THE HAGUE – Three new members have been appointed to the Joint Court of Justice. They are Mr. Henk Wattel, Mr. Eric Diepraam, and Marine Colonel Frank Ramakers. The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom has approved the nomination for their appointment on the proposal of State Secretary Teun van Bruggen of Justice and Security.
The appointments of Henk Wattel and Eric Diepraam will take effect on April 1st. Frank Ramakers’ appointment will take effect on the day the Royal Decree is signed. For Ramakers’ appointment, a nomination was also made by Minister of Defense Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
Bonaire
Wattel will become a judge in civil matters based in Bonaire. He is currently a counselor at the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden and deputy chairman of the Regional Disciplinary Board for Healthcare in Zwolle.
Additionally, he teaches at the Judicial Training and Study Centre of the Judiciary and Public Prosecution Service. Wattel is already a substitute member of the Joint Court and was previously also a member based in Curaçao. In the past, he worked as a judge at The Hague District Court.
Aruba
Diepraam will become a judge in criminal matters based in Aruba. He currently works as a judge at Amsterdam District Court and is also a lecturer at the Judicial Training and Study Centre of the Judiciary and Public Prosecution Service.
Ramakers will be appointed as a military member of the multi-judge military chamber for appeals. Since July 2025, he has been deputy commander of the Naval Forces in the Caribbean.
The Court’s military chamber handles appeals in military criminal cases for all branches of the armed forces, including the army, air force, military police, and navy. This chamber also handles military disciplinary cases.
The Joint Court of Justice provides judicial services for Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean public entities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. The Court’s judges handle civil cases, criminal cases, and administrative law cases, both at first instance and on appeal. The Court consists of judges in local service and judges deployed from the Netherlands.
