Countries Curaçao and St. Maarten to handle civil code amendments

September 23, 2010 9:57 AM

The Central Committee of Parliament on Tuesday decided to put the handling of the law proposals to amend the Civil Code in the hands of the Parliaments of new countries St. Maarten and Curaçao.

The committee was scheduled to handle some nine amendments during its meeting in St. Maarten on Tuesday; however, this was objected to by several members, including National Alliance (NA) parliamentarians Rodolphe Samuel and George Pantophlet.

Pantophlet told The Daily Herald after the meeting in the Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall that these changes can have far-reaching consequences for the islands and it is best that they be handled by the parliaments of the new countries.

Couples that have been living together for ten or more years are set to get the same rights as married couples, which was one of the proposals geared towards modernising the Civil Code.

Parliament President Pedro Atacho said the Central Committee meets again today at 9:00am to discuss an amendment to the stamp ordinance and an amendment to the notary law to allow the acceptance of copies of notary deeds that have been lost between 1980 and 1997 at the Tax Office in Willemstad.

The Justice Committee of Parliament will also have a working visit at the Coast Guard at 3:00pm today.

Tomorrow, Thursday the Justice Committee will discuss the concept report regarding aggression and criminality among youngsters in the Windward Islands and Bonaire.

21 September 2010