GREAT BAY--St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao are advancing a joint legislative initiative aimed at ensuring that disputes between the Caribbean countries and the Kingdom government are settled through legally binding decisions by an independent body, rather than leaving the final say with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
The longstanding effort gained further momentum after a committee of Aruba's Parliament unanimously endorsed the latest draft of the proposed Kingdom Disputes Act, bringing the three countries closer to establishing a mechanism they have sought since the constitutional restructuring of 2010.
The Central Committee of Aruba's Parliament approved the latest version of the proposed Kingdom Disputes Act on October 19, 2026, along with the continuation of the legislative process. The decision was communicated in an October 22 letter to the parliaments of Curaçao and St. Maarten, according to media a report published Tuesday.
The development follows a tripartite parliamentary meeting held in Curaçao on October 15, during which representatives of the three Caribbean countries agreed to submit the revised proposal to their respective parliaments for consideration.
At the center of the initiative is a longstanding constitutional disagreement over who should have the final authority when conflicts arise between the Kingdom government and its autonomous Caribbean countries.
Under the proposed legislation, the Council of State of the Kingdom would be authorized to issue binding decisions on qualifying disputes concerning the interpretation of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and legislation based on the Charter.
The proposal would prevent the Kingdom Council of Ministers from disregarding those decisions, addressing a central concern repeatedly raised by Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.
The need for an independent dispute resolution mechanism dates back to the constitutional restructuring of October 10, 2010, when Curaçao and St. Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom alongside Aruba and the Netherlands.
Article 12a of the Kingdom Charter requires legislation establishing arrangements for resolving designated disputes between the Kingdom and its constituent countries.
Despite that requirement, agreement on the structure and authority of such a mechanism has remained elusive for more than 16 years.
A central source of disagreement has been whether decisions by an independent body should be legally binding or whether the Kingdom Council of Ministers should retain the ability to depart from those decisions.
The issue carries particular importance for the Caribbean countries because Dutch ministers hold a substantial majority within the Kingdom Council of Ministers, while Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten are each represented by one Minister Plenipotentiary.
Consequently, the three Caribbean countries have argued that a dispute mechanism must provide meaningful safeguards against the possibility that the Kingdom government could effectively remain the final authority in disagreements involving its own decisions.
A previous Dutch legislative proposal was approved by the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in 2019 but encountered opposition from the Caribbean countries, which considered its provisions insufficient to guarantee independent and binding dispute resolution.
The Dutch government withdrew that proposal in 2021 before consideration by the Senate.
Later that year, during the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation on Bonaire, the three Caribbean countries agreed to take the initiative in preparing their own legislation.
That cooperation resulted in a proposed Kingdom Disputes Act, formally submitted to the Dutch Second Chamber on September 11, 2025, by Aruba's Minister Plenipotentiary.
The proposal seeks to establish a procedure through which disputes that cannot be resolved through consultations may be referred to the Council of State of the Kingdom.
Its defining feature is that the Council's decisions would be binding, preventing the Kingdom Council of Ministers from setting them aside.
Supporters of the initiative view this as essential to strengthening the legal position of the Caribbean countries and ensuring that disputes over Kingdom powers are not ultimately decided through the existing imbalance of representation within the Kingdom government.
However, the Council of State, in an advisory opinion issued on March 4, 2026, recommended a more nuanced arrangement.
While recognizing the need for a proper dispute resolution mechanism, the Council advised that legal findings should be binding, while decisions involving political and administrative considerations should allow limited flexibility in exceptionally compelling circumstances.
The advisory body also recommended clarification of several procedural provisions, including which countries may initiate disputes and how the proposed mechanism would interact with existing Kingdom procedures.
These recommendations form part of the continuing legislative discussions.
To guide the development of the proposal, the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten established a joint working group known as the Petit Comité during a tripartite meeting in Aruba on February 23, 2026.
St. Maarten is represented on the committee by Members of Parliament Egbert Doran and Sarah Wescot-Williams.
Aruba's representatives are Edgard Vrolijk and John Hart, while Curaçao is represented by Quincy Girigorie and Ramón Yung.
The committee was tasked with examining questions surrounding the proposed legislation, considering possible amendments and helping coordinate the positions of the three Caribbean parliaments.
During the October 15 meeting in Curaçao, the delegations reviewed the latest version of the proposal and agreed to return it to their respective parliaments for further consideration.
Aruba's unanimous committee endorsement represents progress in that process, although the legislation has not yet been enacted and remains subject to further parliamentary consideration.
For St. Maarten, the proposal has significance beyond the immediate legislative negotiations. A functioning and independent dispute resolution mechanism could provide a clearer legal process for addressing disagreements with the Kingdom government concerning the interpretation of constitutional powers and responsibilities.
Such a mechanism would not eliminate political disagreements or replace negotiations among the Kingdom partners. It would, however, establish a formal avenue for resolving qualifying disputes when consultation fails.
With Aruba having endorsed the latest draft, attention now turns to the positions of the parliaments of Curaçao and St. Maarten and the further handling of the proposal in the Dutch legislative process.
The outcome will determine whether a constitutional commitment dating back to 2010 finally results in a dispute resolution system accepted by the countries of the Kingdom.
