WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao Parliament has taken up proposed Kingdom legislation dealing with autonomous General Administrative Orders for the Kingdom, part of a broader effort to strengthen parliamentary involvement in decisions affecting the countries of the Kingdom.
The proposal, officially known as the Kingdom Act on Delegation Grounds under Article 38, paragraph 2 of the Charter for the Kingdom, was placed on the agenda of a Central Committee meeting of the Curaçao Parliament on August 24.
The legislation follows a 2023 amendment to Articles 14 and 38 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. That amendment restricted the possibility of issuing General Administrative Orders for the Kingdom without an explicit statutory basis.
The issue is important for Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten because General Administrative Orders for the Kingdom can affect the Caribbean countries without going through the same parliamentary legislative process required for a Kingdom Act.
According to the explanatory basis for the new proposal, the governments of Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands and Sint Maarten have concluded that several existing General Administrative Orders for the Kingdom, or parts of them, currently lack a sufficient statutory basis but should nevertheless remain in force.
The proposed Kingdom Act would therefore establish the necessary legal foundations for those measures under Article 38 of the Charter.
The underlying reform stems from longstanding concerns about the democratic deficit within the Kingdom. Kingdom legislation has repeatedly generated debate because the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten do not have equal parliamentary influence in the Kingdom legislative process.
The 2023 Charter amendment was intended to reduce the possibility that binding Kingdom-level measures could be introduced without adequate parliamentary involvement.
The Curaçao Parliament is now examining the legislation as part of the process through which the Caribbean countries consider Kingdom bills that may affect their constitutional position.
A second Kingdom bill concerning extradition rules for Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten was also on the agenda of the August 24 Central Committee meeting.