Deputy comments on critical advice of Council of State about assignment authority

March 19, 2009 5:47 AM

The advice of the Council of State (Raad van State), with serious comments on the procedure, necessity and expected effectiveness of the assignment authority of The Kingdom of the Netherlands Minister of Justice for the local Attorney-General, was received with great acclaim by the negotiators in the constitutional process.

Asked whether the aforementioned was “music to her ears”, Deputy of Political Structure, Zita Jesus-Leito (PAR) cheerfully answers “Of course.This may be a very positive development”. She will not venture an opinion on the contents of the advice, because experts will have to look at it first.
She also believes that the advice should be made public and the project group Law Enfrocement and Constitutional Affairs, momentarily in the Netherlands, has to respond first. Afterwards the advice can be discussed with the Netherlands.

The Netherlands
Forsa Kòrsou wonders what the members of government are going to do when The Netherlands disregard the advice of the Council of State (which happened before, e.g. with the Reference Index Antilleans). It is known that The Netherlands attach high value to the assignment authority of the Dutch Minister of Justice as National Council Minister to the Attorney-General. The Dutch Minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA) will not respond as yet. Spokesman Patrick Mikkelsen of Hirsch Ballin will only confirm that there is an advice from the Council of State concerning the subject. “We’re studying it”, says Mikkelsen on behalf of the Minister.

The Deputy hopes that the assignment authority as well as the objections of a group of people opposing the assignment authority will fall.

Public
According to the website of the Council of State, the advice regarding the State Law Public Prosecution Council of Curaçao, St. Martin, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba was given last week and as yet is still unpublished. The advice was forwarded to the Dutch Government last Friday and is now in the so-called advisory stage. It is expected that the advice will be made public this week.

(Source: National newspaper Amigoe)

17 March, 2009