Ownership Mullet Bay property may be illegal
PHILIPSBURG — “The ‘ownership’ of the property may already be illegal.” says MP Rolando Brison in response to an opinion piece by independent journalist Hilbert Haar published on StMaartenNews.com.
Haar’s take on the inquiry is that it is indeed time for appropriate action, however, he writes, buying or expropriating Mullet Bay is not going to be a walk in the park. “I think its a fair assessment to some extent but it has not gone far enough into what is expected of the Mullet Bay inquiry.” wrote MP Brison. It’s an okay take, he added.
Hilbert Haar’s opinion piece titled “Time for appropriate action” can be read in full online here.
MP Brison’s initial response to StMaartenNews.com was that it may very well not be a matter of expropriation but more a matter of reclamation as 50% of the Mullet Bay property may very well prove to be illegally owned by Sun Resorts based on existing laws, the member of Parliament pointed out.
“I think the inquiry has to look at Mullet Bay in two lights: 1) the parts that should belong to the government as per the law (the inland waterways, the coast, the beach, the sea, the main road) and 2) the rest of the property that has remained undeveloped for so long.” MP Brison explained.
“The inquiry is the tool we need to answer the questions left unresolved for so long: 1) How is it possible almost 50% of the property includes inland waterways, the coastline which conflicts with our laws and 2) what is the economic damage done to the country by Sun Resorts illegally inflating the value of the property on its books and keeping the property undeveloped for so long, and what action should be taken?” MP Brison further elaborated as he addressed the concerns outlined in Haar’s opinion piece.
“Also, Mr Haar mentions the constitution which does mention rights of ownership, but let us also remember the constitution also points to various national ordinances. In the case of expropriation the law national ordinance expropriation most certainly allows for action to be taken if the inquiry provides sufficient evidence of malpractice, illegal activities and thus, as posed by Haar, the question as to what ‘national/general interest‘ is can finally be answered by the inquiry commission supported by professionals and hard evidence collected under oath and subpoena.” MP Brison concluded his response.
Photo caption: Golf course on the Mullet Bay property owned by Hushang Ansary’s Sun Resorts. File photo.
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Related articles:
Opinion “Time for appropriate action” by Hilbert Haar
MP Rolando Brison refutes legal review of his inquiry-proposal by Dutch attorney
Editorial: “Mullet Bay to take center stage”
“Inquiry-proposal fully misses the point” says Dutch civil law attorney
MP Rolando Brison submits proposal for Parliamentary inquiry into Mullet Bay
Mullet Bay Parliamentary Inquiry proposal – full document
Video recording of MP Rolando Brison on Mullet Bay
[Publisher’s Note: StMaartenNews.com intends to seek the opinion of other legal minds on St. Maarten on the topic of the Mullet Bay parliamentary inquiry. This is the first time in our country’s history that such an instrument is being used and it will be very interesting to read what others have to say on this topic.]
