TRUST SERVICE PROVIDERS IN CURACAO
TSPs are supervised by the Central Bank
Many international group structures include one or more Curacao legal entities or partnerships. The main reasons for this are the internationally competitive conditions for business development in the area of corporate law and the tax system in Curacao, as well as the well-developed professional financial services industry. Trust Service Providers (“TSPs”) are involved in setting up and maintaining such structures. TSPs conduct the management of legal entities and partnerships (“client companies”) on behalf of other enterprises. Management usually involves the TSP acting as manager of the client company and providing a correspondence address …
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BANKING REGULATIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Soliciting funds requires a license
The Netherlands Antilles was dissolved on October 10, 2010. Prior to that date the Netherlands Antilles consisted of Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, and formed, together with the Netherlands and Aruba, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curacao and St. Maarten have become independent countries within the Kingdom. They stand on equal footing with the Netherlands and with Aruba, each country with its own set of laws. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (the “BES-islands”), have, as public entities, become part of the Netherlands. The civil, corporate and banking laws of Curacao, St. Maarten …
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GOVERNMENT OWNED ENTITIES IN CURACAO
Concerns about additional authorities Ministers
Attorney Karel Frielink is concerned about the additional authorities which cabinet-members have appropriated over government NV’s.
According to Frielink, who is also President of the Bar Association, these extra authorities increase the chance of ‘political influencing, favoritism and other forms of abuse’ within government institutions.
In an opinion paper, published in the Antilliaans Dagblad, Frielink comments on the model articles of association (statuten) recently drawn up for government companies by order of the country Curacao. According to the government’s explanatory notes, the new model articles of association particularly dwell on the exceptional position of government NV’s …
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THE UTOPIAN LAWYER
Dare to dream!
A high degree of civilisation must be expected from the ideal advocate (attorney; lawyer) as well as a high degree of learning and expertise. A practical attitude, language skill and rhetorical ability form part of the standard baggage of the utopian advocate. He is not only feared for his razor-sharp analyses, for breaking through reasoning utterly lacking any logic and for turning the attackers of the rule of law to stone, but both friend as well as foe respect his disposition as well as his expertise.
Quite often the utopian advocate will get the feeling that in …
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THE LAWYER AS A VIRTUOSO OF LANGUAGE (PART II)
The use of technical concepts has a useful function
Another example is the Directive of the European Commission of 18 February 1985 (85/205/EEC) adapting to technical progress Council Directive 71/127/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the rear-view mirrors of motor vehicles. The term “rear-view mirror” in itself means a device excluding complex optical systems such as periscopes, intended to give a clear view to the rear and side of the vehicle within the fields of vision defined in item 5 of Annex III.
There was at some time a Directive proposal to define …
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THE LAWYER AS A VIRTUOSO OF LANGUAGE (PART I)
The use of technical concepts has a useful function
Language is the instrument par excellence of the advocate (attorney; lawyer). He uses language to lay down agreements, to provide legal advices, to formulate Court documents, to send demand letters, to make his plea or to conduct talks with clients or counterparties, to send invoices, in short: to practice his profession. For many people what advocates write down is difficult to fathom. One of the reasons for this is because legislation and regulations are formulated rather formally and in an indirect form while using a lot of abstract concepts. Here are only …
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THE LAWYER AS ORATOR
A sensitive subject
The advocate (attorney; lawyer) as orator is a sensitive subject. Many clients will have listened with curled toes or alternatively with a deep feeling of embarrassment to their own advocate or (if they are lucky) to that of their counterparty at the moment suprême when the so-carefully prepared written summary of the argument is read out dryly and stumbling over the words or at least in a scarcely inspiring manner. And the one who has bad luck will be faced with a ‘read-out advocate‘ who sometimes does even thirty or more pages. And all this whereas the first Roman …
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WHY WOULD SOMEONE BECOME A LAWYER?
The story of Saint Yvo (1253-1303)
Without being sworn in to the Bar it is not possible to call yourself an advocate (lawyer; advocaat) in the Dutch Caribbean. Being sworn in as an lawyer is for any beginner a high point, a clear start. The lawyer undertakes responsibility and does this under oath.
Art. 3 par. 2 of the Dutch Caribbean ‘Advocatenlandsverordening 1959‘ [Lawyers National Ordinance 1959] prescribes the following oath or affirmation:
“I swear (affirm) loyalty to the King, compliance with the Charter and the National Regulations, respect for the judicial authorities and that I shall not recommend or defend …
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GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REVISITED
Where these rules not designed to protect companies from the government?
It has been my opinion for many years already that government-owned companies should be kept out of the political sphere as much as possible, so that they may benefit from a commercial, businesslike and market-oriented management. In doing so they also run less of a risk of being milked or used as political toys.
When the current government of Curacao came into power a couple of months ago, it made it very clear, right from the beginning, that it intended to dismiss all and any supervisory directors of both …
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PROPOSED REVIEW DUTCH CARIBBEAN LEGISLATION ON CONFLICTING INTEREST
The proposed bill gives shareholders more freedom
Earlier in 2010, a draft bill was proposed to amend the Corporate Code (Book 2 Civil Code) of Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (which formerly constituted the Netherlands Antilles). Among other things, the provisions with regard to conflicting interest have been thoroughly reviewed and strongly curtailed.
The basic rule provides that the authority with regard to certain legal acts involving the legal entity and its Managing Director (e.g., agreements between the legal entity and its director) as well as lawsuits between a legal entity and its Managing Director rests with …
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PRESENTING FACTS IN DUTCH CARIBBEAN COURT PROCEEDINGS
Facts must be presented fully and truthfully
Legal proceedings are initiated by a petition filed with the Courts. A petition is a document stating, among other things, the names and addresses of the parties, the nature of the dispute (including the relevant facts of the case), the competent court, and the demand for relief.
The significance of the petition should not be underestimated. Filing a petition with the court stops the statute of limitations running for that case. A petition should clearly state the facts and specify the relief sought, in order to enable the court to render a default …
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CELEBRATING THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS WEBLOG
A cartoon has been drawn by Mike Flanagan for the 5th anniversary of the launch of Karel’s Legal Blog
June 1st, 2010 marks the 5th anniversary of my legal blog. This is an important milestone for me. Back in May 2005 I only had a rough idea about blogging and what it would take to create a successful legal blog a.k.a. blawg. Now, five years and some 350,000 page views later, I know that despite …
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