AMSTERDAM COURT OF APPEAL ON LIABILITY OF TRUST DIRECTORS
Trust directors not treated differently from regular directors
The board of directors of an NV or BV may contractually agree to a limitation of its powers to manage the company. Such arrangements are typical for trust offices engaged by a foreign ultimate beneficiary to render services to ‘his’ company, i.e. the client of a trust office. In principle, any contract a board of directors enters into binds the board and thereby limits its power. However, notwithstanding such a contract, it is still the board of directors that is in charge of managing the affairs of the company.
A distinction should …
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LIABILITY FOR NOT OR LATE FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
No obligation to file for bankruptcy
There is no statutory obligation in the Netherlands Antilles for managing directors of a company to file for the bankruptcy of the company. Managing directors are therefore not responsible to the creditors for damages sustained by them as a result of any ‘late’ filing for bankruptcy. There is no such obligation for shareholders of a company either. A liquidator of a company shall, however, file for bankruptcy if he finds that the liabilities are likely to exceed the assets, unless all known creditors agree in writing that the liquidation be continued on a voluntary …
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LIABILITY OF DE FACTO MANAGING DIRECTORS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Policy maker can be held liable
As a general rule a corporation in the Netherlands Antilles is a legal entity distinct from its shareholders. In terms of liability for mismanagement the law focuses on the managing directors as well as other persons who actually “act as managers” (a.k.a. policy makers or de facto managing directors).
Most legal commentators take the view that instructions from a parent company to a subsidiary do not, as such, constitute “management” in the above sense. However, statutory language is ambiguous and there is no Netherlands Antilles case law on this issue. Those who “act as …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN COMPANIES AND LIABILITY ISSUES
Shareholders are not personally liable
Shareholders of an NV or BV are not personally liable for the liabilities of the company, except where this would be contrary to the law. With the exception of actions based on tort or when a shareholder may be held liable because he is considered a policy maker (see below), in general, the shareholders only obligation is to pay to the company the consideration for the share issue, i.e. a payment on the shares.
The members of the board of directors are personally and severally liable towards the company for any loss caused by the …
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