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International Law

: Karel's Legal Blog

THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN IS NOT A LEGAL ENTITY

By Karel.Frielink

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The Netherlands Antilles no longer exists!

The Country the Netherlands Antilles consisted of Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba, and formed part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On October 10, 2010 the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as a country. Two new countries were born on that date: the country Curacao and the country St. Maarten. The three remaining islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, a.k.a. the BES-islands) became special overseas territories (sort of municipalities) of the Netherlands. These facts seem not well known among non-Dutch people.

Currently, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is composed of four parts: (1) the Kingdom in Europe (popularly known as Holland, north of Belgium and west of Germany) together with the BES-islands; (2) Aruba, (3) Curacao and (4) St. Maarten.

Geographical location:
? Caribbean Sea (north of Venezuela): Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao
? Caribbean Sea (east of Puerto Rico): Saba, St. Maarten and St. Eustatius

Curacao and St. Maarten are autonomous parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island of Aruba gained similar autonomy in 1986. Each island has its own government and legislature. These three islands together with the BES-islands have a common Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court in The Hague.

Within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten are autonomous except for defense and foreign affairs. Curacao and St. Maarten have a shared Central Bank. A new monetary unit ? the Dutch Caribbean guilder ? will replace the current Netherlands Antillean guilder in both countries. Starting 1 January 2011, the US Dollar is the legal currency on the BES-islands.

To easily identify the six islands in the Caribbean Sea, I refer to them as the ?Dutch Caribbean?. We at Spigthoff Curacao keep servicing our clients throughout the Dutch Caribbean and beyond at the same high level we have thus far.

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

(2 January 2011)

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on January 02, 2011 (boomark / email).