International Law

FINAL POSTING OF 2008

By Karel.Frielink

This will be my final posting for 2008. What a year. It feels as if the whole world has changed more rapidly than ever before and not only as a result of the economic turmoil. The year 2009 is about to begin and it won?t be an easy year. Many will suffer from the crisis. There still will be tensions between countries and populations. There still will be war. However new faces and new voices in the political arena may change things for the better. Let?s hope so.

Thanks to the ?credit crunch? we, as attorneys, are faced with new legal questions and new clients. Opportunities disappear and new opportunities appear. Recent events (the collapse of various financial institutions) served to remind us that the quality of legislation is also determined by external events. What appears to be acceptable legislation one day, is not necessarily acceptable the next, due for example to a traumatic event (see also Financial Times’ interview with Hank Paulson, the outgoing US Treasury Secretary).

During the past few months various governments and regulators, like central banks, have made considerable progress in the implementation of new rules and regulations for banks and other financial institutions. These measures are far-reaching and the legal environment in this area is encouragingly new.

Our focus remains on client satisfaction by continually maintaining and improving the quality of our services. In 2009 we will be at least as ambitious as in 2008.

I would like to thank all of you for your daily or weekly visits. Karel?s Legal Blog will continue to provide you with information on legal and tax issues in the Dutch Caribbean. I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

One final remark:

Don?t just sit back and wait for opportunities to come to you, you have to get up and create them. Yes, I?m sure you can!

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

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Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on December 30, 2008 (boomark / email).