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Clearly, a distinct advantage of doing business
in Curaçao is the fact that you are operating in a safe legal
environment where the rule of law applies. Ultimate recourse rests
with the ability to appeal to the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands in The Hague. This is the ultimate judicial body and
retains the final word on all legal decisions.
Locally, legal authority is exercised by the Court of First Instance
and by the Joint High Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba. The Chief Justice of the Joint High Court of Justice, its
members (a maximum of 22) and the Attorney General of the Netherlands
Antilles and of Aruba are all appointed for life by the Dutch monarch,
after consultation with the Governments of the Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba.
The Court of First Instance sits on all the individual islands, and
each individual judge is also a member of the Joint High Court of
Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The difference between
the two levels of Court is that the Court of First Instance has only
one judge ruling over the Court, while in the Joint High Court of
Appeals for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba there are three judges
that sit together to consider appeals. |
