Obstruction to road traffic: the Prefect once again calls on all parties to accept mediation

Since Monday, January 24, a strong obstruction to road traffic had been operated with the establishment of a roadblock at a place called "Griselle" between Orient Bay and Hope Estate.

This situation is the consequence of a succession problem within the "Beauperthuy" family. Heirs, represented by an administrator, have started legal proceedings that have led to auctions in order to distribute the heritage listed among all the beneficiaries. In this context, a plot occupied by Mr. Webster was acquired during an auction organized in Basse-Terre on Tuesday 25 January.

Despite the fact that this subject is private and supervised by the courts, the Prefect got involved alongside the Webster family and the Beauperthuy heirs in the search for a transactional agreement which would, it must be specified, fall outside the scope of the common law procedure to find an alternative which could guarantee the rights of the occupants and of all the heirs. In this sense, the Prefect proposed a mediation allowing an exchange between all the actors in order to seek a transactional agreement on the model of what was done in Orient Bay in the 1980s. Such an agreement would revolve around the distribution of the land between those that would be sold with the commitment of the current occupants to release them and a part that would be left to the occupants against a consideration to be defined. This proposal was not accepted by the representative of the heirs. The postponement of the January 25 sale, which was also requested by the Prefect, could not be organized either.

In the current situation, the Prefect once again calls on all parties to accept mediation and an exchange in order to seek a solution acceptable to all the actors involved. And if, because of the importance of the subject for Saint-Martin society, he got involved in this private file outside his jurisdiction, these differences can in no way be settled by taking the population of Saint-Martin in hostage. Finally, the Prefect reminds that there are other ways to challenge an award decision following an auction.