St. Maarten to host JVO in January, Dutch minister files report to Parliament on Monday

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten will host the next session of the Judicial Four Country consultation from January 14 to 16, 2026, bringing the justice ministers of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, and the Netherlands together to review joint priorities. The Dutch Minister of Justice and Security submitted the latest report on the consultation to the Dutch House of Representatives on Monday, outlining decisions and follow up from the September 11, 2025 meeting in The Hague.

The consultation focuses on a coordinated approach to justice and security within the Kingdom. Ministers confirmed continued cooperation against organized and subversive crime, including an inventory of current operations that target drug flows into and through the Kingdom. That inventory will inform the January agenda, where ministers will decide whether to adjust, intensify, or add measures. The update also noted the work of the Caribbean Undermining Platform, which produces shared criminal intelligence products to improve insight into cross border criminal activity and support joint actions.

Capacity and care were central items. The countries are moving ahead with a multi year program to strengthen forensic care, treatment, and youth measures, including TBS and PIJ. A program manager will be recruited to set shared objectives, prepare an integrated program plan, and support phased country plans. Kingdom wide training initiatives are expected, with Dutch financing where projects fall within the program’s scope. Progress on these steps will be reviewed when the ministers meet on St. Maarten in January.

The report confirms the continuation of the Officer in Training program for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Caribbean. Four trainees have completed the track, a fifth is expected to finish by the end of 2025, and a new three year cycle has been approved. The aim is to build local prosecution capacity and reduce dependence on personnel from the European Netherlands over time.

Ministers recorded the withdrawal of a 2006 guardianship protocol that had required a temporary guardian for unaccompanied minors relocating from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom to the European Netherlands. The obligation is removed, reflecting digital developments and the lack of an objective basis for a different treatment based on origin. The consultation also reviewed ongoing work to harmonize personal data protection, aligning Kingdom legislation with Convention 108 plus to ensure a sound legal basis for responsible data sharing.

Governance items were addressed as well. The ministers discussed annual plans, reports, and budgets for joint institutions and services, including the Joint Court of Justice, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Council for Law Enforcement, the RST, and the ICT foundation for law enforcement. Timely adoption of these documents remains important for continuity and performance across the system.

St. Maarten will welcome its Kingdom partners in January. The session will take stock of the drug flow inventory, the rollout of the forensic care program, the next Officer in Training cycle, the implementation of data protection harmonization, and the status of annual plans and budgets for joint institutions.

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘢, 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘓. 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘢ç𝘢𝘰 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘰, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦.

‍

‍