PHILIPSBURG--The Minister of Justice of St. Maarten appointed H.Th.G. Simon as member and A.R. Chatlein as substitute member of the Supervisory Chamber for the Notarial Profession for a period of three years on February 17. The Joint Court of Justice announced the appointments of the two Curaçao-based notaries in a press statement on Monday.
The Supervisory Chamber will be sitting in the Courthouse in St. Maarten. The Chamber is chaired by the president of the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, or a replacement to be appointed by the court president.
“With the appointment of the two notaries, disciplinary proceedings can take place in St. Maarten for the first time in a long time,” the Joint Court said. St. Maarten has been without a supervisory chamber for notaries for 10 years.
Complaints by citizens, companies or institutions against notaries or candidate-notaries in St. Maarten can be submitted in writing to the registry of the Court of First Instance in St. Maarten.
The notary in question will be able to defend himself or herself against the complaint in writing, after which a hearing will take place to be followed by a court ruling shortly thereafter.
If the complaint proves to be justified, the Supervisory Chamber can, among other things, impose a reprimand or a fine on the (prospective) civil-law notary, but suspension or removal from office is also possible.
Complaints about lawyers and medical doctors can be filed in a similar way. The Supervisory Board for the Legal Profession and the Medical Disciplinary Court are also located in the Courthouse.
