At a glance

The Dutch side of the Island of Sint Maarten forms a part of the Netherlands Antilles which in its turn is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands as is Aruba and Holland. Our national laws are to a large extent similar and at times identical to Dutch law. However, Island regulations may differ substantially.

Each of the 5 Islands of the Netherlands Antilles has a Court in First Instance that handles civil, administrative and criminal cases. Decisions from the Court in First Instance can be appealed with the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. This appellate court has its seat on the Island of Curaçao but the Appellate Court judges travel throughout the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba on a regular basis to handle appeal cases.

Further appeals are heard by the highest court of the Kingdom being the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) located in The Hague, Holland. This court only deals with matters of the law and its function is comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court and the French Court de Cassation. In theory, further appeals may be heard by the European Court for Human Rights but this hardly ever occurs in our daily practice.

All our lawyers are licensed to practice in the Courts in First Instance, the Appellate Court and the High Court of the Netherlands.

As Sint Maarten is an Island with a dual nationality -both Dutch and French- located amidst quite some other jurisdictions, we have established professional relationships with a number of different law firms in the region enabling us to assist you even if cross-border situations arise.