By adopting a unanimous motion to block the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, condemn the recent appointment of a quartermaster for such by the Dutch Government and declare the related cooperation protocol no longer valid, Parliament has drawn a proverbial line in the sand. Until now St. Maarten’s official position had been that it would revise the national ordinance in question struck down by the Constitutional Court at the request of the Ombudsman.
It may seem a bit peculiar that the relevant law was actually passed by Parliament, but it’s no secret that this was done under pressure and the threat of a General Measure of Kingdom Governance at the time. Moreover, Prime Minister William Marlin spoke out against the idea from the beginning and the objections of the court having to do with the right to privacy and a fair trial are quite “in principle” in nature, making it difficult to get around them.
Marlin has now suggested to instead boost existing “checks and balances,” with mention of the General Audit Chamber, which reported on integrity matters in the past, and the local Prosecutor’s Office. Current legislation is also being reviewed to close loopholes with help of the Central Bank.
It will be interesting to see the reactions from The Hague. Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk had indeed hinted earlier at the possibility of imposing an Integrity Chamber unilaterally, but stopped short of immediate action to do so.
The latter should not change. For one thing, the Council of State would have to be heard and is likely to consider the ruling of the Constitutional Court, while the concerns of the Ombudsman as High Council of State cannot be taken lightly either.
In addition, national elections in the Netherlands are scheduled in 2½ months, which could considerably change the composition of the Second Chamber of Parliament and/or the governing coalition. Politically speaking, the way things stand this controversial and thorny issue is therefore probably best left to the future elected representatives and public administrators in The Hague, who might well favour a totally different approach.
