LIFTING OF AN ATTACHMENT UNDER THE LAWS OF THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (II)
Defendant has to show that the claim is invalid
Article 705, Paragraph 2 of the Netherlands Antilles Code of Civil Procedure states that the lifting of an attachment may be ordered if it appears summarily that the claim is invalid.
According to existing case law of the Dutch Supreme Court (see for instance Supreme Court dd June 14, 1996, NJ (Dutch Law Reports) 1997, 481), this means that the plaintiff (i.e. the party requesting the attachment be lifted in summary proceedings), with due regard for the limitations of summary proceedings, should establish a prima facie case (aannemelijk maken) that the …
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LIFTING OF AN ATTACHMENT UNDER THE LAWS OF THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (I)
Freezing assets is rather easy
Under Netherlands Antilles law any party with a prima facie claim may file a petition for a court order granting an attachment, which petitions are generally granted, solely based on the allegations in the petition. It is not required, under Netherlands Antilles law, that the litigant needs to demonstrate that, in absence of an attachment, there is a risk that the defendant would have insufficient assets to pay a judgment, as a threat of evading a judgment (by moving assets etc.) does exist.
Only with respect to some types of assets, such as registered shares …
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SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (IV)
Only condemnatory judgments are allowed
As far as the form and the content of a decision in summary proceedings is concerned, the judge has great latitude in reaching a decision. A guiding principle for the judge will always be a policy of not going beyond what might be necessary or well-balanced as far as the decision in the procedure on the merits is concerned. In principle, however, the judge may order any measure provided that the measure serves to safeguard a right or a legally recognized interest.
Legal literature is of the opinion that in summary proceedings only condemnatory judgments …
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SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (III)
Judge will balance interests
In general the court will take into account the detriment which the plaintiff in summary proceedings will suffer if he has to wait too long for a judgment in a procedure on the merits.
In summary proceedings the judge needs to balance the interests of the plaintiff and the defendant. In practice, this balancing of interests plays an important role in the procedure. The judge may dismiss a claim in summary proceedings if the consequences for the defendant would be too drastic. An important factor will be the probability of a positive or negative decision on …
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SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (II)
Urgency is a requirement
Provisional measures may always be given in summary proceedings in civil cases if the claim meets the following three conditions: (i) there is an urgent interest at stake; (ii) the interests of both parties needs to be balanced; and (iii) the balancing of interests justifies a decision in summary proceedings.
The fact that the judge in summary proceedings (hereafter: “the judge”) is formally competent to render a decision, does not imply that he will accept the claim or will decide in favor of it. The nature of summary proceedings implies that the case not only needs …
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SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN (I)
Attempting to obtain temporary instructions from the court
The procedure for provisional measures in summary proceedings (in Dutch: kort geding), a.k.a. interlocutory proceedings, is an interim injunction procedure before the court. Such proceedings, under Netherlands Antilles law, are aimed at obtaining temporary instructions from the court, not at receiving a final decision in the case.
These proceedings are characterized by their more or less summary character and their relatively quick nature. There is a clear relationship to a procedure on the merits, which always may be instituted and sometimes even must be followed. Provisional measures that are prescribed in summary …
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FILE SHARING IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Internet service providers should act prudently regarding claimed copyright infringement
File sharing, as is commonly understood, involves distributing or providing access to electronically stored data. One, if not the most, popular way to do this is through the use of so-called (distributed) peer-to-peer (P2P) networking programs. The rising popularity of music formats such as mp3 (a format for the compression of audio data) has led to the release and growth of software designed to make the sharing of electronic data relatively easy.
One of the legal issues involved with file sharing is that the shared data may (wholly or partially) …
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AGENCY AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN (II)
Distribution agreement
So-called agency agreements frequently bear resemblance in actual practice, to (certain aspects of) distribution agreements. Hence, so-called ‘agency agreements’ are in actual fact not infrequently mixed type agreements, consisting of an agent and a distribution element.
In general, a distributor buys goods from a principal in his own name and for his own account and resells these goods to third parties in his own name and for his own account.
Distribution agreements are not defined in any Netherlands Antilles statute and are not subject to any specific Netherlands Antilles legislation. The distribution agreement is an agreement sui generis, …
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AGENCY AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS IN THE NETHERLANDS CARIBBEAN (I)
Commercial Agency Agreement
According to Section 7:428, Paragraph 1, of the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code, a commercial agency contract (agentuurovereenkomst) is a contract for services whereby one party, the principal, instructs the other party, the commercial agent, and whereby the latter binds himself, for a fixed or indeterminate term and for remuneration, to act as an intermediary in the conclusion of contracts, and, as the case may be, to enter into such contracts in the name and for the account of the principal, without being his subordinate.
No procedural requirements apply for entering into an agency agreement, and it may …
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TRANSACTIONAL POWER OF THE MANAGING BOARD OF A DUTCH CARIBBEAN CORPORATION (II)
Only corporations may plead absence of representative authority
Under the Netherlands Antilles Corporate Code, i.e. Book 2 of the Civil Code, transactions with third parties that violate either the law or any limitations on the transactional powers of the board of directors of a corporation, are not enforceable against the corporation if the limitations are properly disclosed at the trade register. According to Article 2:10(3) Netherlands Antilles Civil Code only corporations may plead the absence of representative authority.
A counterparty wishing to withdraw from a legal act on that ground, may only rely on the fourth paragraph of Article 2:10 …
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TRANSACTIONAL POWER OF THE MANAGING BOARD OF A DUTCH CARIBBEAN CORPORATION (I)
Limitations must be disclosed to have effect
Netherlands Antilles law provides that, subject to restrictions laid down by the Netherlands Antilles Corporate Code or a corporation’s articles of association, the board of directors of a corporation shall be competent to represent the corporation, e.g. a limited liability company (‘naamloze of besloten vennootschap’; NV or BV). In the event of several managing directors, any managing director shall be competent, insofar as not otherwise provided for by the articles of association.
Under Netherlands Antilles law, information required to be disclosed pursuant to the Civil Code, for instance (i) the identities of the …
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STATUTORY LIMITATIONS FOR FILING A CLAIM UNDER ARUBAN LAW
Five year period
With respect to the limitations under Aruban law for filing a claim, the pertinent legal provisions governing limitations are set out in Book 3, Title 11 (Rights of Action) of the Aruban Civil Code.
According to Article 310 the right of action for compensation for damage is prescribed up to the end of a five year period from the beginning of the day following the one on which the person who is prejudiced becomes aware of both the damage and the identity of the person responsible for it.
If an accident occurred on August 1, 2004, for …
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