SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - As of January 2026, patients who are involuntarily admitted to the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) in Sint Maarten will be entitled to publicly funded legal assistance provided by an attorney.
With this initiative, Sint Maarten becomes the first country within the Caribbean part of the Kingdom to offer this form of legal protection.
This important step is the result of close cooperation between Courthouse Sint Maarten, the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA), the Ministry of Justice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Mental Health Foundation, and the Bar Association.
To finance the legal assistance, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the Ministers of Justice and VSA. The first case in which an attorney was appointed to a patient has already been handled successfully.
Courthouse Sint Maarten welcomes this significant milestone in the protection of the rights of vulnerable persons and remains committed to safeguarding and strengthening the legal position of citizens.
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