Managing and supervisory directors’ liability I will refer only to the Aruba NV type of company, otherwise known as the public limited liability company, governed by the Commercial Code of Aruba. Furthermore, I will discuss only the basic concept of managing and supervisory directors’ liability. Duties Section 106(1) of the Aruba Commercial Code (ACC) provides… Continue reading THE ARUBA PUBLIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Tag: company
THE SELLING OF SHARES BY A CURACAO COMPANY
Answers to foreign counsel queries A Curaçao company (NV or BV) may have assets, both local and foreign. Not seldom such a company wants to sell all or a portion of its assets. If foreign assets or a foreign buyer is involved, foreign counsel always asks questions about the laws of Curaçao. Several of those… Continue reading THE SELLING OF SHARES BY A CURACAO COMPANY
IMPACT OF LIABILITY TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIRECTOR
Curaçao law cannot ‘break through’ to a legal relationship governed by foreign law Under Section 2:17 subsection 1 of the Curaçao Civil Code, the liability of a legal entity as a managing director of another legal entity (the direct or 1st degree director) also rests jointly and severally on each person who at the time… Continue reading IMPACT OF LIABILITY TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIRECTOR
LIABILITY OF COMPANY DIRECTORS
No derivative suit It is considered a general rule of Dutch Caribbean corporate law that the management board (a.k.a. board of directors) must act in the best interests of the company (an NV or BV) in the performance of its duties, even when acting on instructions from others (e.g. shareholders). This includes the interests of… Continue reading LIABILITY OF COMPANY DIRECTORS
SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR SELLING ALL ASSETS
In particular circumstances this rule may be set aside Generally speaking, the management board of a company (NV or BV) is not entitled to sell the company’s business or a substantial part thereof, without the approval of the shareholders’ meeting. The Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam confirmed this in its decision… Continue reading SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR SELLING ALL ASSETS
KNOWLEDGE CEO CAN BE IMPUTED TO CORPORATION
Interesting opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Knowledge can be both actual and constructive. The question is under what circumstances actual knowledge, for instance the CEO’s knowledge, can be imputed to the corporation. This question was addressed by the Ninth Circuit in its opinion of 23 October 2015 (securities… Continue reading KNOWLEDGE CEO CAN BE IMPUTED TO CORPORATION
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES
Speech Karel Frielink – Conference of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association Ladies and Gentlemen! I have only half an hour, so I won’t travel back in time to the early days of mankind. I just start with Plato (427 – 347 B.C.E.). You may have heard of this philosopher. And of ‘Platonic love ’ of course.… Continue reading CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES
LIABILITY OF THE SILENT PARTNER
The Supreme Court can give its opinion I will first describe Dutch law in this respect. A limited partnership (commanditaire vennootschap: ‘CV’) is a contractual, legal relationship between two or more persons or legal entities to carry on a business under a joint name, whereby the aim is to gain proprietary benefits on the basis… Continue reading LIABILITY OF THE SILENT PARTNER
SUPREME COURT U-TURN
The bankruptcy of a general partnership (‘VOF’) does not automatically mean the bankruptcy of its partners For many decades the rule had to be adhered to that the bankruptcy of a general partnership (vennootschap onder firma: ‘VOF’) also meant the bankruptcy of the individual partners (Supreme Court 14 April 1927, NJ 1927, page 725). However,… Continue reading SUPREME COURT U-TURN
QUASI DIRECTOR OR JUST THE BOSS?
This depends on the facts If a legal entity (an NV or BV comes to mind) becomes bankrupt, any director (according to its Articles) becomes jointly and severally liable for the deficit of the bankrupt’s estate if it is apparent that there has been improper management and it is plausible that this was a major… Continue reading QUASI DIRECTOR OR JUST THE BOSS?
LIABILITY OF A NEW PARTNER
Supreme Court creates clarity The National Ordinance on Partnerships (Landsverordening personenvennootschappen) of Curacao (1 January 2012) and St. Maarten (1 April 2014) mentions two main variants of the partnership: the public partnership and the silent partnership. The public partnership is a partnership (i) for carrying on a profession or business or performing professional or business… Continue reading LIABILITY OF A NEW PARTNER
REVOCATION OF A RESOLUTION TO DISSOLVE A LEGAL ENTITY
The Supreme Court formulated stringent conditions On 9 December 2014 the Dutch Supreme Court pronounced a ruling (ECLI:NL:HR:2014:3677; JOR 2015/33) which is also relevant to the law of the Caribbean (Is)lands of the Kingdom. On the basis of that ruling the following requirements are imposed on the revocation of a resolution to dissolve a legal entity:… Continue reading REVOCATION OF A RESOLUTION TO DISSOLVE A LEGAL ENTITY