CELEBRATING THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS WEBLOG

Cartoon-Karel-Blog-500 pixels-19MEI10

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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31
May 2010
CATEGORY

Legal

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INADEQUATE CAPITALIZATION OF AN ARUBAN COMPANY

Liability for thin-capitalization?

In terms of ‘piercing the corporate veil’, thin or inadequate capitalization usually means capitalization that is not in proportion to the nature of the risks the business of the corporation necessarily entails; in other words it is based on likely economic needs rather than legal requirements.

Shareholders of a company in Aruba are under an obligation to pay to the company what is due with respect to the shares, i.e. the shareholder’s capital contribution, and such contribution may not be withdrawn without due process. This is the only financial obligation of a shareholder towards the company, unless …
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07
May 2010
CATEGORY

Corporate

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SUPERVISION OF TRUST COMPANIES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Trust companies render management services

The supervision of trust companies is dealt with in the National Ordinance on the Supervision of Trust Service Providers 2003 (‘Landsverordening toezicht trustwezen’, the ‘NOST’). Supervision of trust companies (a.k.a. fiduciary or company service providers) falls in the category integrity supervision and not in the category prudential supervision. The supervisor is the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles. The ordinance prohibits anyone from rendering fiduciary or trust services without a license.

According to Art. 10 of the NOST, trust services means: (a) establishing an international company or causing it to be established when such is …
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01
May 2010
CATEGORY

Legal

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LECTURE ON GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN CURACAO

Corporate Governance Adviser must be a strong and independent watchdog over the executive also

On April 13, 2010 a seminar on Good Corporate Governance with respect to Curacao-owned enterprises and foundations was held in Curacao, and organized by Certa Legal. I was one of the keynote speakers and delivered my presentation in the Dutch language (click here for the presentation or click here for the coverage of the event by the Antilliaans Dagblad).

I argued that government-owned companies should be left out of the political sphere as much as possible, so they can benefit …
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15
Apr 2010
CATEGORY

Corporate

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PREJUDICED INTERESTS OF MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

They may force the company to take-over their shares

Article 2:251(1) of the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code reads as follows: “A shareholder of registered shares, whose rights or interests are prejudiced to such an extent, by the conduct of the company or one or more co-shareholders, that a continuation of his shareholding cannot reasonably be required of him, may institute a claim against the company for withdrawal, demanding that his shares be acquired against payment in cash”.

This provision may only be successfully triggered in exceptional circumstances. This could be the case if the company or co-shareholders have a structural policy …
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13
Mar 2010
CATEGORY

Corporate

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PIERCING THE CORPORATE VEIL IN ARUBA

Ignoring the legal personality of a company

A shareholder is not personally liable for acts performed in the name of the company and is not liable to contribute to losses of the company in excess of the amount which he must pay to the company as contribution for his shares. There is therefore a legal separation between the assets and liabilities of the company and those of the shareholder.

Piercing the corporate veil in its purest form means making a shareholder responsible for the actions of the company. In essence this means ignoring the separate legal identity of the company. …
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27
Feb 2010
CATEGORY

Corporate

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ORDINARY VERSUS SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS IN ARUBA

Interlocutory or summary proceedings provide for immediate relief

Article 110 of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Code of Civil Procedure (‘the Code’) provides that all adversarial proceedings shall be initiated by means of a petition to the court of first instance. Proceedings so initiated are ordinary proceedings a.k.a. proceedings on the merits.

A petitioner may opt for preliminary relief proceedings (a.k.a. interlocutory proceedings; ‘kort geding’). Article 226 of the Code provides that in urgent cases which require an immediate decision, the plaintiff may request a provisionally enforceable judgment (‘beslissing bij voorraad’).

Article 229 of the Code provides that a provisional …
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20
Feb 2010
CATEGORY

Legal

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THREE QUESTIONS ON ARUBAN BANKRUPTCY LAWS

FAQ

Question 1

In which cases and by whom may bankruptcy proceedings be initiated in accordance with Aruban 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, generally speaking the managing directors do not have the authority to petition for bankruptcy of the company without authorization thereto from the general meeting.

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 other above mentioned persons, is, that the …
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13
Feb 2010
CATEGORY

Legal

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ARUBAN LAW REGARDING CORPORATE AUTHORITY

The Aruba Trade Register should be checked

The laws of Aruba provide that, subject to restrictions laid down by any statutory provision or a corporation’s articles of association, the board of directors of a company shall be competent to represent the company, i.e. a limited liability company (NV, AVV or VBA). In the event of the company having several managing directors, any managing director shall be competent, insofar as not otherwise provided by the articles of association (or sometimes bylaws). The articles of association may also grant other officers, to be designated by or pursuant to the articles, representative authority, …
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06
Feb 2010
CATEGORY

Corporate

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NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN BANKS AND REGULATORY ISSUES

A bank has less freedom than an ordinary legal entity

What would be the requirements, from a regulatory point of view, if a Netherlands Antilles bank wished to sell its entire business or a substantial part thereof? Would it require approval from the Netherlands Antilles Central Bank (de ‘Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen’)?

Generally, if the activity at a bank is characterized as some form of financial reorganization, for example, the prior approval of the Central Bank is required. The bank is also obliged to immediately inform the Central Bank in writing of any resolution for complete or partial liquidation or …
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28
Nov 2009
CATEGORY

Legal

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THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN AND ITS CIVIL LAW SYSTEM

Abstract rules are the starting point

The Netherlands Antilles are an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is composed of three parts: the Kingdom in Europe (popularly known as Holland, north of Belgium and west of Germany), the Netherlands Antilles (in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela), and Aruba (also in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela). Within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles are autonomous except for matters of defense and foreign affairs. Curacao is the largest of five islands that form the Netherlands Antilles. The other islands are Saba, St …
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21
Nov 2009
CATEGORY

Legal

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BREACH OF CONTRACT IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES (V)

Restrictions on termination

With regards to damages, the aim thereof is generally to restore the creditor to the position he would have been in had the contract been fulfilled. In case of breach of contract, the damages will usually be assessed by considering the situation the creditor would be in if restored to the position he would have been in had the contract been performed properly, by looking at costs incurred, wasted expenditure, any loss of profits etc.

The Netherlands Antilles Civil Code will generally allow an injured party to claim damages based on the expectations/positive interest, i.e. the position …
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24
Oct 2009
CATEGORY

Legal

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