WILLEMSTAD – Citizens and businesses in Curaçao will soon be able to access all applicable legislation directly online. To make this possible, the government is amending the 2010 transitional regulation.
The adjustment will give residents, entrepreneurs, and government agencies one-click access to the most up-to-date legal texts. Until now, people often had to consult several different institutions to find the correct and most recent versions of laws.
The 2010 transitional regulation proved problematic in practice. Some provisions were too vaguely worded, leading to differences in interpretation, while other regulations no longer matched the government’s current working methods.
Streamlining the Process
Under the new rules, the government is granted the authority to correct spelling and language errors directly when consolidating laws. Such mistakes will no longer require a lengthy legislative process to be resolved.
Responsibility for this task will now rest solely with the Minister of General Affairs. Previously, both the Justice and General Affairs ministries were involved, which often led to duplication of work.
Interestingly, the government has already been applying the new authority since January 1, 2023, even before Parliament’s formal approval. Officials explained that this was necessary because the project was time-sensitive. They emphasized that the changes only apply to spelling and grammar corrections, not to substantive amendments of laws.
More Than 260 Laws Online
So far, more than 260 laws and decrees have been consolidated and published online. These include a wide range of regulations, from labor law and minimum wage provisions to trade registers and environmental legislation. The texts are available on the government’s official website.
The project, which began in 2022, was largely financed by the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The government expects that with the amendment now in place, the problems encountered in recent years will be resolved and no further adjustments will be necessary.
