,” Hatzmann stated. “Honestly, I cannot do anything with that. Our only concern is to get paid for the work we have done. The ministers have to figure out between them how that money becomes available. That is not our task. We call the minister of justice on it, because the on-call advocacy falls under his responsibility.”

There are six cases on the court schedule for tomorrow and the defendants are all represented by one of the on-call attorneys. Unless the defendants decide to let the court handle their case without legal representation, they will all have to be postponed.