PHILIPSBURG–During the induction ceremony of three new judges to the Court of St. Maarten, Court President Eunice Saleh announced that renovation work on the Courthouse buildings will begin in the coming months.
Hurricane Irma damaged the Courthouse and the Annex, as well as destroying some of the materials Court workers used in carrying out their duties. Although emergency repairs were done to get the judiciary underway as soon as possible, work still needs to be done, said Saleh.
“The fact remains that both buildings will be made as hurricane-proof as possible and restored in such a way that … internal processes take place in modern and safe courthouses,” she said.
The first phase of the renovation work is expected to start in the final three months of the year.
The Courthouse already boasts some physical improvements, such as a lawyers’ consultation room and the Investigating Judge’s Cabinet being placed in the Annex.
A “Child Friendly Court” will also start this month. In this new development, children being heard by a judge will receive their own summonses and an information leaflet. They will be accommodated in a special room on arrival, with the hearing not taking place in the large courtroom, but in a small, child-friendly room.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/90258-court-president-announces-renovations-to-courthouse
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