Notary Meredith M. Boekhoudt from St. Maarten passing a deed at Mike E. van Putten Youth Centre in St. Eustatius on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
SABA/ST. EUSTATIUS--Civil-law notaries in St. Maarten Marlene F. Mingo and Meredith M. Boekhoudt provided notarial services in St. Eustatius and Saba on Tuesday, September 1, under a strict COVID-19 protocol.
In total 32 deeds – 29 in Statia and three in Saba – were passed. This was arranged by Government Commissioner of the public entity St. Eustatius Marnix van Rij, in close consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Security in the Netherlands and the two notaries.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict quarantine policy implemented by Statia and Saba, the 32 deeds could not be passed and, therefore, remained pending. To not further hinder these important legal transactions, the civil-law notaries were flown in from St. Maarten to pass these deeds on Tuesday.
“In these exceptional times we do our best to ensure that residents of St. Eustatius are able to benefit from the services they need and deserve. I am pleased that the Ministry of Justice and Security, the civil-law notaries and the public entity of St. Eustatius were able to work out a practical solution in order to remove this backlog that was created as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Van Rij.
Based on the current legislation, the notaries in St. Maarten are the only ones authorised to provide notarial services in Statia and Saba. Many of the notarial services can be provided by a proxy, such as a notarial transfer of real estate. However, some services such as, for example, a will, last testament, or granting power of attorney for a mortgage require the physical presence of the client and the notary.
Civil-law notaries Mingo and Boekhoudt have been granted permission to perform their services in Statia and Saba since last year on the basis of a National Ordinance of St. Maarten. Both civil law notaries have been providing services to clients in Saba and Statia for several years.
