WILLEMSTAD – The four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agree that police and judicial information must be shared more effectively, but they remain divided over how such cooperation should be established legally.
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel said Thursday, following the conclusion of the Four-Country Judicial Consultation (JVO) in Curaçao, that the Netherlands favors introducing a consensus Kingdom Act to create a common legal framework for exchanging information. The Caribbean countries have so far raised objections to that approach.
Four Ministers of Justice and the U.S. Consul in Curaçao
According to Van Weel, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten are currently treated almost like third countries when police information is transferred from the Netherlands.
“That is, of course, undesirable within one Kingdom,” Van Weel said.
The Netherlands wants a legal framework that would allow information to be exchanged structurally and under comparable rules throughout the Kingdom. Van Weel said there is little disagreement among the four countries about the need for better information sharing. The dispute concerns how to achieve it.
The Netherlands considers a consensus Kingdom Act the “only and best way” to properly regulate the exchange of information. Some of the Caribbean countries, however, question whether Kingdom-wide legislation is necessary or whether the same objective could be achieved through another legal arrangement.
The issue has become increasingly important because organized criminal networks operate across national borders. According to Van Weel, criminal organizations have effectively developed into “multinationals” capable of controlling entire supply chains, from production to distribution.
Criminal networks operating in the Netherlands, for example, can have branches, intermediaries or associates in Curaçao, Aruba or Sint Maarten. Without properly connected information systems, investigators risk overlooking relationships between suspects and criminal activities in different parts of the Kingdom.
The disagreement over the proposed consensus Kingdom Act also touches on the autonomy of the individual countries. Such legislation requires agreement among the countries and establishes Kingdom-wide rules in an area closely connected to their own responsibilities for justice and law enforcement.
The discussion therefore centers not on whether police and judicial information should be exchanged more effectively, but on who establishes the rules and under which legal framework the information would be shared.
No final agreement was reached during the JVO in Curaçao.
Van Weel said he hopes the four countries can reach an agreement soon, as authorities across the Kingdom seek to strengthen their response to increasingly international and interconnected criminal networks.