WILLEMSTAD - In 2023, over 43 percent of advisory requests to the Advisory Council were classified as urgent, significantly higher than the 23 percent from the previous year. The Council considers this increase alarming, according to its 2023 annual report.
The report indicates significant internal developments and major legal issues during the year. The Council received a total of 33 advisory requests, resolving 29 of them. Three requests were returned: one because the submitted version of the draft law was not the final version approved by the Council of Ministers, and the other two due to incomplete administrative preparation. By the end of the year, two requests were still under review, one of which was from 2022.
High Pressure
The high number of urgent advisory requests places a heavy burden on the secretariat staff, who provide substantive support to the Council. The annual report emphasizes the indispensable work of these employees and the time required to perform their tasks carefully.
The report shows that advisory requests are often submitted late by the government, frequently due to delays in the preparation process and inadequate progress monitoring.
Although the Council has made every effort to accommodate these requests, it has come at the expense of the time needed to provide well-founded advice. Moreover, the government often fails to justify the urgent nature of an advisory request.
Policy Adjustments
To ensure the quality of its advice, the Council has tightened its policy on urgent advice. Each case will now be assessed to determine whether there are valid reasons for urgency and to what extent it is feasible to provide responsible advice within the set timeframe.
Typically, urgent advisory requests are given a period of up to six weeks, but in 2023, the Council sometimes had to provide advice within five days, such as with the National Decree appointing family guardians.
The Council acknowledges that there can be valid reasons for urgent advice, such as the imminent exceeding of implementation deadlines for international regulations or significant budgetary impacts.
Nonetheless, the Council has repeatedly urged the government to address the trend of late requests to preserve the quality of legislation, especially for regulations that must be enacted in a timely manner to meet international standards.
