THE HAGUE, PHILIPSBURG – While Curaçao has officially exited the Kingdom supervision arrangement created after 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten will remain under the framework because several implementation plans have not yet been completed.
At the same time, the rules governing supervision of Sint Maarten are being adjusted. According to the amended regulation, Sint Maarten will no longer be required to submit progress reports every three months but will instead report every six months.
The period for preparing implementation reports and responding to progress evaluations will also be extended from two weeks to four weeks.
The official explanation states that the previous reporting schedule proved too demanding in practice, partly because of limited personnel capacity within the Sint Maarten government. The new six-month reports are expected to contain more extensive information.
The responsible Sint Maarten minister will also become part of the ministerial consultation process. In practice, this concerns the Minister of Justice, because the remaining implementation plans fall under that ministry’s responsibility.
The regulation itself can now be extended in periods of three years, instead of the previous two-year extensions.
The Kingdom government stated that once Sint Maarten completes its remaining implementation plans, the entire supervision arrangement should also be withdrawn through a Royal Decree.
The arrangement dates back to the constitutional changes of October 10, 2010, when Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom. At that time, special supervision mechanisms were introduced to support improvements in areas where the new countries were not yet considered fully prepared to independently perform certain government responsibilities.