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Aruba: a Separate ‘Country’ within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on its Way to Independence*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

H.G. de Jong
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Extract

A Round Table Conference involving the two member-Countries constituting the Kingdom of the Netherlands, i.e., the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, and the six islands of the Netherlands Antilles, took place in March 1983 in The Hague. The subject was the constitutional position of one of the islands, Aruba. Acting on the assumption that each of the islands had the right of self-determination, the Conference accepted Aruba's decision to make use of that right and opt for independence, and thus secession from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to take effect in 1996. In the interim Aruba would be granted separate status, i.e., as a Country within the Kingdom under the Charter of the Kingdom, for a transitional period of ten years.

Type
Articles
Information
Netherlands Yearbook of International Law , Volume 20 , December 1989 , pp. 71 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © T.M.C. Asser Press 1989

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References

1. The conclusions reached at the Conference are recorded in Bijl. Hand. II 1982/83 — 17816 No. 1. Some of them are mentioned in 15 NYIL (1984) pp. 273–274. For a summary, see also Borman, C., ‘Aruba land in het Koninkrijk’ [Aruba – a country of the Kingdom], 35 Ars Aequi (1986) p. 361.Google Scholar

2. Figures (for 1985) taken from Koulen, J. and Oostindie, G., The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba: A Research Guide, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (1987)Google Scholar. On the Antilles, see also Hoetink, H., ‘De Nederlandse Antillen en hun plaats in de Caribische regio’ [The Netherlands Antilles and their place in the Caribbean], in Meyers, H., ed., Volkenrechtelijke aspecten van Antilliaanse onafhankelijkheid [International Law Facets of Antillean Independence] (1980) p. 31.Google Scholar

3. Decree of 14 September 1815, No. 58.

4. See Bos, M., ‘Surinam's Road from Self-Government to Sovereignty’, 7 NYIL (1976) p. 131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

5. van der Pot, C.W., Handboek van het Nederlandse staatsrecht [Manual of Dutch Constitutional Law], 11th edn., Donner, A.M., ed. (1983) p. 594.Google Scholar

6. Art. 61 of the 1922 Constitution.

7. See van Helsdingen, W.H., Het Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; wor-dingsgeschiedenis, commentaar en praktijk [The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands: history, commentary and practice] (1957).Google Scholar

8. Act of 28 September 1950, S.K. 419.

9. An English translation of the Charter was published in 5 NILR (1958) p. 107. See also van Panhuys, H.F., ‘The International Aspects of the Reconstruction of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954’, 5 NILR (1958) p. 8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

10. Cf., Kuyper, P.J. and Kapteyn, P.J.G., ‘A Colonial Power as Champion of Self Determination: Netherlands State Practice in the Period 1945–1975’, in van Panhuys, H.F. et al. , eds., International Law in the Netherlands, Vol. III (1980) p. 149, at p. 180 et seq.Google Scholar

11. Van Helsdingen, op. cit. n. 7, p. 59.

12. Arts. 88–93 of the Constitution, Stb. 1955 No. 136.

13. For an explanation, see Verton, P.C., ‘Wat vind U van de toekomstige band met Nederland?’ [What do you think about future ties with the Netherlands?]Google Scholar, in Bongenaar, K.E.M. et al. , Nos futuro; wegen naar een toekomst voor de Nederlandse Antillen [Nos futuro, different approaches to a future for the Netherlands Antilles], a publication of the University of the Netherlands Antilles (1986).Google Scholar

14. Van der Pot and Dormer, op. cit. n. 5, p. 618.

15. Report of the Kingdom Working Group, The Hague, 1980, p. 15.

16. Bijl. Hand. II 1980/81 – 16400 (February 1981), and 1981/82 – 17160 (October 1981).

17. Report of the Joint Commission on the Future of the Antilles, The Hague, 1982.

18. Minutes of the Conference, The Hague, 1983.

19. The maritime boundary between Aruba and the Antilles essential for the implementation of this conclusion is discussed in the following section.

20. See Borman, loc cit. n. 1.

21. Stb. 1985 No. 452. Bijl. Hand. I 18826 (R1275). The text of the amended Charter was published by Royal Decree of 9 August 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 453. The date on which the amendments took effect was laid down by Royal Decree of 30 August 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 476.

22. Act of 20 June 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 370, which entered into force on 14 July 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 388.

23. The relationship between national and international law for Aruba, as also for the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, is governed by the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This Constitution precedes from the premise that treaty law is superior to national law. Statutory regulations in force within the Kingdom, including the Constitution, shall not be applicable if such application is in conflict with provisions of treaties that are binding on all persons or of decisions of international organizations (Art. 94 Constitution). The supremacy of international law does not extend to customary law.

24. Royal Decree of 10 October 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 548. The text was published in the Official Journal of Aruba, No. 26.

25. See Mendes, H. Fernandes, ‘Aruba en de Antillen: naar een nieuwe samenwerking’ [Aruba and the Antilles: towards a new form of co-operation], Tijdschrift voor Antilliaans Recht-Justicia (1986) p. 75.Google Scholar

26. The following matters are concerned: draft uniform ordinances of the Countries; draft amendments to the Co-operative Settlement; appointment of the President of the Constitutional Court; recommendations for appointment of members of the judiciary in so far as Crown appointments are concerned; appointment of deputy judges to courts of first instance and the Registrar to the Joint Court of Justice; implementation of protocols concerning air and sea transport, exploitation of seabed resources, the telecommunication and metereological services; economic cooperation concerning the free trade zone for locally produced products and the free movement of services; admission and establishment of persons exercising a profession from the other countries; changes in the rates of excise on products originating in third countries.

27. Royal Decree of 4 October 1985 (Stb. 1985 No. 542; text of Co-operative Settlement appended).

28. Stb. 1985 No. 664. The Civil Service commenced on 1 January 1986 following the Royal Decree of 13 December 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 665.

29. Cf., the account in Bijl. Hand. I 1986/87 – 19793 (R1320) No. 7. For a comparison with other autonomous areas see Hannum, H. and Lillich, R.B., ‘The Concept of Autonomy in International Law’, 74 AJIL (1980) p. 858.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

30. See Sondaal, H.H.M., De Nederlandse Verdragspraktijk [Dutch treaty practice] (1986) p. 190 et seq.Google Scholar

31. Art. 27 Charter.

32. Art. 26 Charter. Although this provision refers only to treaties of an economic or financial nature, in practice such co-operation is granted irrespective of the nature of the treaty (Sondaal, op. cit. n. 30, p. 192).

33. To avoid the necessity for large numbers of separate approval procedures, the Act of 12 December 1985, Stb. 1985 No. 668 laid down that Parliamentary approval was not required for future extension treaties. The relevant treaties are listed in an annex to this paper.

34. Bijl. Hand. II 1988/89 — 20800, Chapter IV, No. 2, p. 6.

35. From the Explanatory Memorandum to the Charter.

36. Hand. II 1984/85, p. 5371. Bijl. Hand. I 1984–85 — 18826 (R1275) No. 22.

37. Similarly, Kapteyn, P.J.G., De Nederlandse Antillen en de uitoefening van net zelfbeschik-kingsrecht [The Netherlands Antilles and the exercise of the right to self-determination], Medede-lingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (1982) p. 12.Google Scholar

38. Res. 1514 (XV), 14 December 1960.

39. Res. 1541 (XV), 15 December 1960.

40. Res. 2625 (XXXV), 24 October 1970.

41. Hand. II 1984/85, p. 5341.

42. As in Fernandes Mendes, loc. cit. n. 25, p. 83.