The commissioner can not tell what the exact date and the items on the agenda of the steering committee are. The consensus-statutory law Financial Supervision will most probably be one of the items. This was already decided during the last Steering committee in Curacao in October last. The AMvRB (Order in Council for the Kingdom) provisional financial supervision was approved by the council of ministers for the Kingdom on October 10. With the afore-mentioned approval, the debt restructuring will start this year. The consensus-statutory law Financial Supervision that must regulate the financial supervision after the transition period is in the pipeline.

Curacao continues to aim for January 2010 for the new statuses to take effect, says Jesus-Leito. The next big step towards this is the RTC on December 15 when the legislation is going to be checked. The Island Council of Curacao will deal with the state settlement and organic laws next week. In addition to that, there are five consensus-statutory laws that are ready or in the pipeline. These are, other than the consensus-statutory law Financial Supervision, police, OM, Court, and Council for the Maintenance of law and Order.

Police
The wording of the Police-law is still to be drawn up. What this law is going to imply was agreed upon on October 1 last. The law will afterwards be sent to the Island Council, Parliament, and the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom. Curacao and St. Maarten get each an own police corps and Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius a joint one. The Corps will work together, which means that police officers are versatile. There will also be a mutual facility/service, in which the corps will collaborate to combat organized- and cross-border criminality and for operational assistance.

OM and Court
There will be three Public Prosecutors (OMs) in the new political structure: One for Curacao, one for St. Maarten, and one for the BES-islands. These OMs report to one procurator-general. The Justice-ministers on behalf of the Council of Ministers for Kingdom, the Netherlands, Curacao, and St. Maarten will have the authority to give instructions. The law is ready to be sent to the State Council. The Island Councils, the parliament, and the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom will have to enact the law later. The law about the Court is also ready. The Island Councils, the parliament, and the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom must still decide on it.

Council Maintenance of Law and Order
This law is also ready and is to be sent to the Island Councils, the parliament, and the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom. It regulates an inspection body for the maintenance of law and order-chain. The Council inspects the police, the OM, the prison chain, and the judicial youth welfare work.

(Source: National newspaper Amigoe)

18 October, 2008