Category: Legal

The court determines the purchase price According to Netherlands Antilles law, a shareholder who holds at least 95% of the outstanding capital in a company (NV or BV) may initiate court proceedings to buy-out the minority shareholders. The articles of association may provide for another percentage, provided it is not less than 90%. Whether or… Continue reading FORCED BUY-OUT OF MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS UNDER DUTCH CARIBBEAN LAW

Notice of default not always required According to article 6:119 Netherlands Antilles Civil Code, whenever a debtor is in default, he must pay compensation to the creditor, this compensation consists of the statutory interest. The statutory interest is calculated and accumulated to the amount due every year. In the case that a higher interest than… Continue reading STATUTORY INTEREST UNDER THE LAWS OF THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Interim-relief can be obtained relatively quickly Such proceedings (a.k.a. injunction proceedings) start, as most proceedings in the Netherlands Antilles, with filing an initial request with the court. The latter will take care of serving the writ of summons onto the defendant(s). The court then will fix a date for the hearing within two weeks after… Continue reading INTERIM-RELIEF PROCEEDINGS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Only if improper performance can be seriously imputed to him The general rule under Dutch Caribbean law is that a supervisory board member is only liable for the improper performance of his duty in case this can be seriously imputed to him. It must be noted that the tasks of supervisory directors differ from the… Continue reading LIABILITY OF SUPERVISORY DIRECTORS UNDER THE LAWS OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Freedom of speech prevails most of the time Free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. Journalists report on bad things that happen in our community. They want to know what happened, why it happened and who were involved. It is custom to mention suspects by full name, but journalists should at all times make… Continue reading PRIVACY VERSUS FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Applications to be filed with the Central Bank The National Ordinance on the Supervision of Investment Institutions and Administrators 2002 (‘Landsverordening toezicht beleggingsinstellingen en administrateurs’, the “NOSIIA”) prescribes a license for all Investment Institutions, unless: (i) the participation rights therein are not offered, nor are monies or other goods for participation therein requested or obtained,… Continue reading LICENSE REQUIREMENT FOR INVESTMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Microsoft’s success created a forbidden dominant position According to Mrs. Neelie Kroes, the European Union competition commissioner, Microsoft is abusing its dominant position because is is failing to comply with a three-year-old anti-trust ruling that it deliberately makes its Windows (now Vista) operating system incompatible with rival companies’ servers used to print and share files.… Continue reading MICROSOFT’S FATE: OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE LEADS TO PUNISHMENT

Curacao is ranked #1 According to the 2007 Global Custodian Hedge Fund Administration Survey, Curacao (Dutch Caribbean) is the # 1 location for hedge fund administration services. Curacao outperformed Singapore, Dublin, Toronto, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and the Cayman Islands, to name just a few. Curacao is known for its excellent legal and tax infrastructure, high quality… Continue reading CURACAO RECEIVES TOP RANKING IN GLOBAL CUSTODIAN HEDGE FUND ADMINISTRATION SURVEY

Certain rulings are available Quite often a Netherlands Antilles NV or BV (Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV) is used for securitization purposes. The Netherlands Antilles corporate taxation will depend on the kind of vehicle used for SPV. Please note that the below only applies if the SPV is a resident of the Netherlands Antilles for Netherlands… Continue reading DUTCH CARIBBEAN TAXATION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES

Freedom of expression The Antilliaanse Televisie Maatschappij N.V., a Curacao-based television broadcasting company, holds a license under the Television Act (‘Televisielandsverordening’). Its subsidiary TDS N.V. (“TDS”) holds a license for the operation of a cable TV network on Curacao. Curacao Cable Television N.V. (“CCT”) has contested the exclusive rights of TDS. CCT has claimed that… Continue reading TELEVISION LAW IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

The Netherlands Antilles fully cooperates with the OECD There are still government officials and others in several countries who believe that the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao) is a tax-haven. They are so wrong!! Already on December 29, 1999, the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles approved three tax bills, together known as the New Fiscal Framework (“NFF”).… Continue reading THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES IS NOT A TAX-HAVEN

BusinessWeek Debate BusinessWeek asked two journalists about their position on the following issue (click here): “Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other networking Web sites that young people find so appealing are weak substitutes for making and cementing real business relationships in person. Pro or con?” According to Jenna Goudreau, a BusinessWeek reporter, social-networking sites prove more… Continue reading SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: BLAH, BLAH, BLAH?