St. Maarten part of new three-country push to strengthen pandemic and infectious disease laws

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten is participating with Aruba and Curaçao in a legislative project aimed at strengthening the legal framework for public health, infectious disease control and preparedness for future pandemics, according to an official decision published by the Government of Aruba.

The project has now entered a further phase intended to complete draft legislation, explanatory memorandums, legal opinions and other documents needed to move the proposed legal framework through political decision-making and eventual implementation in the three countries.

The details are contained in Aruba Ministerial Decision MB 943/26, dated July 3, 2026, and published by the Aruban government on July 30. The decision states that Phase I and part of Phase II of the pandemic preparedness legislative project have already been carried out, but previous funding was insufficient to complete the work.

According to the decision, the project specifically concerns the “preparation, coordination and completion” of legislation in the areas of public health, infectious disease control and pandemic preparedness for Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.

The initiative reflects an effort by the three Caribbean countries within the Kingdom to move beyond temporary emergency arrangements and establish stronger legal mechanisms that can be used during future outbreaks of infectious diseases or another pandemic.

The remaining work includes finalizing proposed legislation and accompanying explanatory documents, providing legal advice and supporting the countries during the subsequent decision-making and implementation process. The assignment runs from July 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027.

Aruba is serving as chair of the four-country steering committee on pandemic preparedness and is acting as the administrative point of contact for the financing associated with the project.

Funding for the additional legal work is being provided through a subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, BZK. The maximum amount allocated for the current assignment is €46,775.40, including necessary travel and accommodation expenses.

For St. Maarten, the decision confirms that work is already underway on legislation that could shape how the country legally responds to infectious disease outbreaks and future public health emergencies.

The Aruba document does not specify which individual St. Maarten laws will ultimately be amended or replaced, nor does it indicate what stage any draft legislation has reached within the St. Maarten government or when it could be submitted to Parliament.

Those details will become important as the legal drafting process progresses, particularly regarding the powers available to government during a health emergency, public health responsibilities, disease-control measures and the safeguards surrounding their use.

The current legal and legislative assignment is scheduled to continue until March 31, 2027, by which time the participating countries are expected to have advanced significantly toward completion of the legislative component of their joint pandemic preparedness effort.

Legal assignment awarded directly

The Aruban government also authorized an exception to its normal procurement procedure to allow the legal assignment to be awarded directly to a lawyer identified in the decision as J.C.D., LLM.

Under Aruba's procurement rules, the value of the assignment would ordinarily require a private tender because the cost exceeds Afl. 25,000 but is below Afl. 200,000.

However, the government determined that an exception was justified because the lawyer had already worked on the earlier stages of the pandemic preparedness project and possesses specialized knowledge of the files and legislative work.

The decision states that this existing expertise makes the lawyer reasonably the only suitable person to continue the assignment efficiently and consistently. Aruba therefore invoked Article 16, paragraph one, section h, of its Procurement Ordinance to award the contract directly.

The decision also references an April 29, 2026 subsidy decision from BZK and a June 19, 2026 decision of the Aruba Council of Ministers, agenda item BE-44-26, as part of the administrative basis for continuing the project.

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