In practice, all parliamentary plenary sessions and those of the Central Committee are open to the public. Public access to parliamentary sessions is also provided for through both radio and internet, although the frequent change of hands of broadcasting rights for radio reduce transparency in practice. The internet TV-channel,197 however, can easily be found via a link on Parliament’s website, and provides access to some videos recorded earlier. It does not, however, provide a search engine, and access to videos made before the launch of the site is not provided for. Also, the convocations of the public plenary sessions and the public sessions of the Central Committee are made available on the internet, albeit in a somewhat fragmented way, and only from June 2012 onwards.198 As far as could be assessed, they are now usually published well in advance. Also, Parliament is thought to be fairly effective in informing the public about its work, in the sense that, as one respondent indicated, individual members of Parliament often have good access (‘een direct lijntje’) to the media. However, Parliament as an institution is not considered to provide information about its work in as an effective and timely manner. Those who know what they are looking for and know whom to ask for it, are likely to receive the information requested eventually, but Parliament – at least up to recently – does not proactively publish a register of all its documents received and produced, its activities and its decisions. Moreover, minutes of the sessions, including voting records, may be difficult to obtain at all.199 Also, although Parliament’s website does contain general information on, for example, Parliament’s duties and powers, committees, and its own rules of procedure, the information provided is somewhat limited (but see below). Moreover, although Parliament’s website does offer a language choice in Papiamentu, Spanish and English, legislation on the website is only made available in Dutch, whereas several other documents are only made available in Papiamentu. On the positive side and importantly, more recently, since March 2013, Parliament is significantly expanding the content of its website. The website now also contains links to official documents published in the Country Gazette and the Official Curaçao Gazette, including those relevant to the constitutional changes in October 2010. It also contains lists of incoming documents, some committee reports, motions, draft legislation and some letters received and sent, although it could not be determined whether or not the information provided is complete. Minutes of meetings, however, are not yet published on the website, and the website does not provide much information about Parliament’s activities and decision-making processes before March 2013.
Accountability (law) Score: 50 TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THERE PROVISIONS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO REPORT ON AND BE ANSWERABLE FOR ITS ACTIONS?
There are a number of checks and balances in place, which include a (limited) constitutional review and Kingdom regulations to ensure compatibility with higher-order law. However, barring elections, there are no provisions which require Parliament to consult with or report to the public. Individual members of Parliament enjoy limited immunity from prosecution, and may be disciplined. Legislation may not be in conflict with the Charter for the Kingdom, international regulations, Kingdom Acts and orders in council for the Kingdom, or with interests of which promotion or 197
www.parlamentodikorsou.tv. The internet TV-channel provides convocations from June 2012 onwards; since March 2013, convocations are to be found on Parliament’s own website, www.parlamento.cw/documents. 199 Also refer to L.J.J. Rogier, Principles of Caribean Constitutional Law (Beginselen van Caribisch Staatsrecht) (Den Haag: Boom Juridische Uitgevers, 2012), p.133. 198
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NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT CURAÇAO