Kingdom Council approves judicial appointment to Caribbean Joint Court

The Kingdom Council of Ministers has approved the nomination of Yvonne Sneevliet as an alternate member of the Joint Court of Justice, which handles cases across Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. Her appointment is due to take effect retrospectively from 1 August 2026, the government said.

Sneevliet is a judge and a councillor at the Netherlands’ Central Appeals Tribunal. The Joint Court hears civil, criminal and administrative cases, including tax matters, at first instance and on appeal.

The government also put forward Marlies Wolfrat and Brechtje Jacoba Huiskes for three-year appointments as special members of the court’s appellate panel for cases under Article 37 of the Kingdom Act governing the Joint Court. Wolfrat is already an alternate member; if appointed to the panel, she will leave that role. She is also a councillor at the Central Appeals Tribunal. Huiskes teaches constitutional and administrative law at the University of Aruba.

Pascal Johannes Daniel Jacobs has been nominated for a six-year term on the BES Appeals Tribunal for Civil Servants. He works in constitutional and administrative law at the University of Curaçao and specialises in those fields, including environmental law, the government said. The nominations for Wolfrat, Huiskes and Jacobs take effect on the date of the relevant royal decree.