THE HAGUE - The Ministers of Justice Grapperhaus (Netherlands), Bikker (Aruba), Girigorie (Curaçao) and Richardson (Sint Maarten) met on cooperation in the justice area within the Kingdom. Grapperhaus naturally also represented the interests of the Caribbean Netherlands during the consultation; Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius. Because of the corona crisis, the Judicial Four-Party Consultation (JVO) did not take place physically this time, but via a video conference, under the chairmanship of the Netherlands.
The ministers first considered the major impact of the corona virus on the countries and the stringent measures that have been in place to bring the virus under control. These measures have had an impact not only on daily life but also on the functioning of the justice chain. Ministers underlined the importance of good cooperation in justice, especially in times of crisis. The JVO is the six-monthly moment to strengthen this collaboration.
At the initiative of Curaçao, agreements have been made to intensify the cooperation between the national investigation teams of Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao and the Rijksrecherche (Kingdom investigation team). This will involve looking at joint training courses, exchanging experts with each other's investigation teams and making internships available. Ministers also discussed the further progress of aligning the protection of personal data.
During the judicial consultation, Aruba joined the so-called ICT Law Enforcement Partnership, with which all four countries are now affiliated. This not only improves the exchange of information within the judicial chain in Aruba itself. This also promotes cooperation and exchange of information between the BES islands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and now also Aruba. For example, by working with equal police and border systems, the local services can exchange (investigation) information more easily and quickly.
The next JVO will again take place under the chairmanship of the Netherlands on 7 and 8 January 2021.