CRIMINAL PROSECUTION GEERT WILDERS
Press release Amsterdam Court of Appeal
Amsterdam Court of Appeal orders the criminal prosecution of the Member of Parliament of the Dutch Second Chamber Geert Wilders
Amsterdam, 21 january 2009 – On 21 January 2009 the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam ordered the criminal prosecution of the member of parliament Geert Wilders for the incitement to hatred and discrimination based on his statements in various media about moslims and their belief. In addition, the Court of Appeal considers criminal prosecution obvious for the insult of Islamic worshippers because of the comparisons made by Wilders of the islam with the nazism.
THE LAWS OF TORT IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Unlawful acts and damage
Section 6:162 paragraph 1 Netherlands Antilles Civil Code (NACC) stipulates four conditions for someone’s obligation to compensate damage based on an unlawful act (tort):
Section 6:163 NACC provides for an exception to the general rule of Section 6:162 NACC: “There is no obligation to repair damage when the violated norm does not have as its …
Read the rest »
PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Differences with the United States
Netherlands Antilles civil proceedings differ substantially from those in the United States. In the Dutch Caribbean there are, for instance, no juries. In principle, legal proceedings are basically conducted in writing. Oral pleadings are customary in preliminary relief proceedings, but optional in proceedings on the merits. Discovery proceedings like those in the United States do not exist. Pre-trial motions similar to those in the United States do not exist in the Netherlands Antilles either. There are, however, so-called incidents or ancillary proceedings in the Dutch Caribbean.
An ancillary proceeding may be a separate procedural step …
Read the rest »
FINAL POSTING OF 2008
This will be my final posting for 2008. What a year. It feels as if the whole world has changed more rapidly than ever before and not only as a result of the economic turmoil. The year 2009 is about to begin and it won’t be an easy year. Many will suffer from the crisis. There still will be tensions between countries and populations. There still will be war. However new faces and new voices in the political arena may change things for the better. Let’s hope so.
Thanks to the ‘credit crunch’ we, as attorneys, are faced with …
Read the rest »
THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT DUTCH CARIBBEAN PREJUDGMENT ATTACHMENT
FAQ
Question 1
How easily can one obtain permission to freeze assets?
The Netherlands Antilles Code of Civil Procedure provides the possibility to seize and freeze assets in anticipation of a court order to pay a certain amount or to return certain goods. This legal remedy is referred to as prejudgment attachment or seizure (conservatoir beslag).
In general, a petition for the attachment of assets is only marginally examined by the court and will therefore be granted in most cases. The claimant must then submit a writ of summons or claim form to the court, within a period determined by the court, …
Read the rest »
THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT DUTCH CARIBBEAN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS
FAQ
Question 1
Are there any particular issues that concern foreign plaintiffs in the Netherlands Antilles?
If proceedings on the merits are initiated by a non-resident plaintiff, the defendant may ask the court to order that the plaintiff provide security for damages, costs and interest which it might be liable to pay as a result of the judgment in aforementioned proceedings. This “cautio judicatum solvi” does not apply if there is a Convention (Treaty) on legal proceedings between the Netherlands Antilles and the plaintiff’s country.
Question2
Can attorney costs for legal proceedings be recovered?
Generally speaking, each party has to …
Read the rest »
THREE QUESTIONS ON DUTCH CARRIBBEAN BANKRUPTCY LAWS
FAQ
Question 1
In which cases and by whom may bankruptcy proceedings be initiated in accordance with Netherlands Antilles bankruptcy law?
Filing for bankruptcy may be done either by the debtor itself or by one or more of its creditors. If the debtor is a company, the managing directors do not have the authority to petition for bankruptcy of the company without authorization thereto from the general meeting, unless otherwise stipulated in the articles of association.
The pre-requisites for making a bankruptcy order on application, regardless of whether the application is made by the debtor or by any of the …
Read the rest »
NEW PRESIDENT CURACAO BAR ASSOCIATION
Meeting held on 12 December 2008
At the Curacao Bar Association’s annual meeting, Karel Frielink (Spigthoff) was formally elected to serve as President of the Curacao Bar Association for a two year-term. He is the successor of Eric de Vries (HBN Law).
Eric Bokkes (Bokkes Fontein Advocaten), Daniel Zahavi (ZL Law) and Chester Peterson (Sulvaran & Peterson) have been re-elected as board member of the Curacao Bar Association: Peterson as Vice-President, Bokkes as Treasurer and Zahavi as Secretary.
Frielink started practicing as an attorney in 1989 in Amsterdam, but moved to Curacao in 1997. He is a partner with Spigthoff …
Read the rest »
THE GENERAL PENSION FUND OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
The APNA is subject to supervision
The General Pension Fund of the Netherlands Antilles (‘Algemeen Pensioenfonds van de Nederlandse Antillen’; the “APNA”) is governed by its own State Ordinance (‘Landsverordening Algemeen Pensioenfonds van de Nederlandse Antillen’; “SOAPNA”).
The APNA is subject to supervision by the Netherlands Antilles Central Bank and, as far as the annual financial statements, amongst other things, are concerned it is subject to supervision by the General Auditor’s Office a.k.a. General Chamber of Audit (‘Algemene Rekenkamer’). The General Auditor’s Office audits government and government related activities, including government owned companies.
Netherlands Antilles pension funds are obliged to …
Read the rest »
DUTCH CARIBBEAN COURT DECISION IN TELECOM CASE
Scarlet about to enter telecom market in Sint Maarten
On 18 November 2008, the Administrative Court in Sint Maarten ruled that the Executive Council of Sint Maarten was not authorized to refuse Scarlet a business license for the provision and operation of international telecommunications services in Sint Maarten (click here for the judgment).
Scarlet, represented by Dr. Douwe Boersema of the law firm Spigthoff in Curaçao, appealed through the courts against the decision of the authorities in Sint Maarten to deny it such a license based on a moratorium on new telecom companies. The moratorium …
Read the rest »
INSURANCE BUSINESS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (III)
A broker must be registered
Under the National Ordinance on the supervision of the insurance brokerage business 2003 (Landsverordening toezicht assurantiebemiddelingsbedrijf 2003, “NOSA”), insurance brokers (assurantiebemiddelaars) are prohibited from providing services as an insurance broker unless they are registered in the relevant register administered by the Central Bank. “Insurance Broker” means anyone who, other than pursuant to an employment contract, acts as an intermediary in the conclusion of insurance policies.
There is no statutory definition of “to act as an intermediary”. However, this phrase aims to cover all acts that are intended to conclude an agreement between a potential insurant …
Read the rest »
INSURANCE BUSINESS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (II)
Limitations apply to a foreign insurance company
A foreign insurance company, i.e. a company not having its seat in the Netherlands Antilles and not operating through any kind of branch office (including a local representative), is allowed to insure a risk located in the Netherlands Antilles (for instance Curaçao), provided this occurs on an incidental basis (Explanatory Memorandum NOSI, Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles, Session 1987-1988, No. 3, p. 7).
In such cases, no license or registration requirements apply. The point is, however, that it is up to the Central Bank to decide whether this criterion has been met. Unfortunately …
Read the rest »