THE HAGUE - The Dutch government has thus far declined all requests from Aruba and Curaçao to transfer convicted criminals to the Netherlands to undergo court-ordered forensic psychiatric treatment, known as TBS. This information was disclosed today by State Secretary for Kingdom Relations, Zsolt Szabó, in a letter to the House of Representatives.
In the Caribbean territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, facilities to carry out TBS treatments are nonexistent. While it is not legally possible to impose a TBS measure in Caribbean Netherlands and Sint Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao have the legal framework to impose TBS. However, they lack the necessary resources to deliver the required level of care.
Since 2022, it has been possible for these Caribbean countries to request the transfer of convicted individuals to the Netherlands to ensure they receive the treatment deemed essential by the courts. Since that time, three requests have been submitted, but all were denied. The reasons behind these refusals were not addressed by Szabó in his correspondence to Parliament.
Excerpts from State Secretary Szabó’s Letter to Parliament
Szabó stated that the autonomous countries within the Kingdom bear their own responsibility for the enforcement of sentences and other judicial measures, including TBS. While Aruba and Curaçao may request assistance from the Netherlands, certain limitations apply. TBS measures cannot yet be legally implemented in Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, or Sint Maarten, thus no requests have been issued from those areas. However, on Aruba and Curaçao, where the TBS measure can be applied, facilities to implement the measure are lacking, prompting requests for assistance from the Netherlands.
Since the option to request assistance was introduced, the Netherlands received three requests from Aruba and Curaçao up to 2023, all of which were denied. According to Szabó, the Kingdom countries are working diligently to improve forensic care within the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. In June, the Judicial Four-Party Consultation (JVO) approved a multi-year program to strengthen forensic care and treatment, with a specific focus on the execution of TBS measures.
A detailed proposal for this program is expected to be submitted to the JVO in January 2025. All Kingdom countries, including Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, will participate in this initiative through the newly formed Kingdom-wide JVO working group dedicated to enhancing forensic care. Representing the Netherlands, the Minister of Justice and Security will be involved in these discussions, with the State Secretary for Justice and Security overseeing TBS-related matters.
Szabó concluded by emphasizing that the development and implementation of this forensic care program will take time due to its complexity. The House of Representatives will be updated on all relevant discussions and decisions made during the upcoming JVO meetings.