Two civil-law notaries of St. Maarten, Mrs. Marlene F. Mingo and Mrs. Meredith Maritza Boekhoudt, provided notarial services on St. Eustatius and Saba today, Tuesday September 1st, under a strict COVID-19 protocol. In total 32 deeds, being 29 in St. Eustatius and 3 in Saba, were passed today. This was arranged by Marnix van Rij, Government Commissioner of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius, in close consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Security in the Netherlands and the civil-law notaries in St. Maarten.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict quarantine policy pursued by St. Eustatius and Saba, the 32 deeds could not be passed and therefore remained pending. In order to not further hinder these important legal transactions, the civil-law notaries were flown in from St. Maarten to pass these deeds today. “In these exceptional times we do our best to ensure that residents of St. Eustatius are able to benefit from the services they need and deserve. I am pleased that the Ministry of Justice and Security, the civil-law notaries and the Public Entity of St. Eustatius were able to work out a practical solution in other to remove this backlog that was created as a direct result of the COVID 19 pandemic “, said Marnix van Rij, Government Commissioner.
Based on the current legislation, the notaries on St. Maarten are the only ones authorized to provide notarial services in St. Eustatius and Saba. Many of the notarial services can be provided by a proxy such as a notarial transport of real estate. However, some services, for example, a will (last testament) or granting power of attorney for a mortgage, require the physical presence of the client and the notary. Since last year, two civil-law notaries, Mrs. Marlene F. Mingo and Mrs. Meredith Maritza Boekhoudt, have been granted permission to perform their services on St. Eustatius and Saba on the basis of the National Ordinance of St. Maarten. Both civil law notaries have been providing service to Saba and Statia for the past several years.
