Central Bank appointment cannot Be twisted to suit political agendas, says MP Irion

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Ardwell Irion has raised serious concerns about recent actions by the Council of Ministers that appear to undermine the legal framework governing the appointment of the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS).

According to MP Irion, the nomination of Mr. Jairo Bloem is unlawful and sets a dangerous precedent if allowed to proceed outside the legal requirements of the Central Bank Statute. “This issue goes to the heart of institutional credibility and rule of law. We must protect the independence of our Central Bank, not politicize it.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭’𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Article 25 of the Central Bank Statute governs the appointment of the Supervisory Board, including the Chairperson. It requires that:

The Chair is appointed jointly by the governments of Sint Maarten and Curaçao via national decree (landsbesluit). The nomination must be based on a recommendation adopted by at least five sixths of the Supervisory Board. Ministers may not initiate or finalize appointments outside this structure.

In 2021, the Joint Court of Justice reinforced these rules. MP Irion provided the court documents which verified his statements: In its 23 August 2021 decision, the Court refused to appoint a Chair, stating:

 “𝘐𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭 25 𝘭𝘪𝘥 3 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘥𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘻𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱 𝘨𝘦𝘻𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘱 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘬𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 5/6 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘙𝘷𝘊. 𝘕𝘶 𝘥𝘦 𝘙𝘷𝘊 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘫𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘻𝘢𝘭 𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘯, 𝘻𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘫𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘻𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.”

“Pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 3 of the Central Bank charter, the appointment of the chairperson takes place on the joint nomination of the Ministers, based on a recommendation made by a 5/6 majority of the Supervisory Board. Now that the Supervisory Board will once again be largely staffed following the temporary appointments, the President sees no reason at this stage to proceed with the temporary appointment of a chairperson.”

A follow-up ruling on 29 November 2021 clarified that temporary board appointments remain valid only until the governments complete proper appointments via national decree, as required by Article 25(4).

These rulings are unequivocal: without a five sixths recommendation and landsbesluit, no Chair can be appointed not by the Ministers, not by the Court.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Much has been said about delays in CBCS board appointments, but the facts matter.

When temporary members were nominated in 2021, the local security service (VDSM) refused to conduct the required screenings, claiming no legal basis. Historically, such screenings were standard before any national decree was signed. The resulting legal vacuum created a months long impasse.

"During my tenure as Minister of Finance, legislation was amended to address this issue and legally require screening of CBCS board members. Only then could lawful appointments resume.

In that period, a name was submitted to me via a five sixths recommendation from the Supervisory Board. I was later informed that a second candidate was being considered. All nominations came from the Board as required by law. No Minister had the authority to generate or substitute candidates independently," MP Irion said.

"Unfortunately, the current administration has yet to finalize the national decrees of those temporary appointments. This failure has stalled the process of lawfully appointing a Chair and allowed the situation to be misrepresented as deadlocked, when in fact, it was deliberately left unresolved," he added.

MP said there are several questions that the Government must answer. If the government claims its recent nomination is legal, it must explain:

1. What process was followed to arrive at the nominee?

2. Who were the other potential candidates, if any?

3. Were those candidates formally submitted by the Supervisory Board?

4. Which firm or government entity was used to identify or evaluate candidates?

5. Did the Department of Legal Affairs provide a formal legal review, as is standard in Central Bank matters?

6. Who advised the Council of Ministers on the legal soundness of the process?

7. Did the Council of Ministers of Curaçao approve the nomination and issue its own supporting advice?

Additionally, in the interest of transparency and public trust:

8. Who were the members of the CBCS Supervisory Board during the period leading up to and during the ENNIA crisis?

9. What decisions or oversights during that period contributed to the situation now affecting thousands of policyholders?

10. Are any of those individuals currently involved in the nomination or recommendation process?

"Public confidence in the Central Bank depends on a transparent and legally sound appointment process, not political maneuvering or selective disclosure. The Joint Court of Justice has already affirmed that appointments to the CBCS Supervisory Board especially that of Chair must follow the strict procedures of Article 25 of the Statute. No exceptions exist," MP Irion said.

"As Members of Parliament, we should not support any attempt to legitimize an appointment that bypasses the Supervisory Board, lacks the required five sixths recommendation, or is not formalized through a joint national decree. This is not about one individual. This is about the integrity of our institutions and the rule of law," he concluded.

‍