THE HAGUE – In a surprising move, Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike Eman today submitted a draft Kingdom Law on Dispute Resolution (Rijkswet Koninkrijksgeschillen) to the Dutch House of Representatives. The proposal gives the Council of State the role of arbiter, with its rulings binding on all countries within the Kingdom.

The initiative fulfills a commitment made in 2010, when at Aruba’s request the Kingdom Charter was amended to include the creation of a mechanism to resolve legal disputes between the countries of the Kingdom—primarily between the Netherlands and one or more of the Caribbean partners. At the time, it was explicitly intended that an independent institution, such as the Supreme Court, would take on this role, and that its judgments would be binding.

However, in subsequent negotiations the Dutch government backed away from that commitment, insisting on retaining the final say through its dominance in the Kingdom Council of Ministers. Despite strong pressure from the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO), successive Dutch cabinets refused to give ground. Former Interior and Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk even crafted his own dispute resolution law, which diverged significantly from what the countries had agreed upon in 2010.

That proposal was eventually withdrawn by State Secretary Raymond Knops when it became clear the Senate would reject it due to objections from Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. The responsibility then fell to the parliaments of the three Caribbean countries to develop a new proposal.

Today’s submission by Prime Minister Eman, accompanied by letters of approval from the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, signals that the Caribbean partners have succeeded in bringing forward their own united proposal—catching many observers by surprise.