To Whom It May Concern:
Please find a press release in the form of a letter addressed to the Governor of St. Maarten, His Excellency Drs. E. Holiday, regarding his international obligations under Article 20 of the Rules of Order for the Government of St. Maarten.
December 15th, 2020
Att: His Excellency Drs. Eugene Holiday
Re: International Obligations of the Governor of St. Maarten
Your Excellency,
Firstly, Pro Soualiga, on behalf of the population of St. Maarten, wishes to express its profound gratitude to the government and people of the Netherlands for their willingness to assist the Caribbean Islands during this devastating pandemic.
According to Article 20 of the “Reglement voor de Gouverneur van St. Maarten (Rules of Order for the Governor of St. Maarten), the governor has the authority to supervise compliance with treaties and decisions of international organizations. Furthermore, according to Article 20, the governor also has the power to make proposals regarding compliance with international law to the Kingdom government.
In other words, the Governor of St. Maarten has the authority to propose that Articles 44, 50, and 51 be removed from the Kingdom Charter due to his authority to ensure that our laws are in compliance with international organizations such as the United Nations. Alternatively, the Governor of St. Maarten also has the power to propose to the Kingdom Government that the Caribbean Reform Entity violates Article 73 (Chapter XI) of the United Nations Charter.
We therefore respectfully request Your Excellency to use the authority granted to you, pursuant to Article 20 mentioned above, to propose to the Kingdom Government:
- Submit the proposed Kingdom Law and the CRE to the European Court of Justice for a “prejudicial review” in order to ensure that the proposed legislation is not in violation of the UN Charter.
- This, on the same footing as the recent motion in December of 2020 by a majority of the Dutch Parliament to take the Polish Government before the same European Court for its treatment of Polish judges.
- To ascertain if the proposed Kingdom Law will violate or impede the implementation of UN Resolution 65/119, which calls for the eradication of colonialism by December 31, 2020.
- To ascertain from the Dutch Government which steps are being taken to comply with this UN Resolution.
- To have the Dutch State confirm that the UN understands under decolonization for St. Maarten, the elimination of the function of governor or, instead, a purely ceremonial governor, and the removal of articles 44, 50 and 51 from the Kingdom Charter.
- That the matter of the decolonization of St. Maarten is at present sub judicia and that the Dutch State should respect the rule of law and refrain from implementing legislation while the matter of its authority is subject to litigation.
- Finally, we request you to ensure that the Kingdom Government complies with Article 2 of the UN Charter which states that all members shall fulfill, in good faith, their obligations under the UN Charter.
Sincerely,
Renate Brison
Secretary, Pro Soualiga Foundation
