Month: January 2006

The liquidators must wind up the company?s affairs The management board of an Aruba public limited liability company (‘NV‘) is not authorized to dissolve the company. Dissolution requires a shareholders? decision. The decision to liquidate a company must be announced in the Aruba Gazette (in which the government publishes its official announcements). Notice of liquidation… Continue reading THE VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION OF AN ARUBAN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

A legal opinion looks like a collection of legalisms A legal opinion is a document by which a lawyer / attorney communicates objective legal advice to a client or a third party. His legal opinion speaks only as to domestic law not foreign law: legal comfort is local by nature, not global. When buying shares,… Continue reading LEGAL OPINIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND ARUBA

The Netherlands Antilles maintains its reputation of pursuing high standards and integrity The world is at war. A war against terrorism. And except for some blacklisted countries and territories, each jurisdiction has been making efforts to implement credible policies en legislation to deal with crime, both domestic and internationally. The Netherlands Antilles is ahead of… Continue reading ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND IDENTIFICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Curacao is the home of one stock exchange The Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Supervision of Stock Exchanges 1998 (‘Landsverordening Toezicht Effectenbeurzen 1998′) became effective March 1999. As a general rule, this Ordinance applies to stock exchanges that are operated in the Netherlands Antilles only. The Minister of Finance assigned the Netherlands Antilles Central Bank… Continue reading STOCK EXCHANGE REGULATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Streamlining government is in the general interest On 6 September 2005, Japan announced that it had completed the 20-year privatization of the nation’s biggest telecommunications company. This is the result of Japan’s ongoing effort to shrink government. In the past decade, about 50% of privatization activity took place in Latin America and the Caribbean. Privatization… Continue reading PRIVATIZATION IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

The liability of an ISP is not unlimited An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is primarily a conduit that passively allows for the transmission of data: an on-line intermediary. One cannot expect an ISP to monitor all of the services that it may give access to: an ISP offers numerous web-based services and the use of… Continue reading THE LIABILITY OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Civil law notaries are university graduated legal experts In the United States a notary public is a public servant appointed by state government to witness the signing of important documents (acknowledging and verifying signatures) and administer oaths and affirmations. Such a notary is forbidden from preparing legal documents or acting as a legal adviser unless… Continue reading CIVIL LAW NOTARIES IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND ARUBA

Reporting obligations which apply to publicly traded securities The Disclosure of major holdings in listed companies act (the ‘Act’) requires the owners of shares in corporations which (a) are incorporated in accordance with Netherlands Antilles law, and (b) are listed or traded on certain specified stock exchanges to report exceeding or reaching certain threshold holdings.… Continue reading REPORTING OBLIGATIONS UNDER NETHERLANDS ANTILLES LAW

A digital signature has the same legal effect as a hand-written signature The Ordinance on agreements to be concluded electronically (‘Landsverordening overeenkomsten langs elektronische weg’) became effective on 1 January 2001. Trade, financial services and other commercial activities are taking place by electronic means in a quickly growing pace. The Netherlands Antilles was ahead of… Continue reading ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Attracting funds from the public is prohibited The Netherlands Antilles have one financial regulator: the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (‘Bank van de Nederlandse Antillen’). The Central Bank is a separate legal entity having its seat at Curacao. The tasks of the Bank include, inter alia, circulating coins and bank notes, enhancing stability of… Continue reading BANKING REGULATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Should their OCT status change to OMR? The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are subject to the special European Union arrangement regarding the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT status). In its coalition agreement of the summer of 2003 the Dutch government has committed itself to make an effort to acknowledge the Netherlands Antilles… Continue reading ARUBA AND THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The ultimate recourse against a company not paying its debts The application for a bankruptcy order can be made either by the debtor itself or by one or more of its creditors. If the debtor is a company, according to article 8 par. 4 of the Code on corporate law and other legal persons, the… Continue reading FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES