PHILIPSBURG--A judge in the Court of First Instance has reopened the investigation into the appeal filed by the owners of a bar and restaurant against the Executive Council's decision to turn down their request for a director's licence for one of their employers.

The owners of The Crew's Nest Bar and Restaurant NV had filed a so-called administrative LAR procedure against the Executive Council's decision to reject the request, which it based on the fact that, like Dutch nationals, the Federal Ordinance Foreign Workers (LAV) would also not be applicable to nationals of the United States.

In his ruling of Monday, February 22, Judge René van Veen agreed that under the Friendship Treaty closed between the Dutch Kingdom and the United States on December 5, 1957, US citizens should be treated equally to European Dutch in the Netherlands Antilles.

He therefore decided to reopen the investigation, which will be resumed on April 19. During that session the legal representatives of The Crew's Nest Bar and the Island Government are to provide answers concerning the legal framework of the director's licences and the rules for director's licences for European Dutch.

The restaurant had filed a request for a director's licence in January 2007, which was turned down by the Executive Council in May 2008 based on the fact that a work permit for the same person had been turned down in March 2006.

According to the Executive Council, the request for a director's licence was a veiled attempt to gain access to the local labour market, and to circumvent the LAV and the Federal Ordinance Admission and Expulsion (LTU).

The restaurant owners appealed the Executive Council's decision in November 2008, but the Island Council followed the Executive Council's position on this matter in March 2009.

The Island Council agreed that the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty was also applicable in the Netherlands Antilles. But according to the Island Council, the plaintiffs overlooked the fact that director's licences are only granted to persons who have invested a considerable amount of money in the company, or are planning to do so, or are involved in the development or leadership of a company.

The applicant for the licence had been working illegally on the island since 1994 and had been working at the company as a bartender and boat captain, which meant the LAV was applicable to him, the Island Council stated. A previous request to obtain a work permit for the bartender had been turned down.

According to the Island Government, the man had never received a work permit or temporary residence permit for St. Maarten, which was also reason to turn down the request for a licence.

The plaintiffs had stated that no difference should be made between European Dutch and residents of the United States. They had further brought to the judge's attention that the man in question in fact had a leading position within the company because the co-director and owner of the company was on the island for only six months per year. They claimed that during the last "winter season" the company had yielded a "record profit" under the man's leadership.