Ombudsman sends Integrity Chamber law to Constitutional Court for review

September 19, 2015 4:26 PM
PHILIPSBURG--The much talked about and debated on national ordinance establishing an integrity chamber for the country has hit a snag exactly a month after it was adopted by Parliament. 
 
Ombudsman Nilda Arduin has sent the law “after careful consideration” to the Constitutional Court for review on Friday.
 
Justice Minister Dennis Richardson, in an invited comment, told The Daily Herald the ombudsman has her role to play in the law process. He added that the review by the Constitutional Court, the only such body in the Dutch Kingdom, will “definitely delay” the process of getting the law published and executed.
 
It is the opinion of the ombudsman that the Integrity Chamber ordinance in its present arrangement “insufficiently guarantees the legal protection” of residents.
 
“While the ombudsman supports and applauds the idea of a law that attempts to regulate the integrity of public authorities, it is not acceptable that in the process the same law tramples on the constitutional rights of the citizens,” said the Ombudsman Bureau in a press statement.
 
By law, all laws passed by Parliament are reviewed by the ombudsman as the guardian of the Constitution to ensure there is no conflict with the Constitution or any other existing legislation. The review period lasts up to six weeks. Barring any challenges, a law can be published in the National Gazette (Landscourant) with the ombudsman’s nod of approval.
 
Third parties, not being the subject of an investigation, are obligated under the law to cooperate with the Integrity Chamber in the execution of its task. For that reason, the ombudsman said, “Certain facets of the integrity law must be reviewed against the Constitution.”
 
The relation between the administrative versus criminal investigations of the chamber, the scope of the administrative authority, including the mandating thereof to personnel of the secretariat, and the legal protection of residents, particularly when they are not directly the focus of the investigation must be reviewed, according to the ombudsman.
 
   The Integrity Chamber has been afforded “far reaching powers” to effectively execute its tasks. These powers include the authority to investigate actions that establish a crime, to issue fines and even prison sentences.
 
“Such matters are regulated by criminal law. Executing these powers by means of an administrative law, without sufficiently providing the guarantees that the criminal law constitutionally demands, should be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. The clear lines that should exist between administrative and criminal authority are therefore blurred,” said the ombudsman.
 
The ombudsman has also challenged the integrity chamber law, because “important amendments” were made by Parliament with consultation of the Council of Advice.
 
In the case of the integrity chamber law, after the advice of the Council of Advice to expand the authority of the Integrity Chamber Council was accepted by government, changes were made without the council rendering an advice on the changes.
 
One change in particular, which includes the removal of the legal protection against actions of the Integrity Chamber affects residents who are not directly the subject of the investigation. “It is the opinion of the Ombudsman that the removal of the pertinent clause may be contrary to the fundamental rights of the people provided by the Constitution,” said the ombudsman.
 
On the advice of the Council of Advice, the Integrity Chamber was granted additional administrative power for investigation. However, while the Chamber was given additional administrative authority after changes were made to the draft ordinance, this is not supported on the opposite end with the required legal protection for residents, said the ombudsman.
“Administrative authority and the legal protection of the rights of the citizens should be balanced. The fact that these administrative powers can be mandated to secretariat personnel without special provisions is also cause for concern,” the ombudsman said.
 
The Daily Herald

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