BREACH OF CONTRACT IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES (IV)

Non-performance as a response to non-performance

Whenever a party to a contract is faced with non–performance by the other party, the party’s first reaction might well be to suspend its part of the contract. In the legal sense of the word, suspending or withholding performance may be described as both a defense and a self help remedy, which a party can use when the other party does not perform its obligations under the contract. By its very nature it is a temporary remedy. As long as one party is in breach and the other is withholding its performance, the contract …
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17
Oct 2009
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Legal

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BREACH OF CONTRACT IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES (III)

Different cases of breach of contract

Any question of breach starts with an inquiry into the type of obligation at hand. It is necessary to know more about the type of obligation at hand in order to determine whether a party has failed to perform that obligation. When determining whether a party has failed to perform, it should be remembered that an obligation may carry with it a degree of ‘strictness’, ranging from a firm commitment, e.g. commitment to provide annual audited financial statements, to an obligation to use reasonable care and skill to achieve certain goals.

The Netherlands Antilles …
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10
Oct 2009
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Legal

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BREACH OF CONTRACT IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES (II)

Entitlement to specific performance

Under the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code the demand for specific performance is not a remedy for breach of contract in a strictly legal technical sense. In this system the entitlement to specific performance is a consequence of the duty to perform a (contractual) obligation. The contract itself, and not the breach of it, entitles the creditor to specific performance. If non–performance amounts to a breach of contract, i.e. meaning that a party does not perform though it should perform, the other party may be entitled to damages or termination of the contract.

However, in some cases, …
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03
Oct 2009
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Legal

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BREACH OF CONTRACT IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES (I)

Failure to properly perform

Under the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code (CC) breach of contract is defined as a failure to properly perform, perform on time, or to perform at all, which failure is attributable to one of the parties If a debtor breaches his obligations there are various courses of action available to the creditor. Firstly he may claim specific performance, secondly he may claim damages, whether or not in addition to specific performance, and thirdly, he may demand dissolution of the contract, with or without damages.

The CC distinguishes between excused and non–excused non–performance. According to Article 6:74 CC …
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26
Sep 2009
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Legal

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THE MANAGEMENT OF A DUTCH ANTILLES FOUNDATION

Management must act in the best interests of the foundation

The members of the management board of a Netherlands Antilles foundation have collective powers and responsibilities. The management board shall be in charge of the management of the foundation.

Although not explicitly provided for in Book 2 of the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code, it is considered a general rule of corporate law that the management board must act in the best interests of the foundation in the performance of its duties, even when acting upon instructions from others (e.g. a supervisory or advisory body).

The minimum standard of care is …
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19
Sep 2009
CATEGORY

Corporate

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CROSS-BORDER CONVERSIONS AND MERGERS IN THE DUTCH ANTILLES

No outbound mergers allowed

According to the laws of the Netherlands Antilles, a limited liability company (NV or BV) may convert to a foreign legal entity provided that under the laws governing such a foreign legal entity the consequence of such conversion shall be the continued existence of the company as a legal entity – in its new legal form. The Netherlands Antilles Corporate Code also allows a foreign legal entity to convert to a Netherlands Antilles legal entity.

The Netherlands Antilles corporate Code does not permit a merger of a Netherlands Antilles company, as the disappearing company, into a …
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12
Sep 2009
CATEGORY

Corporate

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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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15
Aug 2009
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Legal

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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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08
Aug 2009
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Legal

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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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01
Aug 2009
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Legal

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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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25
Jul 2009
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Legal

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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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04
Jul 2009
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Legal

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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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27
Jun 2009
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Legal

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