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Mullet Bay Beach: what the July 2026 court ruling says

On 7 July 2026 the Court of First Instance of Sint Maarten ruled Mullet Bay Beach public and the land behind it the property of Sun Resorts. Here is what the judgment decided, and what the government said two days later.

By SXM Daily ยท

Last checked: 14 October 2026

Next check: 14 December 2026

On 7 July 2026 the court ruled the beach public and the land behind it the property of Sun Resorts. The decision came from the Court of First Instance of Sint Maarten in case SXM202500643, and the judgment is published as ECLI:NL:OGEAM:2026:84.

This is a first-instance judgment, not a final one. The sources do not say whether it has been appealed.

Sand and sea at Mullet Bay, Sint Maarten, with a beach umbrella in the foreground and a low headland on the horizon

Photo: alljengi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

What the court decided

The ruling splits Mullet Bay in two: the sand belongs to the public, and the land behind it belongs to Sun Resorts.

  • The beach: the court rejected Sun Resorts' claim that it owns the beach.
  • Why: the court found that Sint Maarten's beaches have been public under the Civil Code since 1869, and that the present-day beach could not have been transferred to a private owner in 1852.
  • The land behind the beach: the court ruled that this land is the property of Sun Resorts.
  • The government: the court found that the government acted unlawfully when it leased that land to third parties or allowed them to use it.

What the court ordered

The judgment also sets out orders against the Land (the country of Sint Maarten):

  • No acting as owner: the court barred the Land from behaving as the owner of the land behind the beach, and from leasing or handing over Sun Resorts' plots to third parties. Each breach carries a penalty of USD 1,000,000.
  • Letters to tenants: within 14 days of being served with the judgment, the Land must tell everyone it leased that land to, or let use it, in writing that it is not the owner and had no authority to lease it. The penalty is USD 10,000 for each day it fails to do so, up to a maximum of USD 250,000.
  • Costs: each side pays its own legal costs.
  • Enforceable now: the court declared the judgment provisionally enforceable, which means its orders apply even if an appeal is filed.

What the government said

On 9 July 2026, the government said access arrangements were still being worked out. The statement came from the Minister of VROMI.

SXM Daily will update this page when the government publishes further details.

Sources

  • https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI%3ANL%3AOGEAM%3A2026%3A84
  • https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/Pages/press-release.aspx?slug=minister-of-vromi-gives-update-on-mullet-bay

Source: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI%3ANL%3AOGEAM%3A2026%3A84