Attorneys march over Illidge Road, briefly bringing traffic to a standstill. Photo Today / Milton Pieters

GREAT BAY – The pro bono lawyers will not give up their strike until there is a solid agreement with the justice ministry about the payment of outstanding invoices and an adjustment of tariffs that haven’t changed since 1993.

On Friday, attorneys assembled in the parking lot of Today for a march on the office of Justice Minister Edson Kirindongo. The criminal defense attorneys received support from civil law attorneys from of office of BZSE. The attorneys started their march on Walter Nisbeth Road near the Beach Plaza Casino and then turned onto Illidge road towards the nearby ministry. They entered the building, only to find that the minister was not available. They were told that the minister was in a meeting and join them shortly, but he never did.

Currently, pro bono attorneys receive 900 guilders for handling cases of criminal suspects who cannot afford legal assistance. They also receive 75 guilders for attending interrogations and the arraignment at the judge of instruction. These interrogations at times take several hours and at other times attorneys have to wait for more than an hour before an interrogation begins.

An interpreter who translates for suspects in court earns 75 guilders per hour, from the moment a court session begins until it ends.

The attorneys want the justice ministry to increase the pro bono tariff from 900 to 1,800 guilders; Curacao has already implemented such a tariff.

The lawyers waited for quite some time in a conference room at the justice ministry for the minister. Attorney Shiara Bommel noted that her colleague Geert Hatzmann had brought the situation to the public eye several week ago (on September 6) and that nothing is happening. “The minister has had enough time to take measure, and he is responsible. There are hearings of the Appeals Court coming up and the stakes in those cases are high.” Bommel noted that a prosecutor said already in court that a strike by attorneys is not a reason to postpone the handling of a case

“The court has observed that we have been working for 75 guilders for years and that this cannot continue,” Bommel continued.

The sentiment among the protesting attorneys was unanimous: they will stick to their guns until there is a real solution.

When the minister did not show up, the attorneys took their plight to the new government administration building on Pond Island where the soft opening was about to get underway on Friday morning.

With Hatzmann in the lead, the attorneys stepped up to the front door of the building and refused to leave until they had spoken to the minister of justice. They only left after briefly speaking with Prime Minister William Marlin who promised them the first meeting in the new building immediately after the opening ceremony.

But that meeting did not bring a solution either. The justice ministry has spent its budget on other things, but the attorneys have just one demand: they want their money and they want it now.

Strike continues to affect court cases

Cor Merx, chairman of the criminal justice section of the Bar Association said that the meeting with the prime minister and the justice minister produced “all kinds of stories about budget and complicated other stories. We have only one question: we want our money. Period.”

Merx said that the justice minister has asked other ministries to help out with a budget amendment. “That has to be discussed in the Council of Ministers. Everything was supposedly going to be alright, but we do not believe in that. We want to see money or have a concrete promise because there is no Council of Ministers meeting until later this week.”

We will continue with the strike until there is a solution, Merx noted, adding that he did not like a remark made by Finance Minister Gibson during the soft opening of the government building about having been an attorney for forty years and that he would have handled the situation differently.

“Nobody asked for his opinion,” Merx said. “He an attorney for 40 years? He probably meant: an agent who is allowed to dress up in a gown. Do I become a woman when I dress up in women’s clothing? It was an unpleasant and meaningless remark.”

As things stand now, the strike will continue to affect court cases on Wednesday when there are six cases on the docket that all have the name of one of the striking attorneys attached to them.

Attorneys marching up the steps at the Justice Ministry building on the A.T. Illidge Road. Photo Today / Milton Pieters