PHILIPSBURG - During the Justice Four-Country Consultation in Sint Maarten, the Ministers of Justice of the Kingdom countries received the draft Code of Conduct for the Caribbean islands on behalf of the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM). Once approved, this code will replace the existing one from 2016.
During the presentation, Ton Maan, the Prosecutor General, emphasized that as the working landscape of the Public Prosecutor's Office evolves, the internal organization must also be adapted. These changes have been incorporated into the draft code.
The primary objective of the Code of Conduct is to emphasize the individual responsibility of employees in adhering to and promoting appropriate behavior, in addition to formal regulations. The Code articulates the fundamental values of the OM in the islands and provides guidance for the organization's actions.
The code serves as a guideline to assist OM employees in embodying their professional ethics in practice. It is not a top-down document in which management dictates the rules to employees.
The OM considers integrity and professional ethics to be of utmost importance. Therefore, the organization facilitates and encourages professional ethics among its employees at various levels: through training programs, specific initiatives, and, more generally, by fostering a culture of self-reflection and open discussion of moral and professional dilemmas.
These guidelines aim to help OM employees navigate the inevitable dilemmas inherent to their work. Ultimately, it is the individual employee's own responsibility to act with integrity and professionalism.