Joint Court introduces complaint arrangement

The Daily Herald writes that the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten, and of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, has recently introduced an arrangement to file complaints with the Board of the Court. Everyone who feels incorrectly treated by the Court of First Instance or the Joint Court or who feels he/she had to wait too long for a response to a letter may file a complaint, it was stated Friday in a press release issued by the Joint Court. Complaints may not be filed where it concerns the content and motivation of judges in a Court of law or how these decisions came about. Such issues may be dealt with through regular Court procedures, such as an appeal or cassation at the High Court. Complaints may be filed by letter or in person. An employee of the Court will put the complaint in writing in case the complaint is made in person. The complainant will be requested to sign a complaint form. Complaints may be submitted in Dutch, Papiamentu, English or Spanish. In case someone wants to make a complaint in a different language, this person will have to provide a translation. As a rule, the Board of the Court will handle complaints within six weeks. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the Board may involve a committee of advice. In this case, the complaint will be dealt with in 10 weeks. Complainants and persons mentioned in the complaint are entitled to be heard during a hearing, it was stated. The Board of the Court is not obligated to handle the complaint if it concerns conduct with regard to which the complainant has already filed a complaint that was settled. The Board may also reject complaints concerning events that took place more than a year prior to the submission of the complaint. The Board is also not obligated to handle a case for as long as there is an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution. The complaint arrangement was drafted pursuant to Article 40 of the Royal Decree that governs the Joint Court of Justice. The complete complaint arrangement and complaint forms are available at the Joint Court’s Website www. gemhofvanjustitie.org