PHILIPSBURG--The 37 detainees who filed an injunction against Country St. Maarten and the Minister of Justice for their transfer to safe prison facilities in the Netherlands or Bonaire will have to spend more time in the dilapidated Pointe Blanche prison, as the Court of First Instance declared their case inadmissible on Friday morning.
The detainees had asked the Court to decide that St. Maarten should transport them to safe prison facilities in The Netherlands until the moment that the Point Blanche prison meets the standards of a safe and secure prison facility.
However, the Court has ruled that the claims of the detainees are not admissible, as under civil law the minister of Justice cannot be summoned to appear in Court.
Concerning Country St. Maarten, the Court established that the execution of the claims of detainees cannot be executed without the cooperation of The Netherlands. However, the Netherlands was no party in these proceedings, and the detainees had failed to prove that The Netherlands was willing to comply with a verdict in admitting the prisoners to Dutch territory and in making prison space and prison facilities available to a number of detainees from St. Maarten.
Neither were the detainees and their lawyers able to prove that Country St. Maarten was in a position to compel The Netherlands - under Kingdom Charter regulations - to adhere to a verdict in which the claims would be awarded. This means, according to the Court, that awarding the claims of the detainees would be futile. Therefore, the Court decided that the case of the detainees against Country St. Maarten was not admissible either.
The detainees had called upon the Court to order St. Maarten and its minister of Justice to transfer all 37 detainees to safe prisons in the Netherlands and Bonaire within seven days after a verdict. They had also called upon the Judge to award damages of US $1,000 per day, with a maximum of $10 million, in case of non-compliance.
