WILLEMSTAD--Sigmar Carmelia was installed as the 26th president of the Joint Court of Justice on Friday, October 16, pledging to strengthen access to justice, develop local legal talent and maintain cooperation across the six Caribbean islands served by the court.
Carmelia, who will mark 25 years as a jurist on November 1, said the court must remain accessible to everyone, regardless of the language they speak or the island on which they live. The court serves Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
In his installation speech, Carmelia described justice and the rule of law as essential to a healthy society, comparing their importance to food and oxygen. His speech coincided with World Food Day, which highlights the need for sufficient and healthy food for everyone. “A just society does not arise by itself,” he said, emphasising that the law must be maintained, developed and applied in practice, with access to justice available to all.
Carmelia said values such as honesty, respect and responsibility begin at home and at school. He also highlighted the role of the court in helping young people understand the justice system through school and university lectures, open days and the annual Summer Court programme, which introduces local legal talent to the work of the institution.
Carmelia began his career as a lawyer in Curaçao in 2004 after studying law in Curaçao and the Netherlands. He later completed judicial training in 2012 and has served as a member of the Joint Court since 2015. In 2019, he completed an internship in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court in The Hague.
He said his experience as a lawyer taught him to present clients’ interests clearly and challenge judges to consider cases carefully. As a judge, he has had to take responsibility for weighing the relevant circumstances, listening to the parties and reaching reasoned decisions. Carmelia said the rule of law depends on different institutions fulfilling their responsibilities while respecting one another’s roles and the independence of the judiciary.
He also stressed the importance of maintaining cooperation with governments, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, lawyers, notaries, bailiffs, the press and other partners in the justice system.
Carmelia said he intends to continue strengthening the court’s shared identity across the six islands while respecting their different cultures, languages and traditions. He said everyone should feel heard and protected, whether they speak Papiamentu, English, Spanish or Dutch.
The court’s work includes improving the availability of interpreters during hearings and making judicial decisions more accessible through publication. Carmelia noted that a pilot project had ensured an interpreter was present at every hearing, while a policy to improve the publication of rulings had already been implemented.
He also highlighted improvements to court facilities. Saba and St. Eustatius received their own courthouses under his predecessor, Mauritsz de Kort. In Curaçao, work is progressing towards the court’s return to the former town hall in Punda, with demolition completed and construction expected to begin soon. Work is also ongoing to provide suitable accommodation in Aruba, Bonaire and St. Maarten.
Developing local legal talent will be another priority. Carmelia said the court would continue working towards greater Caribbean representation within its ranks, providing opportunities for local professionals to gain experience and advance their careers. He added that colleagues from the Netherlands would remain welcome, bringing knowledge and perspectives that could strengthen the institution.
He also underlined the importance of cooperation with judicial institutions throughout the Kingdom and the wider Caribbean, including the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
Carmelia succeeds De Kort, who served as president for almost four years before becoming governor of Curaçao. He thanked his predecessor for bringing people together, making room for different perspectives and maintaining a focus on the people behind their positions.
The formal proceedings were accompanied by a more personal tribute from Guillano L.C. Schoop, prosecutor-general of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, who spoke about his nearly 40-year friendship with Carmelia.
Schoop recalled that the two first met through competitive table tennis, long before either entered the legal profession. He then revealed an unexpected detail from Carmelia’s childhood: the future president had played the leading role of Jesus in a Papiamentu-language school production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Kolegio Chaya Willems.
Using the story to draw parallels between the school performance and Carmelia’s new position, Schoop joked about the expectations that come with leadership, including the need to address calls for more judges, fewer backlogs and faster proceedings despite a limited budget.
He also highlighted the more serious responsibilities of the presidency, saying the position would require Carmelia to set an example, earn the trust of colleagues and make difficult decisions when interests and expectations conflict.
Schoop congratulated Carmelia on his appointment on behalf of the staff of the public prosecutors’ offices across the Dutch Caribbean and expressed hope that cooperation between the court and prosecutors would continue under his leadership. He also addressed Carmelia’s wife and two daughters, acknowledging that the demands of the presidency would affect the family as well as the new president.
Carmelia, in turn, thanked his colleagues, family and friends for their support. He credited his parents with instilling the discipline, responsibility and commitment that shaped his career, and paid tribute to his wife, Taisa, for her encouragement throughout his professional journey. He ended by emphasising that, alongside his responsibilities as a judge and president, being a father remained one of the most important roles in his life.
