PHILIPSBURG–A draft of the new integrity chamber law is close to completion and will be up for the approval of the Council of Ministers by the end of the month, Prime Minister William Marlin told Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
Once approved by the ministers, the draft law, worked on jointly by technocrats from the Dutch and local governments, will be sent to the Council of Advice for its review and comments, because it can be tabled in Parliament.
The law will replace the one passed over a year ago by Parliament that was later tossed out by the Constitutional Court for not sufficiently protecting residents among other points. The new draft does not have any of the points that led the Ombudsman to take the scrapped one before the Constitutional Court for its judgment.
Since then, the Dutch Government had moved to get an integrity chamber imposed on the country via a Kingdom instruction. The instruction has been suspended after an agreement was reached in June between the two governments on either side of the Atlantic. The agreement calls for the local government to have the law ready by a deadline of October 31.
Members of Parliament (MPs) were adamant in their concern that the agreement ties Parliament to pass the law by the deadline of October 31. They argued that no one or entity had the power to bind the legislature.
Marlin reacted to their concerns saying Parliament was not bound by the deadlines and admonished the MPs for what he suspected was their neglecting to read all of the documents sent to them on the topic.
Thursday’s session was the continuation of one started in May on the topic of the Kingdom instruction.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/68222-govt-to-send-integrity-chamber-law-for-review-by-month-s-end
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