THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BOSS
Three different personas during testimony
There are matters to consider before you enter a courtroom as plaintiff, defendant or witness: for instance, what you say, your body language, how you present yourself and what you wear. The judge will be watching you. You don’t believe me? Read for yourself!
The judge about the defendant:
Murdock tried out three different personas during his testimony. During his deposition, he showed the true force of his domineering personality. During the first day of trial, Murdock tried to appear more reasonable and conciliatory on direct, but on cross-examination, he could not resist being combative. He denied …
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BESTUURDERSAANSPRAKELIJKHEID
Symposium Sint Maarten 1 december 2015
Het Ministerie van Justitie te Sint Maarten en de Orde van Advocaten te Sint Maarten hebben op 1 december 2015 een symposium over Boek 2 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek van Sint Maarten georganiseerd.
De sprekers waren prof.mr. Peter van Schilfgaarde, prof.mr. Gerard van Solinge, mr. Jeroen Eichhorn en ikzelf. Mijn bijdrage ging over bestuurdersaansprakelijkheid. De tekst van mijn bijdrage is hier te vinden. Wat ik over het recht van St. Maarten te melden heb geldt ook voor Aruba, Curacao en de BES-eilanden.
Karel Frielink
(3 december 2015)
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HET BESTUUR VAN EEN RECHTSPERSOON
Het belang van de rechtspersoon moet worden gediend
De taakvervulling door een bestuurder van een (privaatrechtelijke) rechtspersoon is niet vrijblijvend. Op de bestuurder rust een inspanningsverplichting. In artikel 2:8 lid 3 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek (van Curaçao, St. Maarten en de BES-eilanden) is een belangrijke norm voor die taakvervulling vastgelegd:
Bij de vervulling van zijn taak richt het bestuur zich naar het belang van de rechtspersoon en, voor zover daarvan sprake is, de met deze verbonden onderneming.
Die norm geldt overigens ook in Aruba.
Er bestaat natuurlijk niet zoiets als ‘het’ belang van de rechtspersoon. Er is bijna altijd sprake van …
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THE DUTY OF CARE OF BANKS
Banks are under the obligation to exercise due care
In the Dutch Caribbean, no separately defined body of law exists with regard to the relationship between a (commercial) bank and its customer. The standard general terms and conditions applied by banks in the Dutch Caribbean have an important function in the legal relationship between banks and their customers. They enter into effect once explicitly or implicitly accepted by the customer.
According to most general conditions “the bank shall exercise due care on rendering its services. In doing so the bank shall reckon to the best of its ability with the client’s interests, …
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LIABILITY OF COMPANY DIRECTORS
No derivative suit
It is considered a general rule of Dutch Caribbean corporate law that the management board (a.k.a. board of directors) must act in the best interests of the company (an NV or BV) in the performance of its duties, even when acting on instructions from others (e.g. shareholders). This includes the interests of the shareholders, the employees and, according to most legal writers, the creditors of the company.
Under the Civil Codes of Curacao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba), directors of a limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap or besloten vennootschap) are personally and …
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BZSE – ST. MAARTEN DAY AD
No ship-jumpers!
Have you seen our ad in the newspaper earlier this week?
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(13 November 2015)
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SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR SELLING ALL ASSETS
In particular circumstances this rule may be set aside
Generally speaking, the management board of a company (NV or BV) is not entitled to sell the company’s business or a substantial part thereof, without the approval of the shareholders’ meeting. The Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam confirmed this in its decision of 27 February 2014 (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2014:597; JOR 2014, 160). According to the Court, (the managing board of) a legal entity that intends selling all shares in its subsidiaries must observe the requirements for adopting a resolution to liquidate that entity.
According to Section 2:7(2) of the Civil …
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LEGAL DOCUMENTS ARE HARD TO READ DUE TO LEGALESE LANGUAGE
Lawyers must learn to communicate with their clients
Communication skills are particularly important for lawyers. On the one hand lawyers have to accurately debate legal issues with like-skilled/trained people and on the other hand they have to explain all this to people without any legal education, many of which are vulnerable. That is not as easy as it sounds: legalese vs plain language.
I know that many people are dissatisfied and frustrated by lawyers’ communication efforts. I asked one of my networking contacts what she could teach a lawyer / attorney. Her response:
“I have worked with lawyers in my …
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KNOWLEDGE CEO CAN BE IMPUTED TO CORPORATION
Interesting opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Knowledge can be both actual and constructive. The question is under what circumstances actual knowledge, for instance the CEO’s knowledge, can be imputed to the corporation. This question was addressed by the Ninth Circuit in its opinion of 23 October 2015 (securities class action lawsuit against ChinaCast Education Corporation et al).
Summary (prepared by court staff):
Reversing the dismissal of a securities fraud claim, the panel held that a CEO’s fraud could be imputed to his corporate employer, even though his alleged embezzlement and misleading …
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF ST. MAARTEN
According to constitutional law it is simple and difficult at the same time
The following is simple:
Section 33 Constitution of St. Maarten:
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES
Speech Karel Frielink – Conference of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association
Ladies and Gentlemen!
I have only half an hour, so I won’t travel back in time to the early days of mankind. I just start with Plato (427 – 347 B.C.E.). You may have heard of this philosopher. And of ‘Platonic love ’ of course. Plato himself mistrusted and generally advised against physical expressions of love.
Ladies and gentleman, we are real people. Human beings of flesh and blood. We are no zombies! So I imagine that Plato would have advised people like you and me: “govern yourself, put restrictions …
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HET STAATSRECHT VAN SINT MAARTEN
Staatsrechtelijk is het simpel en moeilijk tegelijk
Op de Naar mijn mening-pagina is vandaag een stukje geplaatst naar aanleiding van de recente (staatsrechtelijke) ontwikkelingen in Sint Maarten.
Karel Frielink
(14 oktober 2015)
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Ps (16 October 2015)
The second Vice President of Parliament Hon. Cornelius de Weever, on Thursday, 15th October, has sent a letter to the Members of Parliament (MPs) requesting additional information with respect to a convocation for an urgent meeting of the House of Parliament.
I have taken note of your Convocation for an urgent meeting of Parliament …
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