Draft constitution discussed during
Broad-Based Committee meeting
PHILIPSBURG--Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams met with members of the Broad-Based Committee for Constitutional Affairs on Saturday at Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall. On the agenda was the Draft Constitution for Country St. Maarten.
The discussion focused on the new items in the draft Constitution, but also addressed an array of other topics such as human rights, Dutch citizenship, reciprocity, the steps that need to be taken to adopt the constitution, judges’ authority, Parliament of country St. Maarten, dualistic system of government and the constitutional preamble, the Government Information Service (GIS) stated in a press release.
The Broad-Based Committee comprising representatives of all sectors of the St. Maarten community was established by the Executive Council in 2004 and has the specific task of advising the Island Council, a point which Commissioner Wescot-Williams stressed as she thanked the members for their attendance and active participation.
Present at the meeting were, among others, representatives of the business community, unions, churches, youth associations, educational sector, nurses’ organisation and banking sector.
Political parties represented in the Island Council are also members of the committee. In addition to the Commissioner, National Alliance member George Pantophlet was also present.
Supporting Wescot-Williams at Saturday’s meeting were attorneys Ralph Richardson and Reynold Groeneveldt, and Head of the Bureau Constitutional Affairs Jeannette Hagen.
The documentation, which was sent to the audience beforehand, consisted of the draft St. Maarten constitution in both Dutch and English, and the elucidation of the draft constitution in Dutch.
GIS stated furthermore that special attention had been requested for the English translation of the draft Constitution, a matter in which University of St. Martin had volunteered to assist.
“The information gathered from this session will be analysed and presented to the Island Council for its deliberations. The inquiries will be used not only to advise, but also as representative questions from the public and will be answered either on the Website, during information or consultative sessions, or in articles or columns in the newspapers,” the press release stated.
Groeneveldt also updated the audience on the recent developments in the Justice area of constitutional developments. He recently had a two-week stay in the Netherlands to discuss a 33-point agenda concerning Justice and constitutional matters.
Comments and or questions can be sent to the Department of Constitutional Affairs, or visit the Constitutional Website
www.countrysintmaarten.org .
