WILLEMSTAD--The four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agree that closer police and justice cooperation has become increasingly urgent as organized criminal networks operate across national borders, but they remain divided over how the exchange of police and judicial information should be legally regulated.
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel made the assessment following this week’s Four-Country Judicial Consultation, JVO, in Curaçao, where the justice ministers of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten discussed cooperation across the Kingdom.
A central issue remains the exchange of police information. Van Weel said there is little disagreement about the need to improve information sharing, but the countries have not reached agreement on the legal mechanism that should govern it.
The Netherlands favors a consensus Kingdom Act that would establish a common legal framework for structural information exchange throughout the Kingdom. Van Weel considers such legislation the best, and from the Dutch perspective necessary, way to regulate the system. Some Caribbean countries have questioned whether a consensus Kingdom Act is required or whether the same objective could be achieved through another legal arrangement.
Van Weel has argued that the current situation is undesirable because Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten can effectively be treated almost like third countries when police information is transferred from the Netherlands.
The disagreement therefore centers less on whether information should be shared and more on how the rules should be established, including the extent to which authority should be regulated at Kingdom level in an area that also falls within the autonomous responsibilities of the individual countries.
No final agreement on the issue was reached during the JVO.
Van Weel said the need to resolve the matter is becoming more urgent because criminal organizations increasingly operate as international networks with connections across several jurisdictions.
He described modern criminal organizations as operating much like multinational enterprises, with networks capable of controlling large portions of the criminal supply chain, from production to distribution. These networks can have operators, intermediaries and associates in the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten at the same time.
According to Van Weel, the problem is that criminal organizations are able to take advantage of borders and differences between legal systems far more easily than justice authorities can overcome those same barriers.
He said investigators risk missing important relationships between suspects and criminal activities when information systems are not properly connected and information cannot be exchanged efficiently.
Van Weel pointed to a recent violent incident in Overasselt in the Netherlands, where dozens of people of different nationalities were arrested, as an example of how modern criminal networks can span multiple countries and nationalities. He said such cases demonstrate why the Netherlands cannot combat international criminal organizations alone.
The discussions also exposed another challenge facing justice cooperation across the Kingdom: the significant differences in financial and institutional capacity between the Netherlands and the three Caribbean countries.
Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten each operate with comparatively small national budgets while still having to maintain complete justice systems. Van Weel acknowledged that this creates difficulties that the Netherlands does not experience to the same extent.
The challenge extends throughout the justice chain. While Kingdom-wide or specialized investigative services can be strengthened, the individual countries must still have sufficient capacity within their police forces, prosecution services, courts, prisons and care institutions to deal with the cases generated by those investigations.
If one part of that chain is strengthened without corresponding investment in the next stage, Van Weel cautioned that the bottleneck simply moves elsewhere.
He also acknowledged why the justice ministers of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten meet among themselves ahead of the wider JVO to discuss their shared financial and organizational challenges.
At the same time, Van Weel cautioned against allowing the consultation to develop into a perception of the Netherlands on one side and the three Caribbean countries on the other. He stressed the importance of sustained personal dialogue between the ministers to maintain cooperation and avoid a three-against-one dynamic.
The discussions highlight what has become a central challenge for law enforcement within the Kingdom: criminal organizations increasingly treat the Kingdom as one operating area, while justice authorities continue to work across four separate legal systems, with different legislation, budgets and information structures.
The countries share many of the same criminal networks, drug trafficking routes and suspects, but they do not automatically have access to the same information and must repeatedly establish agreements for joint facilities and operations.
The JVO showed that there is broad political willingness to strengthen cooperation and that progress is being made in several areas. However, important questions surrounding information exchange, capacity within the justice chain and specialized services remain unresolved.
Van Weel said he hopes the countries can reach agreement soon, arguing that justice authorities must increasingly match the speed and international reach of criminal organizations that have long moved beyond the internal borders of the Kingdom.
Photo: Minister of Justice of Curacao Shalten Hato and the Minister of Justice of St. Maarten Nathalie Tackling-Asrani, in discussion at JVO.
