PHILIPSBURG - Advisory Council Vice-Chairwoman Mavis Brooks-Salomon recommended to Parliament on Tuesday that the latter and government come to an "institutional agreement, sanctioned by the Governor, stipulating that the language of legislation remain in the Dutch language, but translated within three months to English."

 

The Advisory Council was in Parliament on Tuesday to elucidate on its activities, aims and relationship with the legislative bodies. The discussion, however, mostly centred around the amount of time it takes for Parliament to receive a final advice and a particular law from the council.

 

The caveat of that recommendation is that where a conflict would arise (in interpretation), the Dutch language will prevail. Brooks-Salomon explained that while the constitution speaks of two official languages, English and Dutch, there is another law that states English can only be used when certain conditions are met.

 

She said there has never been any discussion about those conditions. None of the six Members of Parliament present for the meeting (including the President) asked what exactly those conditions are. The draft law on Timeshare, presented by MP Leroy DeWeever in English, is one piece of legislation that is taking quite some time at the Advisory Council. The Council told Parliament that the draft law would move a bit quicker if it was in Dutch.

 

That revelation took MP Frans Richardson aback. "I am starting to have a problem with what is happening here," Richardson said, pointing to the calls, even from the Governor, for legislation in Dutch. "The majority of people who buy timeshare speak English. You're telling me that if they want to read the law they have to go to a notary or a lawyer?"

 

Brooks-Salomon responded: "When we assess the requests for advice, we look at the judicial aspect. We are part of the Dutch Kingdom. The culture of our legislation is not based on an Anglo-American system but a Dutch-Franco system, that's the premise. Based on the setting (as part of the Kingdom) we have to take into account the whole system not just a part of it."

"When there is a request for an advice in English, the Council has to look at bigger [the – Ed.] picture and in that framework (as part of the Kingdom). If there is a conflict who do you go to? We don't have our own judges, we don't have a legal dictionary that would deal with concepts, if talking about liens for example, the English system has so many different interpretations than our system," she said.

 

MP's questioned why requested advices have to go through so much "back and forth" between various bodies. Brooks-Salomon explained that there is no law obliging the Council to do this, but just an agreement with Parliament and following procedures of the Advisory Council of the former Netherlands Antilles.

 

"We also have a working relationship with the Council of State of The Netherlands and there too we took over some ways of handling legislation. Aruba also does it this way. But St. Maarten has no law regulating this, it's just an agreement we have with Parliament," she said.

 

On the 2013 budget Brooks-Salomon said the council has received the draft amendment and is in discussion with the Minister of Finance to get it done as quickly as possible. On the issue of the short term contract legislation submitted by the National Alliance fraction, she said the council has given its preliminary advice and as far as the council knows, it should be back at Parliament.

 

The Advisory Council has also rendered unsolicited advice to government on one occasion. Brooks-Salomon said the council treads carefully and shows restraint in offering unsolicited advice on politically charged situations, in order not to be politically branded. But if asked, Brooks-Salomon said the council will render advice based on the law in any case.

 

(The Daily Herald)