Challenges Chamber rejects election fraud case complaint

March 21, 2014 9:25 PM
PHILIPSBURG--Koen Luijks will remain presiding Judge over the so-called Masbangu case involving election fraud, the Chamber of Challenges announced Friday afternoon. Attorney-at-law Cor Merx had filed a recusal request on February 17, because he considered Judge Luijks to be biased and one-sided.
 
The Chamber of Challenges, however, found no reason to question Luijks' impartiality and no grounds to take him off the case.
 
Judge Luijks had denied the allegations of partiality and had not voluntarily resigned from the case.
The Masbangu case concerns possible irregularities during the first general election in Country St. Maarten of September 17, 2010.
 
Merx is the lawyer of C.J.L.C. (45), who is among four (former) officials of the then Police Force of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba suspected of voting for United People's (UP) Party in exchange for money.
 
Another is suspected of attempting to receive money for her vote and a UP party representative is accused of giving money to the police officials in exchange for their votes.
 
Merx's main bone of contention was that Judge Luijks unilaterally decided to postpone the hearing of the election fraud case. Instead, he set a date for a preliminary hearing on April 14.
 
The Judge also ordered the Prosecutor's Office to reopen the investigations and add documents to the case file. He ordered the Prosecutor to further investigate the involvement of UP and party stalwarts in this case, for instance by hearing more witnesses.
 
According to Luijks, the criminal investigations in this case contained a "seemingly contradiction" where the involvement of UP and its membership in the alleged fraud was concerned.
 
In Merx's opinion, all this meant that his client was put at an inadmissible disadvantage. The Chamber of Challenges, however, dismissed all elements of Merx's pleadings, stating these were no grounds to question the Judge's impartiality.
According to Merx, email messages concerning the preparation of the case gave the impression of a "secret rapport" and "hidden agenda" between the Prosecutor's Office and the Judge.
 
The Court said these claims were insufficiently substantiated as the contested messages primarily dealt with the "practical and logistical background of the planning" of the hearing.
 
Merx had also pointed at the Judge's authoritarian demeanour during the hearing and said he was denied the opportunity to present two preliminary pleadings.
 
In these pleadings, Merx had planned to aim his arrows at the large time lag and other violations of his client's rights, which in his eyes should have led to his client's acquittal.
 
According to Merx, the Judge had bluntly disregarded requests of the Prosecutor and lawyers to continue the case, which, according to him, had given the appearance of partiality.
 
After listening to digital recordings of the February 17 hearing, the Chamber of Challenges found no fault in the procedures that were followed and said Merx would still be able to present his preliminary pleadings at a later date.
 
"Very disappointing," Merx said about the Chamber's decisions. "My client is afraid of the Judge," he added.
 
Merx had also objected to the composition of the Chamber of Challenges, as it consisted of Judge Luijks' colleagues at the Court of First Instance in St. Maarten.
 
However, all Judges are also members of the Joint Court of Justice, and as such authorised by law to handle recusal requests.

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