MAY LAWYERS SEARCH FOR METADATA IN DOCUMENTS RECEIVED FROM OPPOSING COUNSEL?

A lawyer may ethically review a document for metadata
Lawyers frequently send and receive documents or computer files in electronic form. An electronic document typically includes data that may or may not be visible when viewing the document on the computer screen or as printed out, e.g. the original author’s name, the creation date of the [...]

HARRY POTTER AND THE BATTLE OVER COPYRIGHT LAWS

Can the author come up with a legal spell to prevent the publishing of a HP encyclopedia?
J.K. Rowling is the renowned author of the famous fantasy books about the life of wizardry student Harry Potter. Since the release of the first book in 1997, the series have gained huge popularity worldwide. The books have spawned [...]

WHO OWNS THE MOON?

No one does actually
You may have heard about people selling parts of the moon: they claim that you can become co-owner of moon lots for about US$ 40 per acre.
However, in my opinion, the moon belongs to no one, period! No state or government can claim ownership and neither can an individual. To state that [...]

TRUST COMPANIES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Rendering trust services without a license is prohibited
Many international group structures include one or more Dutch Caribbean legal entities or partnerships. The main reasons for this are the internationally competitive conditions for business development in the area of corporate law, the tax system, and the well-developed professional financial services industry of the Netherlands Antilles. Trust [...]

ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

A digital signature has the same legal effect as a hand-written signature
The Ordinance on agreements concluded electronically (‘Landsverordening overeenkomsten langs elektronische weg’) became effective on 1 January 2001.
Trade, financial services and other commercial activities are being conducted electronically at a rapidly growing rate. The Netherlands Antilles was ahead of many countries in developing legislation for [...]

COMPLIANCE IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Curacao considers how the US deals with compliance
Compliance is essentially about systems and procedures at corporations, banks, funds, trust offices, insurance companies and the like, to ensure that their officers and employees are aware of and take steps to comply with the relevant laws and regulations. It is also referred to as ‘regulatory compliance’. Compliance [...]

FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

The ultimate recourse against a person not paying his debts
The bankruptcy order can be applied for either by the debtor or by one or more of its creditors. If the debtor is a company then, pursuant to Article 2:8 par. 4 of the Civil Code, the managing directors do not have the authority to file [...]

DUTCH CARIBBEAN BUSINESS LICENSES

Citizens versus non-citizens
According to the Netherlands Antilles Ordinance on the Establishment of Businesses (‘Landsverordening betreffende vestiging van ondernemingen’, PB 1946 nr. 43) a license is required to establish a company (‘vestigingsvergunning’). A further license is required to operate one as an individual director if one is not a citizen of the Netherlands Antilles (‘directievergunning’).
According to [...]

DUTCH CARIBBEAN ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING REGULATIONS (II)

Filing MOT report no blanket protection
A provider of financial services, e.g. a bank, has the obligation under Section 11 of the MOT (National Ordinance Penalization Money Laundering) to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), without delay, any unusual transaction made or proposed. Unusual transactions are described in the Ministerial Decree Indicators Unusual Transactions.
Suspected money-laundering [...]

DUTCH CARIBBEAN ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING REGULATIONS (I)

An overview
Important Netherlands Antilles anti-money-laundering regulations include the National Ordinance Penalization Money Laundering (‘Landsverordening Strafbaarstelling Witwassen van Geld’, ‘NOML’) which criminalizes money laundering, and the National Ordinance on the Reporting of Unusual Transactions (‘Landsverordening Melding Ongebruikelijke Transacties’, ‘MOT’). The latter requires anybody who offers financial services to report, without delay, any ‘unusual transactions’ to the [...]