Dutch Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind has promised to find a sus­tainable solution for the absence of notary services for St. Eusta­tius and Saba per July 1 this year.

In his response to written ques­tions to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, Weerwind last Friday stated he was aware that the sole notary from St. Maarten who carries out notarial work in St. Eustatius and Saba
has indicated that as of July 1, no new cases will be accepted.

Members of Parliament (MPs) Don Ceder of the ChristianUnion (CU), Attje Kuiken of the La­bour Party PvdA and indepen­dent member Liane den Haan had submitted written questions to the minister about the lack of notary services for the two islands and the complications that this has caused for residents.

According to Weerwind, the consequences of the absence of notarial ser­vices per July 1 could not be measured as yet, as the outcome of the ongoing recruitment procedure for an acting notary for St. Eu­statius and Saba was not known as yet.

Weerwind explained that the vacancy for an acting notary for the two islands had been placed by the Joint Court of Justice on his behalf. Interested per­sons had the opportunity to apply until June 25. He said he could not anticipate the outcome of the vacancy procedure, but he promised to “do everything” to find a solution to maintain notary services for St. Eustatius and Saba.

“The intention is that the acting notary will start as soon as possible. This de­pends on how quickly the process can be concluded and when the acting no­tary will start. The right of access to notary services is important. Therefore, the intention is to have the im­pact be as limited as pos­sible,” the minister stated.

Weerwind said he “un­derstood the concerns of residents” and that was why he was also working on sus­tainable solutions, as stated in the 2021-2025 policy agenda of the Ministry of Justice and Safety.

“I am willing to take the necessary measures to en­sure that residents of St. Eustatius and Saba have ac­cess to a notary in a sustain­able manner,” he stated, adding that as part of the policy agenda, the aim was to extend the work area of notaries in Bonaire to St. Eustatius and Saba. He said this would ensure that all services were carried out under Caribbean Nether­lands legislation and that straight supervision could be held on the accessibility of these services.

The minister said he found it important to find sustainable solutions with the islands and as such he remained in “close con­tact” with the public enti­ties St. Eustatius and Saba to “monitor the situation together.”

The Daily Herald.