GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (III)
The government is not automatically an ‘ordinary’ shareholder
It is obvious that in a small community such as that of Curacao, with only a limited choice when it comes to directors and supervisory directors to be appointed, and in which (family, social) networks seem to play an important role in making choices, there is a field of tension. It is even more important therefore that government has a clear vision regarding its shareholdership and that there are good and transparent procedures, e.g. regarding the appointment of directors and supervisory directors.
Does the obligation exist for the government to, briefly stated, …
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GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (II)
Government (not) at a distance?
Being a director of a government-owned company is certainly not always as easy. Neither is being a shareholder in a government-owned company. The directors will usually complain about too much influence from politicians, while the politicians will usually find that they have too little grip on government-owned companies. In this connection, there are two important topics we will have to consider briefly.
I will ignore cultural aspects here. In that respect see e.g. chapter 8 of the dissertation of A. van Marrewijk, Internationalisation, cooperation and ethnicity in the telecom sector, Delft: Uitgeverij Eburon 1999, 340 …
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GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (I)
For Hobbes, it is certain that there must be a sovereign
According to Thomas Hobbes we all have natural passions that carry us to, among other things, partiality, pride, and revenge. The laws of nature, as Hobbes sees them, including ‘justice’, ‘equity’, ‘modesty’, and ‘mercy’, are contrary to our passions. Therefore, we will only observe the laws of nature if we have fear of some power to cause them to be observed. According to him, covenants, without the sword, are but words that lack every strength to protect a person.
See Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Amsterdam: Boom 2007, p. 207 and …
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CURACAO COURT INTERVENES IN POLITICAL APPOINTMENT
Political appointments unacceptable
The Court of First Instance of Curacao passed judgment on 23 January 2012 in the case of Selikor N.V. versus Drs. Ivar Asjes (JOR 2012, 105). This case is a follow-up to the judgment of the Joint Court of Appeal of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba of 10 August 2010, JOR 2010, 296. In a nutshell the case boils down to Asjes being appointed as the managing director of waste processor Selikor N.V., but that this is an appointment pushed through politically without an open job application procedure. This deprived at least six of Selikor’s members of …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN LEGAL PORTAL
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba
There is a large legal community in the Dutch Caribbean. Until 2007 there was no website with news and general information about the legal system of the Dutch Caribbean, its institutions and its practitioners. Dutch Caribbean Legal Portal aims to fill this void and strives to be the complete database of Legal News, Contacts and Documents for the Dutch Caribbean.
The DC Legal Portal has a wide variety of members and contacts within the legal and financial areas of the Dutch Caribbean. It has a database of more …
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ON THE GERMAN – DUTCH CARIBBEAN RELATIONSHIP
Interesting editorial in The Daily Herald (St. Maarten)
“The visit of German ambassador Heinz-Peter Behr last week should serve as an eye-opener on the largely untapped possibilities that European market offers. Up to now much of the attention regarding the “Old Continent” understandably regards the Netherlands and France from which “The Friendly Island” also has direct airlift, but Germany as Europe’s economic powerhouse and surrounding nations hold great tourism potential.
Curacao managed to attract Air Berlin flights recently and already has noticed a marked increase in the number of visitors from that part of the …
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BEARER SHARES IN A NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN COMPANY
Registered shares must be issued first
On 1 March 2004, the new Netherlands Antilles act on corporate law (Book 2 Civil Code) became effective. Since that date it is no longer possible to (directly) issue bearer shares.
A company with only bearer shares has no shareholders’ register. Only a public limited liability company (NV) may issue bearer shares, provided that registered shares be issued first and that they have been fully paid up. These may subsequently be converted into bearer shares. The issuance (of registered shares) requires a ‘deed of issuance’, which must be signed by both the company and …
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