33:
203:
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The ombudsman complained that a very substantial change had not been submitted to the
Council of Advice for additional advice. The court held that the change was indeed sufficiently large to require such advice. Based on fundamental problems regarding the constitutionality of the act, in part because
765:
505:
422:
631:
Thus the Court held complaints 1, 2, 5, and 6 to be well founded. It decided not to annul the ordinance as a whole but to annul only the provisions related to life without parole and release on licence.
592:
The promulgation date was not recorded, which made it hard to identify the start of the 6-week period that the
Ombudsman has to file complaints with the court. This complaint was considered well-founded.
616:
and the government explained that also no informal parole system existed. The court found such a penalty (without a "possibility for review" with a "prospect of release") inhuman in line with ECHR case
428:
Initially judges who reached the age of 70 were dismissed. As replacement was hard to find that age was raised to 75 on 20 July 2021. So that on 12 August 2021 mr. Jan de Boer could be reappointed.
859:
1099:
1013:
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A complete recast of the
Criminal Code was approved in 2012 and the ombudsman requested evaluation of the Act in January 2013. As this was the first case of the court, in its decision
644:
was approved by the
Parliament of Sint Maarten, after considerable pressure from the Netherlands. The Chamber was to investigate and act upon possible violations of public integrity.
595:
The provisions of the code were renumbered following several amendments during the legislative process without a proper mandate to do so. This complaint was held to be well-founded.
1035:
830:
759:"Landsverordening, van de 15e juli 2021 tot wijziging van (...) de Landsverordening Constitutioneel Hof (...) in verband met het verhogen van de leeftijdsgrens voor de leden"
648:
of the changes introduced, they Court annulled the act as a whole and laid down the requirements that a possible new act would have to fulfill. These requirements included:
288:
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As of
January 2018, 2 cases have been brought before the court by Ombudsman Rachnilda (Nilda) J.A. Arduin, who has been ombudsman of the country since its inception.
425:
each nominate one of their judges as a member and deputy member of the court. The third member and deputy member is appointed after hearing the
Constitutional Court.
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Clarity should be given about the transfer of findings from the integrity chamber to criminal investigators, and about the right not to incriminate oneself
340:
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or the possibility of a penalty payment in case of non-compliance with a request should not be possible if parallel criminal proceedings are ongoing
1089:
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Higher maximum penalties for theft from tourists. The court held the complaint unfounded as legitimate reasons existed for these penalties.
718:
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333:
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Animal fights. The code allowed animal fights as part of a cultural expression. The court held that such a provision was not
402:
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The court consists of 3 judges (and 3 deputy judges) which are appointed for a 10-year term, which may be renewed once. The
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and signed into law, but which has not entered into force. Procedures by the court may be initiated only by the
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of Sint
Maarten. As of July 2016, the court has decided two cases. Sint Maarten is the only country in the
216:
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Warranties for competence, independence and mandate of a supervisory organization of the integrity chamber
1085:
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Life without parole. The code did not provide any provision for parole for people convicted for life (
405:
of Sint
Maarten before Sint Maarten obtained the status of country within the Kingdom as part of the
267:
569:
The provisions of the constitution should be interpreted in the light of relevant provisions of the
586:
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Common Court of
Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
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Common Court of
Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
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The court needs to evaluate acts only on those points about which the Ombudsman raises concerns.
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it first laid down certain points of departure regarding its evaluation consisting of 5 points:
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it evaluates the constitutionality of the provisions of legislation which is approved by the
800:"HOF | Beëdiging mr. Jan de Boer als lid van het Constitutioneel Hof van Sint Maarten"
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8:
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Legalization of prostitution. The court held that this was not a priori unconstitutional.
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be interpreted in a way that is constitutional, then it will follow that interpretation.
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Different treatment of residents and non-residents, as the first could not qualify for
553:
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Warranties for the right to be heard of people also subject to criminal investigation
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The Ombudsman had made seven complaints regarding the law, which were dealt with in
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and entered into force when Sint Maarten obtained that status on 10 October 2010.
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401:) forms the legal basis for the constitutional court. It was approved by the
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that they are based on, interpreted consistently with the case law of the
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690:"National ordinance Constitutional Court (governmental translation)"
1036:"UPDATE: Constitutional Court strikes down Integrity Chamber Law"
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National Ordinance for the establishment of the Integrity Chamber
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The court should follow a "practical" and "effective" approach.
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577:(ECHR). The same goes for provisions that derive from the
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The use of search warrants should be properly supervised
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A presumption of constitutionality exists: when the act
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Governmental appointment, after consultation/nomination
988:"Tussenbeslissing van 15 augustus 2013 in zaak 2013/1"
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831:"Sint Maarten baanbrekend met Constitutioneel Hof"
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860:"Landsbesluit van 23 oktober 2013 no. LB 13/0822"
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37:Courthouse, where the first two cases took place
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925:"Beslissing van 8 november 2013 in zaak 2013/1"
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624:. This complaint was held to be well-founded.
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393:The National ordinance Constitutional Court (
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1145:21st-century architecture in the Netherlands
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833:(in Dutch). 17 November 2010. Archived from
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1140:Courts and tribunals established in 2010
869:(in Dutch) (24): 4. 2013. Archived from
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636:Case 2015/1: Integrity Chamber Ordinance
950:Schutgens, Roel; Sillen, Joost (2014).
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407:dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles
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719:"Landsverordening Constitutioneel Hof"
952:"Constitutionele toetsing in de West"
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1084:Case 2013/1 (Intermediate decision)
744:Landsverordening Constitutioneel Hof
522:Council of State of the Netherlands
399:Landsverordening Constitutioneel Hof
363:Constitutioneel hof van Sint Maarten
355:Constitutional Court of Sint Maarten
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1042:. 8 July 2016. Archived from
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723:Government of the Netherlands
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385:with a constitutional court.
1069:Constitutional Court section
961:(8): 508–514. Archived from
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122:18.02381°N 63.04571°W
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26:Constitutional Court
587:ECLI:NL:OCHM:2013:2
543:ECLI:NL:OCHM:2013:3
164:Number of positions
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70:18.02381; -63.04571
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24:Constitutioneel Hof
1046:on 19 October 2016
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554:judicial restraint
138:Composition method
968:on 1 January 2017
931:. 8 November 2013
837:on 2 January 2017
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258:Parliament
227:Ajamu Baly
113:63°02′45″W
110:18°01′26″N
56:63°02′45″W
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464:President
455:Jacob Wit
379:ombudsman
268:Elections
239:Mercelina
172:Currently
810:13 April
775:13 April
600:a priori
446:Position
443:Term End
284:Aug 2024
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369:. As a
234:Cabinet
175:Unknown
1020:7 July
421:, the
413:Judges
966:(PDF)
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180:Since
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