THE HAGUE–A decision on the format of the much-discussed Dispute Regulation (“geschillenregeling”) for the Kingdom will be left to the new Dutch Government.

Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk considered it fitting to have his successor handle the draft Kingdom Law Dispute Regulation in the new governing period which starts next week when the Rutte III cabinet takes the oath.

The draft Kingdom Law still needs approval of the Kingdom Council of Ministers before it can be sent to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for handling. Plasterk will not be able to do so, as the next Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting is scheduled for next week Friday, shortly after the new government has been installed.

The current law proposal to establish a long-awaited Dispute Regulation for the Kingdom is controversial and has drawn criticism from the Dutch Caribbean countries Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. The current version does not have their support and was drafted without their consent.

The four countries did not manage to reach an agreement on a joint law proposal after several years of talks, both at the level of the governments and the parliaments. Plasterk’s aim was to arrive at a joint proposal for the Dispute Regulation, but because this did not materialise, the Kingdom Council of Ministers decided in January this year to send its own law proposal to the Council of State.

The Second Chamber had also asked for a Dutch law proposal in case no agreement was reached with the three overseas countries about a joint law proposal. The Dutch Parliament wants no more delays and has clamoured for a definite solution for the lack of a Dispute Regulation. The Council of State sent its advice on the law proposal to Plasterk, but this remains confidential until the draft law is sent to the Second Chamber for handling.

The Dutch Caribbean countries have two major objections to the current law proposal. The draft law does not foresee a binding ruling of the entity that carries out the Dispute Regulation, namely the Council of State, but merely a “heavy-weighing” advice that the Kingdom Government may only deviate from with a solid argument.

The Dutch proposal also limits the scope of the Dispute Regulation to disputes about decisions of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, not the authority of that same Kingdom Government, which is what the three Caribbean countries want to see covered in the legislation for a Dispute Regulation.

Bron: Daily Herald