News item | 24-04-2026 | 13:30
Mr. SA (Sigmar) Carmelia is appointed president of the Common Court of Justice. The appointment will take effect on the day the Royal Decree is signed. In addition to a new president, 6 new members and a deputy judge are appointed to the Common Court of Justice. The Kingdom Council of Ministers has approved the nomination for the appointments on the proposal of State Secretary Van Bruggen of Justice and Security.
The new president, Mr. Carmelia has been a (substitute) member of the Common Court since 2014. Previously, he was a deputy judge/subdistrict judge in the Gelderland court, a lawyer, and legal advisor at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. He is the successor to Mr. Mauritsz de Kort, who was president of the Joint Court until November 4, 2025. Mr. De Kort has been appointed Governor of Curaçao.
Mr. JCAM (Angela) Los will be appointed as a criminal judge as of June 1, 2026, based in Curaçao. Mr. Los is a judge at the Zeeland-West Brabant court. Previously, she was a judge and supervisory judge at the Rotterdam District Court, a supervisory judge at the Zeeland-West Brabant District Court and a court hearing officer.
Mr. WJ (Willem-Jan) van Brussel is appointed judge in administrative law, based in Aruba. He is currently a counselor at the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal and previously worked as a counselor at the Central Appeals Board and a judge at the North Holland District Court.
Mr. JH (Jacqueline) Broek is appointed judge in civil law, based in Sint Maarten. She now works as a judge in the North Holland District Court and previously worked as a judge in the Amsterdam District Court and as a candidate notary.
G. (Guido) Konings is also appointed as a judge in civil law based in Sint Maarten. He is currently a judge in the Central Netherlands District Court, a member of the disciplinary committee for banks and a lecturer in insolvency procedural law at the Study Center for the Administration of Justice of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecution Service. Before that he worked as a lawyer. The appointments of Van Brussel, Broek and Konings will take effect on August 1, 2026.
Mr. SB (Susanne) Smit-Colenbrander will be appointed judge in administrative law as of September 1, 2026, based in Curaçao. She is a judge at the Central Appeals Tribunal and was previously a judge in the Central Netherlands District Court and the Northern Netherlands District Court. She also worked at the administrative law department of the Council of State.
Mr. MW (Menno) Zandbergen will be appointed judge for appeal cases in civil law as of October 1, 2026, based in Curaçao. Zandbergen has recently become a substitute member of the Court and is a judge in the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal. He was also a member of the Common Court of Justice for a period, based in Curaçao. Before that, he worked as a judge at the North Holland District Court and as a corporate lawyer at the Joint Administration Office.
Mr. DG (Devi) of Groningen is appointed as deputy judge and appointed as examining magistrate in criminal cases in Saba. The appointment will take effect on the day the Royal Decree is signed. Van Groningen works as a legal management advisor at the Public Entity of Saba. Previously, he worked at the Regional Disciplinary Board for Healthcare and the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal.
The Common Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba administers justice on the islands. The judges at the Common Court of Justice hear civil cases, criminal cases and administrative cases (including tax cases), both at first instance and on appeal. The Common Court is also involved in special courts of law (such as for civil service matters) and in boards charged with disciplinary proceedings. The Court consists of locally employed judges and expatriate judges.
