Tag: curacao

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BOSS

Three different personas during testimony There are matters to consider before you enter a courtroom as plaintiff, defendant or witness: for instance, what you say, your body language, how you present yourself and what you wear. The judge will be watching you. You don’t believe me? Read for yourself! The judge about the defendant: Murdock tried out… Continue reading THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BOSS

KAREL FRIELINK FULL MEMBER OF STEP

Trust and Estate Practitioner The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) was founded in 1991 by George Tasker as a hub for local forums of practitioners. STEP is the international professional body for those who work in the trust industry and the (often overlapping) field of estate administration. Its members are mainly solicitors, barristers,… Continue reading KAREL FRIELINK FULL MEMBER OF STEP

BESTUURDERSAANSPRAKELIJKHEID

Symposium Sint Maarten 1 december 2015 Het Ministerie van Justitie te Sint Maarten en de Orde van Advocaten te Sint Maarten hebben op 1 december 2015 een symposium over Boek 2 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek van Sint Maarten georganiseerd. De sprekers waren prof.mr. Peter van Schilfgaarde, prof.mr. Gerard van Solinge, mr. Jeroen Eichhorn en ikzelf.… Continue reading BESTUURDERSAANSPRAKELIJKHEID

HET BESTUUR VAN EEN RECHTSPERSOON

Het belang van de rechtspersoon moet worden gediend De taakvervulling door een bestuurder van een (privaatrechtelijke) rechtspersoon is niet vrijblijvend. Op de bestuurder rust een inspanningsverplichting. In artikel 2:8 lid 3 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek (van Curaçao, St. Maarten en de BES-eilanden) is een belangrijke norm voor die taakvervulling vastgelegd: Bij de vervulling van zijn taak… Continue reading HET BESTUUR VAN EEN RECHTSPERSOON

THE DUTY OF CARE OF BANKS

Banks are under the obligation to exercise due care In the Dutch Caribbean, no separately defined body of law exists with regard to the relationship between a (commercial) bank and its customer. The standard general terms and conditions applied by banks in the Dutch Caribbean have an important function in the legal relationship between banks and their… Continue reading THE DUTY OF CARE OF BANKS

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

LEGAL DOCUMENTS ARE HARD TO READ DUE TO LEGALESE LANGUAGE

Lawyers must learn to communicate with their clients Communication skills are particularly important for lawyers. On the one hand lawyers have to accurately debate legal issues with like-skilled/trained people and on the other hand they have to explain all this to people without any legal education, many of which are vulnerable. That is not as… Continue reading LEGAL DOCUMENTS ARE HARD TO READ DUE TO LEGALESE LANGUAGE

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

THE DIFFICULTY OF ENFORCING JUDGMENTS

Michael Redman on the challenges of enforcing judgments Michael Redman of Burford Capital has written an interesting article on the challenges of enforcing judgments, which was published in the October 2015 issue of Litigation Funding (click here). As far as the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba) is concerned, the… Continue reading THE DIFFICULTY OF ENFORCING JUDGMENTS