Declarations
Articles:
Declaration of 18 October 2010
The Kingdom of the Netherlands
consisted of three parts: the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and
Aruba. The Netherlands Antilles consisted of the islands of Curaçao,
Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
With effect from 10
October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as a part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands. Since that date, the Kingdom consists of
four parts: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Curaçao
and Sint Maarten enjoy internal self-government within the Kingdom, as
Aruba and, up to 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles do.
These
changes constitute a modification of the internal constitutional
relations within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Kingdom of the
Netherlands will accordingly remain the subject of international law
with which agreements are concluded. The modification of the structure
of the Kingdom will therefore not affect the validity of the
international agreements ratified by the Kingdom for the Netherlands
Antilles. These agreements, including any reservations made, will
continue to apply to Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
The other islands that
have formed part of the Netherlands Antilles - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius
and Saba - became part of the Netherlands, thus constituting 'the
Caribbean part of the Netherlands'. The agreements that applied to the
Netherlands Antilles will also continue to apply to these islands;
however, the Government of the Netherlands will now be responsible for
implementing these agreements.