WILLEMSTAD – The government of Curaçao is not obligated to reassign the organization of the Seú Festival to Fundashon Kultural Seú Kòrsou. This ruling was issued by the court today in a summary proceedings case. The foundation had been responsible for organizing the annual harvest festival for many years but does not have the right to continue this role, according to the court's decision.
The Fundashon had been involved in organizing the Seú Festival since 1997 and had typically received subsidies for the event. In 2024, the foundation was granted over 175,000 guilders. However, in October, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports informed the foundation that due to stricter financial policies, a public tender would be required for subsidy allocations going forward. The contract for the next three years was to be put out for bid under new conditions. The foundation was not excluded from participating but ultimately did not submit a bid.
As no parties responded to the tender, the Ministry decided to organize the event this year itself through a special task force. In response, the foundation took legal action, requesting that the government transfer the organization of the festival back to them and respect their intellectual property rights regarding the festival.
The court rejected all claims made by the foundation. According to the ruling, the fact that the foundation had organized the festival for many years does not grant them exclusive rights to continue doing so. The court also ruled that the foundation cannot claim future subsidies, as there have been no government assurances to support such claims. Furthermore, there were concerns raised regarding the financial accountability of previous subsidies.
Regarding the alleged violation of intellectual property rights, the court concluded that the elements of the festival the foundation referred to – such as the parades, the election of Reina di Seú, and the closing ritual Maramentu di Lensu – are traditional parts of the harvest festival and not creations of the foundation.
The foundation has been ordered to pay court costs amounting to 1,000 guilders.