Combined Appeals Court of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba

The Combined Appeals Court of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba serves the Caribbean territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands [ [http://www.rechtspraak.nl/Gerechten/HogeRaad/Over+de+Hoge+Raad/Nederlandse+Antillen+en+Aruba Rechtspraak.nl - Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba ] ] . The court services appeals from lower courts in the Caribbean territories, and is a peer with similar courts in the Netherlands. The Common Court has been established on Curaçao, but also holds court in Aruba and Sint Maarten.

Composition

The court is composed of judges from the first level of courts. Judges that took part in at case at the lower level may not participate in a case at this level.

Right of Appeal

The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands specified that appeals of first-level courts must be regulated. That law is the declaration of 20 July 1961, Stb. 1961, 212, titled the "Cassatieregeling Nederlandse Antillen" ("Appeals Regulations of the Netherlands Antilles"), later renamed "Cassatieregeling Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba". This law fixed that the High Council of the the Netherlands recognizes the jurisdiction of the Combined Appeals Court of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba over civil and criminal cases which were initiated in the first-level courts within those territories.

One distinction between the appeals procedure in the Netherlands and that of the Caribbean territories is that when a judgment of a Netherlands court is overturned by the High Council, the case is generally turned over to a different court at the same level for purposes of rendering a new decision. Because the Common Court is the only court at its level, it will rehear its own cases after being overruled.

Future of the Court

After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, currently scheduled for December 15, 2008, the court will be renamed, but will serve the same function for the new countries of Curacao and Sint Maarten, as well as for the islands of Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius.

See also

* [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemeenschappelijk_Hof_van_Justitie_van_de_Nederlandse_Antillen_en_Aruba Dutch Wikipedia article on which this article is based]

References