OVERZICHT PRIVAATRECHTELIJKE RECHTSPERSONEN
Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten en de BES-eilanden
Aruba
Aruba kent de naamloze vennootschap (NV), de Aruba Vrijgestelde Vennootschap (AVV), de Vennootschap met Beperkte Aansprakelijkheid (VBA), de vereniging, de coöperatieve vereniging, de onderlinge waarborgmaatschappij en de stichting. De NV is geregeld in het Wetboek van Koophandel van Aruba en daarin is sedert 1 juli 1988 ook de AVV geregeld. Op 1 januari 2009 is de VBA geïntroduceerd met het van kracht worden van een gelijknamige landsverordening. Bij de VBA is het mogelijk om te kiezen voor een monistisch (one tier) of dualistisch (two tier) bestuursmodel.
De vereniging is geregeld in de …
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CHAMBERS GLOBAL 2016 LEGAL RANKINGS RELEASED
Karel Frielink ranked Band 1 again
Once again I have been selected as a ranked lawyer in Chambers Global 2016 identifying me as one of the best lawyers in the Dutch Caribbean (click here).
The Chambers Guides have been ranking the best law firms and lawyers since 1990, and now cover 185 jurisdictions throughout the world. Chambers ranks lawyers and law firms on several factors and considerations, all of which are investigated by their large team of more than 140 researchers. Today, Chambers and Partners released the 2016 edition, also covering the Dutch Caribbean.
Individual lawyers are …
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PRELIMINARY RELIEF PROCEEDINGS
When a case needs an urgent decision
The procedure for provisional measures in summary proceedings (kort geding), a.k.a. preliminary relief proceedings or interlocutory proceedings, is an interim injunction procedure before the court. Such proceedings, under Dutch Caribbean 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 …
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THE BINDING EFFECT OF JUDGMENTS
Limited to the parties involved in the proceedings
Court decisions, even decisions by the Dutch Supreme Court, are not binding on courts when deciding future cases. However, the Code of Civil Procedure prevents parties from litigating twice on the same legal issue. The principle that a final judgment of a competent court is conclusive upon the parties in any subsequent litigation involving the same cause of action is known as ‘res judicata ’.
A Dutch court case is described below illustrating this principle: Utrecht District Court of 19 March 2009 (NJF 2009/291).
In initial litigation, the claimant had sought payment …
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BRIBERY
A criminal act
With regard to anti-corruption the Criminal Codes of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands include criminal acts such as fraud, bribery and abuse of authorities. The bribery offence closely resembles the bribery provisions under the Dutch Criminal Code. The Codes also stipulate regulations on criminal acts committed by judges, ministers, members of Parliament and civil servants. Amendments were introduced to the Criminal Code specifically to implement the Anti-Bribery Convention. The bribery offences in the Criminal Codes mirror very closely those in the Dutch Criminal Code.
The relevant anti-bribery provisions are integrated in the Dutch Caribbean Criminal …
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CONSULTATIE CODE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NEDERLAND
Commissie presenteert voorstel
De (Nederlandse) Monitoring Commissie Corporate Governance Code heeft vandaag een zogeheten consultatiedocument gepresenteerd. Daarin staan voorstellen voor herziening van de Nederlandse corporate governance code.
Alle belanghebbenden en geïnteresseerden worden uitgenodigd om een reactie uit te brengen op dit consultatiedocument en deel te nemen aan het publieke debat omtrent de herziening van de Code. Het doel is om met de verkregen input en bevindingen uit de consultatiefase te komen tot een herziening van de Code.
Kennisneming van de voorstellen (dat kan door hier te klikken) kan ook voor de discussies in Aruba, Curaçao en St. …
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TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING
More Trade Transparency Units Needed
Smuggling and trade fraud are on the rise, according to Viêt Nam News (27 October 2015). The Telegraph reports that the authorities in China have arrested 21 people on suspicion of defrauding almost one million Chinese investors of 50bn yuan (£5.3 billion) after an online peer-to-peer lender turned out to be a giant Ponzi scheme (1 February 2016). Money laundering and fraud seem to be on the increase. Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) is one of the big threats facing us today.
According to Premium Times (21 December 2015; Read the rest »
CONSOLIDATED BANKRUPTCY
Creditors, stay alert!
Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) will together be referred to as the Dutch Caribbean, although each has its own set of laws.
Bankruptcy in general serves the purpose of liquidating assets of a particular person or legal entity and distributing the proceeds among the combined creditors. Sometimes, several companies belonging to one and the same group of companies go bankrupt. In principle, the trustee in bankruptcy has to administer and liquidate the assets of each of the bankrupt estates individually.
When multiple companies of the same group go bankrupt, it …
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DISCHARGING THE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Only for matters evident from the accounts
The shareholders of a Dutch Caribbean limited liability company (NV or BV) may provide a discharge (décharge) to members of the management board for matters evident from the annual accounts, or matters otherwise made known to the general shareholders meeting. This is a standard item on the agenda for shareholders meetings at which a company’s annual accounts are adopted.
The aim of this discharge is that the company generally has no longer a legal cause of action against a management board member.
The effect of a discharge is limited. A discharge does not …
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INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
The UNCITRAL Model Law is applicable
Parties with a legal dispute can turn to the public court system to settle the dispute; however, instead of bringing a lawsuit in a public court, they can also opt for arbitration. Arbitration is a form of private dispute settlement in which the parties instruct one or more persons (arbitrators) to render a binding decision on their dispute. The arbitrators may be jurists, but they can also be laypersons. People with specific expertise or experience in a certain branch or industry are often chosen as arbitrator.
Parties can include a so-called arbitration clause in …
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UN PROSPERO AÑA NOBO 2016
Een voorspoedig Nieuwjaar
Un Próspero aña nobo
A Prosperous new year
Un próspero Año Nuevo
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MAKING FUN OF LAWYERS
Makes me smile…
The image that people have of lawyers is usually determined by coincidences. This may be a personal experience with their own lawyer or that of the counterparty. But even more will the image be determined by the relatively small group of lawyers who get publicity.
A. Pitlo (Evolutie in het privaatrecht, [Evolution in private law] Groningen: H.D. Tjeenk Willink 1972, p. 102) speaks with regard to certain lawyers about the ‘half-intellect’ that by intellectualism must succeed in being kept up towards the masses. Publications that are extremely critical of lawyers can date from any time and the first …
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