Cornelius de Weever
PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever said in a statement on Sunday that the office of the Minister of Justice cannot and should not be compromised or used as “the fall guy” for the Prosecutor or any suspect.
“In the last few weeks there have been many discussions surrounding [United Democrats former Member of Parliament – Ed. Mr. [Theo] Heyliger. Please note that it is not customary for me or the ministry to react on any investigations, whether they are open or closed,” De Weever said in a statement.
“As much as I sympathise with his family and any family whose loved ones, parent, child or friend are involved in an investigation that has led to his or her pre-trial detention or incarceration there is a fine line that any Minister of Justice has to walk to avoid getting personally involved. The minister is responsible for public order and should not get involved in individual cases. This case like every other case has to be fought in the court of justice and not in the court of public opinion.”
“With this in mind I would like to stress that the system that we have – trias politica – with our legislative, executive and judicial branches clearly separates the powers. These are the boundaries in which we must operate,” De Weever made clear in the statement.
