New judge sworn in

July 29, 2010 6:43 AM

PHILIPSBURG--New judge in the Court of First Instance C.T.M. Luijks was sworn in by Acting Lt. Governor Reynold Groeneveldt at the Government Administration Building on Wednesday.

Luijks was a judge of instruction in the court in the city of Breda in the south of the Netherlands. The Kingdom Council of Ministers appointed him as a member of the Joint Court of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba on May 21. His appointment was made on the recommendation of Dutch State Secretary for Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten.

Judge Luijks will be taking up his duties at the Courthouse as of August 1, when he will be joining Judges René van Veen, Monique Keppels and André Mijnssen.

Judges are usually sworn in during an extraordinary session of the Joint Court. As that court is currently in summer recess, however, Governor Frits Goedgedrag granted permission, based on the Federal Ordinance on the Judicial Organisation and on the request of Joint Court President Lisbeth Hoefdraad, for St. Maarten's Lt. Governor to administer the oath.

It is expected that Luijks will be installed officially as a judge during an extraordinary sitting of the Joint Court next month.

28 July 2010