On September 28, President Jennifer Simons formally swore in 15 individuals as deputy members of the Court of Justice of Suriname during an official appointment ceremony held at the Presidential Palace at 10:00 a.m. local time. According to reporting from local outlet Starnieuws, a secondary swearing-in ceremony will be led by Court President Iwan Rasoelbaks in early October, ahead of the new judicial sitting year that kicks off the same month. The newly appointed deputy judges will immediately begin taking on casework once the new sitting term opens.
Official documents from the Ministry of Justice and Security of Suriname confirm that the 15 nominees received formal endorsement for their positions as early as March 30, 2026, when the ministry submitted the recommendation to the national government. The 15 newly appointed deputy judges are: Cherida R. Tamsiran-Harris, Genaro L.E. Alpin, Kajal Tahdil, Olton J. Helstone, Vanessa A. Akaamba, Anushka A. Bajnath, Julio Amatoemar, Nathaly N. Amatkarijo, Maytrie Behari, Grasila A.T.T. Sitaram, Shusant R. Mohan, Latoya S. Rozenblad, Stéphanie M. Doelbakir-Kent, Charisma N. Voorburg-Blank, and Negesty Winter.
This expansion of judicial personnel comes after years of sustained advocacy from the Court of Justice for increased capacity to address growing caseloads. At the opening of the 2025-2026 sitting year, court leadership reported that the institution operated with only 31 active judges to handle all incoming civil and criminal matters, supported by a staff of more than 270 administrative and operational personnel. Court leadership has long prioritized improving the timeliness and accessibility of judicial services for the public, a goal that has been held back by persistent understaffing, making the arrival of a new cohort of judges a critical milestone for the institution.
The current expansion is the culmination of a multi-year judicial workforce development initiative launched several years ago. Back in January 2023, when the three-year RAIO civil judicial training program opened, 15 candidates were selected out of 75 total applicants to join the training pipeline. At that time, Rasoelbaks projected that after the cohort completed their training, the total number of active judges at the court could rise to 46, accounting for the 15 new additions. He also noted at the time that the final net increase would depend on expected outgoing personnel, most notably judges retiring from service.
The addition of 15 newly trained deputy judges represents a significant long-awaited boost to the court’s operational capacity, though questions remain about how many additional active judges will ultimately be available for casework after accounting for impending retirements and other personnel departures. Court leadership and justice sector stakeholders have welcomed the appointment as a key step toward reducing case backlogs and improving access to justice for Surinamese citizens.