News item | 31-10-2025 | 2:50 PM
Three deputy members and a deputy judge are appointed to the Common Court of Justice. Mr. GAFM (Gertjan) Wouters, Mr. Th. G. (Thea) Lautenbach and Mr. RM (Ronald) van Vuure are appointed as alternate members. Mr. MA (Monica) Brinkenberg is appointed deputy judge. The Kingdom Council of Ministers has approved the nominations for appointment on the proposal of State Secretary Rutte for Justice and Security.
The appointments of Mr. Wouters and Mr. Lautenbach will take effect on the date of the signing of the Royal Decree. Mr. Wouters is a senior judge in the Rotterdam court. In the past, he was vice president and member of the Joint Court of Justice and judge and vice president of the courts of Dordrecht and ‘s Hertogenbosch. Mr. Lautenbach works as a justice at the Court of Appeal in The Hague. Previously, she was a judge at the Common Court for two periods, a lecturer in Civil Procedure at Utrecht University and a judge in the courts of The Hague, Leeuwarden and Overijssel.
Mr. van Vuure is now a criminal judge in the Common Court of Justice. Previously, he was a judge in the Overijssel and Central Netherlands courts and Public Prosecutor. Mr. van Vuure will be appointed with effect from November 1, 2025. Deputy members have no fixed location and are deployed where and when necessary during a legal case.
Mr. Brinkenberg will be appointed as a deputy judge as soon as possible. Deputy judges are called upon to replace judges in the event of the absence of permanent judges, for example in the event of illness. Mr. Brinkenberg is a trainee judge in tax law. She will become a deputy judge to gain experience in tax matters.
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.