FOREIGN COMPANIES IN CURACAO BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
Principle of universality
In Curaçao, bankruptcy in general serves the purpose of liquidating assets of a particular person or legal entity and distributing the proceeds among the combined creditors. Under Curaçao insolvency law, the Curaçao courts have jurisdiction in respect of insolvency proceedings against legal entities that have their corporate seat in Curaçao and against any legal entity that carries on business or professional activities through an office in Curaçao. A foreign party can therefore be declared insolvent in Curaçao if it has a branch office in this jurisdiction. Whether or not a concurrent insolvency proceeding against that foreign party …
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LEZING NIEUW VENNOOTSCHAPSRECHT SINT MAARTEN
Nieuw Boek 2 BW en nieuw personenvennootschapsrecht
Op verzoek van de Orde van Advocaten te Sint Maarten heb ik op 21 mei 2014 in de Flamboyantzaal van het Courthouse te Sint Maarten een lezing gegeven voor de rechterlijke macht en de advocatuur. De lezing ging over enkele van de wetswijzigingen die in Sint Maarten op 1 april 2014 van kracht zijn geworden.
Er is een herzien Boek 2 Burgerlijk Wetboek (Rechtspersonen) ingevoerd en een nieuwe regeling inzake de personenvennootschappen. Mijn verhaal is hier te lezen.
Karel Frielink (advocaat)
(30 mei 2014)
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INDEPENDENT SUPERVISORY BOARD IN ST. MAARTEN
Should be mandatory for government-owned entities
Under the laws of St. Maarten, the main task of a board of supervisory directors is to supervise the board of managing directors of a limited liability company (NV or BV).
The St. Maarten Corporate Code provides for two different kinds of boards of supervisory directors, a “regular” board of supervisory directors and the so-called “independent” board of supervisory directors (Section 2:139 Civil Code). Within this context the word independent means that the supervisory directors are independent of the shareholders, interest groups (“belangengroepen”) and to a certain extent from the shareholders’ meeting.
An independent …
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LIFTING THE CORPORATE VEIL IN ARUBA
Only under exceptional circumstances
In terms of “piercing the corporate veil” and shareholders’ liability, the laws of the Netherlands and Aruba are nearly identical. As far as a tort matter concerns the laws of Aruba, Dutch case-law and Dutch legal literature should be considered as well.
In exceptional cases shareholders of an Aruba company can be liable for the company’s debts and obligations. Generally, two grounds for such liability are mentioned: a tort (onrechtmatige daad) committed by the shareholder and an “alter ego” situation (vereenzelviging) as regards the shareholder and his company. Under Aruba law, both can be categorized under …
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REGULATORY LAWS IN THE BES ISLANDS
There are three regulators
According to the Dutch Central Bank (“DCB”), financial institutions must be sound, reliable and stable to ensure confidence among businesses, consumers and others. DCB states on its website: “In addition to making certain their customers are properly informed about their products and services, these institutions also have a duty of care towards their customers. The financial services industry should also give a high priority to integrity and should never be used for money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, corruption or other illegal activities. Finally, the market should function properly and there should be adequate market access, with …
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THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION OF A CURAÇAO COMPANY (II)
Articles determine the nature of the company
A company’s articles of association determine the nature of the company (take for example the description of the purpose), regulate the internal competences (e.g. dismissal and appointment), limit the powers (e.g. decisions requiring approval), determine the internal responsibilities (e.g. drawing up the annual report and accounts), regulate the external powers (who represents the company in law), determine the method of decision-making, etc. As indicated above: the articles of association are somewhat comparable with the constitution or the state regulations of a country. The articles of association are therefore essential to the proper functioning …
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ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAWS IN CURACAO
Money laundering is prohibited
Title XXXI of the Penal Code of Curaçao basically prohibits any type of money laundering.
The National Ordinance on the Reporting of Unusual Transactions (NORUT) obliges service providers acting in the course of a business or profession, to report unusual transactions.
The National Ordinance on Identification of clients when Rendering Services (NOIS) requires any service provider who is acting in the course of a profession or business, to establish the identity of a customer before providing any “financial” service.
Generally, these Ordinances apply when services are conducted in or from Curaçao. If a foreign financial institution does …
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IMPACT OF THE LIABILITY TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIRECTOR (II)
2nd degree director as director of a foreign corporate director
It appears from the 2011 ruling referred to by the Supreme Court that Section 2:11 of the Dutch Civil Code is applicable to the joint and several liability of a director of a Dutch legal entity being a director of another Dutch legal entity. The Supreme Court confirmed this doctrine again in clear wording in its decision of 21 June 2013.
The conclusion is as follows:
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SERVICE OF PROCESS
A bailiff must be engaged
What is the procedure for the service of foreign proceedings under the procedural laws of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba for a company having its registered address in one of those territories, for instance Curaçao?
Under Curaçao procedural law, the service of proceedings on a Curaçao legal person will be done by means of a bailiff’s notification. This notification shall be served (i) on the person or residence of the president of the management board of the company or (ii) on the business and/or registered address of the company.
Curaçao procedural …
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CURACAOSE JONGEREN NAAR TENNISTOERNOOI IN DOMINICAANSE REPUBLIEK
Internationaal JITIC-kampioenschap
Vandaag zijn 14 jeugdige tennisspelers voor ruim een week naar Santo Domingo vertrokken om mee te doen aan het regionale JITIC-kampioenschap (Junior International Tennis Championships). Het tennistoernooi vindt plaats van 3 tot 9 augustus 2013. Aan dit internationale tennistoernooi nemen verschillende landen in de regio deel. De host van het toernooi is de Dominicaanse tennisbond Federacion Dominicana de Tenis.
De jeugdtennissers hebben een intensief trainingsprogramma gevolgd onder auspiciën van de Tennis Federatie Curaçao. Ze zijn getraind door Roy Bottse, de voorzitter van de TFC, en coach Jason Engelhardt.
De deelnemers van Curaçao:
Jongens tot 14 jaar: Aydan Gomez …
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FINAL POSTING OF 2011
What a year!
This will be my final posting for 2011. 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 Arabic Spring and the economic turmoil.
The year 2012 is about to begin and it won’t be an easy year. Many will suffer from the crisis and many will keep suffering from oppression, diseases and natural disasters. 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 …
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1001 PROVERBIO
Papiamentu proverbs with English translation This book is a tribute to the colourful Papiamentu language. A language spoken by only 260.000 people on three islands of the former Dutch Antilles; Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. Although this language is only spoken in a small region, this collection of proverbs shows how by use of creativity, humour and love the Papiamentu language managed to develop and maintain itself. In December 2010 an old, no longer available book by Father Paul Brenneker (1912-1996) came to the attention of Jacqueline Bremmers and Bart Landheer. They decided to try and preserve this heritage. After gaining …
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