The Curaçao court ruling in Thursday’s newspaper left little room for doubt: A criminal conviction even without having to go to prison stands in the way of becoming a minister.
PNP’s Ramon Chong had received only a two-month suspended sentence and no community service or fine due to his role as Commissioner of the then Island Territory in the Antillen NV airport infrastructure 2003 corruption case. Nelson Monte and Anthony Godett of FOL were also tried for bribery at the time, which stopped the latter from becoming prime minister when his party surprisingly won the election a year later, just days after he was released from jail.
Citing the screening law adopted since gaining country status in the Kingdom of the Netherlands per 10-10-10, the judge in Willemstad considered the decision not to accept Chong’s candidacy for Minister of Economic Development MEO after the vote of March 2021 justified. He called the legal integrity requirements reasonable and in accordance with the constitution as well as international treaties.
Something similar happened with current MFK Member of Parliament (MP) Eduard Braam, who as a medical doctor was found guilty of inappropriate relations with a patient, but not given any sentence. Here too, the court upheld his exclusion from becoming Minster of Justice three years ago.
St. Maarten does not have a similar screening law for prospective cabinet members as Curaçao. However, it falls under the same jurisprudence of the Joint Court for the Dutch Caribbean, with final appeal option at the High Court in The Hague.
Several local politicians have been irrevocably convicted of crimes over the past decade, but may entertain plans to still become a minister once their sentence is served. Based on these verdicts, however, that could prove wishful thinking.
