WILLEMSTAD - Member of Parliament Eduard Braam for the coalition party MFK has filed a lawsuit against the Curaçao government. Braam wants to make himself available again to become Minister of Justice.

The MP was asked this summer by formateur Gilmar Pisas to become justice minister. Due to a conviction in 2002, he was told in conversation with Governor Lucille George-Wout that he was not a suitable candidate to become minister. Braam decided to withdraw before he could be nominated.

According to Braam, he was never convicted within the meaning of the National Ordinance on the Integrity of (Candidate) Ministers. He does acknowledge that in the judgment of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal it was declared proven that he had committed a criminal offence. “But the Court has not imposed a penalty or measure on Braam,” said his lawyer Bertie Braam.

The Country of Curaçao does not like Braam's claim. "The interest of the people in an honest government, which can be fulfilled by the provision that someone who has been convicted of a crime is not admitted to the ministry, outweighs Braam's interest," lawyer Mirto Murray emphasizes.

The Member of Parliament wants a decision from the court about his eligibility as Minister of Justice in order to subsequently make himself available again and be nominated by the Prime Minister. If the court also includes the conviction of a criminal offense without the imposition of a sentence, Braam will come up with additional legal arguments.