PHILIPSBURG:--- The parliament of St. Maarten unanimously passed a motion on Monday to deem the protocol signed in May 2015 by former Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson and the Minister of Interior and Overseas Affairs Ronald Plasterk on the establishment of the Integrity Chamber.
The motion cited that the signed protocol which was also passed by the then majority in parliament that since the protocol did not get the approval of the Ombudsman and it was also thrown out by the Constitutional Court makes it null and void.
The motion passed on Monday will be sent to government and parliament of countries Aruba and Curacao, the island councils of the BES islands and Bonaire.
Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr in his presentation said that the Minister of Justice of St. Maarten cannot represent the Council of Ministers, especially when attending JVO meetings. Gibson said that if the Minister of Justice signs off on decisions that were not approved by parliament and the Council of Ministers then those agreements are null and void. He also explained what happened to St. Maarten in the case of the ACTPOL when St. Maarten were denied access to the system that has all information on persons residing on St. Maarten. The Minister of Finance again explained that St. Maarten was not involved in the setting up of the ACTPOL and the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten did not sign any agreement to pay for the services of the ACTPOL. He made clear that while St. Maarten was accused of being “bad” and not paying its debts, the fact of the matter is St. Maarten COM did not sign off on any agreement and whatever the Minister of Justice signs off on without the blessings of the Council of Ministers then it is not valid.
Prime Minister William Marlin in his presentation said that while the MP’s did not ask much questions but rather made more statements, he responded to at least one question where he was asked if the former government took a decision and ratified the protocol. Marlin said he was not in government at the time and he cannot say whether or not they did but the fact that the former government began executing the protocol shows that they had agreed to it.
