Can a vessel be bought without paying taxes on the sale? Question: I am residing in the US and want to buy a yacht from a company established in the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao). The yacht is registered in a foreign country as a private yacht. Is it possible to purchase the vessel without paying taxes… Continue reading TAX QUESTION REGARDING A YACHT

Accident followed by a ‘sex drive’ According to the 13 December 2006 edition of Times On Line, a Christian newly-wed has filed a £3.5 million compensation claim against his employers, saying that his marriage was ruined because his sex drive spiraled out of control after he injured his head at work. He claims that the… Continue reading THE LIABILITY OF AN EMPLOYER IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT

A notarial deed is required A statutory merger involves at least two legal entities. The law uses the terms acquiring and disappearing legal entity. The law specifies that only legal entities having the same legal form may merge, specifying that a BV (closed limited liability company) and a NV (public limited liability company) are considered… Continue reading STATUTORY MERGERS UNDER THE LAWS OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Unauthorized agents are personally liable A power of attorney is a right that the principal grants to a person to perform legal acts (including contracts) in his name. The person who receives the power of attorney obtains the right to represent his principal. The granting of a power of attorney is a unilateral legal act.… Continue reading A POWER OF ATTORNEY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND ARUBA

General conditions may be nullified Since 1 January 2001 the Netherlands Antilles Civil Code (CC) contains a section on general conditions. By including this section in the CC the legislator tried to strengthen the judicial supervision on the terms of general conditions in order to protect the contracting party against the use of general conditions,… Continue reading GENERAL CONDITIONS UNDER THE LAWS OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND ARUBA

A license is required The insurance business in the Netherlands Antilles is regulated by the National Ordinance on the supervision of the Insurance Business Insurance companies (i.e., entities which make it their business to offer insurance products) established in the Netherlands Antilles and insurance companies with a statutory seat outside the Netherlands Antilles which have… Continue reading REGULATORY ASPECTS OF NETHERLANDS ANTILLES INSURANCE BUSINESS

A majority voted against ratification of the agreement with The Netherlands, which agreement would have given Curacao an autonomous status within the Kingdom of The Netherlands On 28 November 2006, a majority of the Curacao politicians voted against the agreement (‘slotverklaring’) with The Netherlands which was entered into on 2 November 2006. A historical mistake!… Continue reading WHAT HAVE THE CURACAO POLITICIANS DONE TO THE PEOPLE?

Cover for actual damage as a result of an uncertain event According to article 315 of the ‘Wetboek van Koophandel Nederlandse Antillen’ (Netherlands Antilles Commercial Code) “Insurance is the agreement whereby an insurer commits itself to the insured, against receipt of a premium, to compensate the latter for a loss, damage or loss of expected… Continue reading WHAT IS AN INSURANCE AGREEMENT UNDER NETHERLANDS ANTILLES LAW?

Only to licensed credit institutions Any Notes (including rights representing an interest in a Note in global form) that are offered as part of their initial distribution or by way of re-offering in the Netherlands Antilles, shall, in order to comply with the Netherlands Antilles National Ordinance on the supervision of banking and credit institutions… Continue reading THE OFFERING OF NOTES IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

How should we adapt to cope with this? Offering traditional funds and structures is no longer attractive. The industry should more focus on, e.g., Asia. Areas to be addressed are tax, costs, asset classes, performance, regulatory issues and local or regional requirements. The Netherlands Antilles (especially Curacao) provides a favorable tax, legal and regulatory climate… Continue reading HEDGE FUND INDUSTRY IS STILL GROWING RAPIDLY

Should blogs be promoted? For some (legal) bloggers it is still lonely ‘out there’ (in cyberspace). What can we do to help and support each other? Should we exchange content? Should we link to each other? Can we help each other with referrals? You undoubtedly have heard or read about search engine optimization, blog submission,… Continue reading HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR LEGAL BLOG?

Why would one blog anyway? Why should lawyers blog? Does it help growing their network? Are there any disadvantages? Have we any idea how many legal bloggers there are? How many ‘success stories’ do we know about? Is it a great time to start a legal blog? What is the future of legal blogging? Will… Continue reading WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF LEGAL BLOGGING?