Indebt investigation needed to eliminate the conflict of interest and nepotism at Court House if existed.
PHILIPSBURG:--- An unsigned letter was sent to SMN News where persons are accusing a judge at the Court of First Instance to be involved in a conflict of interest and possible nepotism.
The letter outlined that there is a conflict of interest at the highest level at the Court of First Instance, it was sent to the President of the Supreme Court and the President of the Joint Court of Justice.
According to the letter they are representing a group of lawyers that are disgruntled and that their family members residing on St. Maarten were victims of the conflict of interest where the judge Mauritz de Kort who was supposed to be the judge of instruction on St. Maarten is handling civil cases that involves the law firm where his live-in partner works and also that of another law firm that is located in Maho and also has ties to the law firm where his partner works.
Even though the letter was sent to SMN News from Curacao, SMN News contacted several lawyers on St. Maarten who confirmed that the information in the letter is factual and that the representative of St. Maarten Bar Association will not address the matter even though it is affecting a number of people that depend on the judicial system.
Some of the lawyers SMN News spoke to on Monday said that what is in the letter are factual statements and that the judge placed himself in the situation he is in and its time now that he gets out of it so that justice can be served in a democratic way.
SMN News sent the letter and even the envelope which can be found beneath this article to the Attorney General Guus Schram asking that an independent investigation is conducted and that he makes the report available whenever that investigation is completed. The said letter was also sent to the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and deputy Minister of Justice on St. Maarten where it was requested that they too investigate what is taking place at the Court House on St. Maarten. SMN News tried contacted Judge de Kort on Monday at the Court of First Instance and was told that the judge is not in office since he is currently on vacation.
Should the authorities chose not to take action SMN News will mention some of the cases and persons that were heavily affected by the alleged actions of the judge.
