PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten has finally established and put regulations in place for the Office of the Ombudsman, a public representative and a defender of the constitution for Country St. Maarten, after years of talking about it. The law on the Ombudsman was passed by the Island Council on Thursday along with several other "organic laws."
Those regulations, derived from articles and stipulations in the constitution, had to be in place ahead of the Round Table Conference (RTC) in The Hague on September 9 that will vet the readiness of St. Maarten and Curaçao to become countries within the Dutch Kingdom on 10-10-10.
The laws, although passed unanimously, were not without controversy. Opposition Democratic Party (DP) members criticised government for rushing the laws to the Island Council for approval, leaving little or no time for proper debate. They also pointed out that while the first Parliament is set to take office on October 10, that that should not be a basis to rush decisions through.
On government's side, Constitutional Affairs Commissioner William Marlin and National Alliance (NA) Island Councilmen Rodolphe Samuel and George Pantophlet said these were laws that should have been prepared or had been in preparation by the former DP government.
Marlin said the push to meet the deadline of the RTC was compounded by the lack of manpower in critical times, as well as the recent passing of Hurricane Earl that shut down the island for some 36 hours. He thanked the government's support staff and the DP members for their cooperation.
Independent Island Councilman Louie Laveist said it had been a long process, but while some might want to the laws to be perfect before they were passed, it was simply no such thing.
Responding to criticisms levied at his government, Commissioner Marlin said it was not the intention to have the Island Council rubber-stamp the laws, but with the time constraints "our backs are literally against the wall." He added that missing the deadline could have consequences for country status as negotiations to form a new government progressed between parties in the Netherlands that were not friendly to St. Maarten's cause.
He said the laws were "not engraved in stone" and the island could not become a country without a constitution and laws deriving from it. He said it would be up to the first Parliament to decide whether to make changes. The approval was to give that first Parliament the legal tools and instruments to do its job.
DP Island Council members Sarah Wescot-Williams, Maria Buncamper-Molanus, and Leroy de Weever called this approach "irresponsible," because it assumed that passing the laws without giving the people's representatives enough time to read the documents could cause problems in the future.
The regulation for the Office of the Ombudsman, including the salary, which will be equal to that of the highest-paid civil servant, was also passed by the council. The office will have its own budget and its staff will be civil servants. The person appointed to be the ombudsman will serve for a period of seven years with only a one-term renewal possible.
The Island Council will receive from the Executive Council soon a proposal for the appointment of someone to this post. Through this office, St. Maarten will have a unique place in the kingdom, as the ombudsman can challenge in the constitutional court laws made by Parliament that he or she finds are unconstitutional.
The ordinance regulating the Security Service for Country St. Maarten also was passed. This agency will work "clad in secrecy" to ensure that the national interests are protected and to gather informant on potential threats to democracy, Commissioner Marlin said.
The ordinance also outlines the task of the service to carry out background checks and "special investigations." Officers might intrude on someone's privacy in carrying out their duties; how this can be done and the rights of the individuals are also listed.
The ordinance on the Protection of Personal Information also received the Island Council's nod of approval. Commissioner Marlin said that in this information age there must be protection for people and outlined that if personal data was being collected, explicit permission must be given by the person. Information collected can only be used for the purpose for which it is collected and not for anything else.
The organisation of the Government of Country St. Maarten was also approved by the Island Council. That structure formalises the establishment of the seven ministries, departments/ministries assignment and the executive services of the ministries.
The ordinance on the legal position of the support staff of Parliament, which, like Parliament, is independent of government, was approved by government to give the staffers recognition as civil servants.
Also handled was the ordinance regulating the official publication of government information and laws. Any new or amended laws must be published in the National Gazette. Laws can be published electronically and hard copy. Once a law is passed by Parliament, there will be a three-month period for perusal and claims. Persons or entities such as the Ombudsman can do this.
Country St. Maarten now also has an ordinance on the management of emergency situations. After Hurricane Luis, then-Lt. Governor Dennis Richardson had no laws with which to handle the chaotic situations. These were passed later for the Netherlands Antilles and made retroactive to cover the 1995 hurricane situation.
This ordinance, also adopted by the Island Council on Thursday, gives the Prime Minister the right to proclaim an emergency situation and will cover times of natural or manmade disasters or issues. It gives authority to call in the military to keep the peace, demand personal information should this be deemed necessary, and limit the movement of people in time of disaster to protect lives and property.
The ordinance regulating the legal status of civil servants within the new Country St. Maarten was also approved.
DP Island Councilman Roy Marlin was absent from the meeting due to illness. He was admitted to hospital earlier this week with high blood pressure. He was wished a speedy recovery by Island Council members.
Other members present for the meeting were Commissioner/Island Councilman Theo Heyliger, Commissioners Frans Richardson and Hyacinth Richardson.
